Leader in Charge

A Leader in charge must be appointed for each activity. 

The leader in charge is the adult present at an evening meeting, event or activity who has the role of co-ordinating the work of all adults towards delivering the activity in a safe manner. Scouting safely is not just about ensuring that risk assessments and safety checks are conducted; all adults need to be clear on what they need to do and young people should be given clear instructions, guidance and rules.

Responsibilities of the leader in charge include overseeing the activity and all adults and young people. This includes responsibility for:

• registers
• headcounts
• ensuring the ratios of adults to young people, especially where outside the church hall, meet the minimum, requirements and are sufficient to ensure the safety of everyone
• ensuring there is a written risk assessment in place covering the activities
• allocation of roles to specific adults and checking they are aware of their specific responsibilities. (note: sharing the meeting plan usually covers this, highlight any risk areas and controls)
• ensuring there is a leader with a First Aid qualification present at the meeting (and a first aid kit if outside the church hall)

12th Harpenden Risk Assessments

12th Harpenden Scout Group has several risk assessments prepared - these cover the majority of the activities we undertake. If your activity is not covered by one of these then you will need to prepare a new risk assessment.

Weekly meetings: Risk assessments for weekly meetings can be found here:  Risk Assessments and they are also on OSM (they are the same). 

Residential experiences: Example risk assessments for residential experiences can also be found here: Risk Assessments

Reminders:

• all leaders should be aware of the risk assessment for each meeting
• if outside the church hall make sure there is a first aid kit (there are small red ones for each section)
• make sure a register is taken – the details should be entered into OSM either at the time or after the meeting
• make sure regular headcounts take place – particularly when outside the church hall

For further guidance please see Staying safe and safeguarding | Scouts.