Support for County Assessors

A County Assessor is responsible for assessing a members’ technical competence for an adventurous activity permit and provide recommendations to their Commissioner in order for the permit to be issued.

All County Assessors are required to hold a national governing body qualification, as laid down for each activity in the County Assessor Qualifications table, to ensure that they have the technical knowledge required for the role. In addition, every Assessor must have validated Module 25 - Assessing Learning (Activity Assessors) and have this recorded on Compass. 

Assessor Ongoing Learning and CPD

Many adult appointments in Scouting require the compulsory completion of ongoing learning. The appointment of County Assessor is one such role. During the appointment process everyone becoming a County Assessor should be made aware, and agree, that they will remain active and up to date with their skills and knowledge and undertake at least two days (14 hours) of technical update workshops in each 5-year period.

• Examples of ongoing learning include:
• Attending and updating a 16-hour first aid certificate
• Attending a meeting or event run by an appropriate National Governing Body e.g. British Canoeing, or British Cycling
• Attending a local or national assessors training session or workshop
• Other relevant training or assessment linked to the activity that an individual assesses by prior agreement by the MAPS.

In addition, a County Assessor has a responsibility to stay up to date on any updates that are made to rules, factsheets and guidance to do with their activity. This is to ensure that any potential permit holders will receive a similar experience no matter which County Assessor they approach or which permit assessment course they attend.

Any time undertaking ongoing learning needs to be recorded on the compass database as part of an assessors training record. Find out more about adding ongoing learning to Compass. A suitable Compass administrator should complete the addition of ongoing learning for an assessor however ongoing learning can also be recorded by a County Assessor themselves by adding it to the training part of their profile.

The Assessor appointment must be reviewed on a regular basis, usually every 5 years, as with all other Scouting roles.  An assessor who has not completed the ongoing learning requirements cannot continue in their role. The Manager of the Activity Permit Scheme (MAPS), as the line manager of the assessors, should be aware of the CPD an assessor is doing so that they can, where appropriate, address any learning needs.