1. In the Government guidance dated 23/11/20, youth services for under 18s can resume supervised meetings no matter what tier the area of the country that the Group is in. This means we can restart face to face meetings in England following NYA guidance from 02 December 2020. A Group can only resume meeting if the Group has produced a start-up Risk Assessment and has been given permission to restart from Mark Napier.
2. In Wales youth groups can meet with up to 15 indoors or 30 outdoors following Welsh Government guidance AND the Group has produced a start-up Risk Assessment and has been given permission to restart from Mark Napier.
3. The guidance is for under 18’s only, over 18’s are still at RED, this means that if there are any Seniors who are now 18 but still working towards their St Georges Award, they cannot meet face to face with the rest of their Troop. Over 18s come under the Government guidance for adults, see next paragraph.
4. Rover Scouts, and over 18 year old Senior Scouts must adhere to Government Guidance on meeting others, which is currently as follows:
- Tier 1 Rule of 6, ie 6 other people indoors or outdoors.
- Tier 2 Rule of 6, ie 6 other people outdoors only.
- Tier 3 No face to face Meeting, can meet virtually.
- Leaders should meet to plan virtually when possible.
5. While meeting outdoors is preferred, the location either indoor or outdoor must be Covid secure as per NYA guidance already issued. Outdoors must be in an area where the public cannot access during a meeting, such as a local park or the carpark of your meeting place. A plan should be in place for how to manage members of the public who do not observe social distancing/respect your area, do you stop the activity, move to another area, politely request they move away?
6. If you are meeting away from your normal meeting place (the one stated on your census return) you must submit a day away permit for every meeting and the following points must be addressed.
- Are toilet facilities available and accessible for use during the sessions? How will these be managed and cleaned before, during and after the groups use? Are there suitable facilities available for handwashing, hygiene etc.?
- Is shelter available, this is particularly important at this time of year.
- Is the location accessible so parents/carers can safely drop off and pick up their children, both as planned, and in an emergency?
7. As a reminder the following must be in place for any section meeting:
- Covid Risk assessments for each meeting must be checked by the GSM.
- Ability to meet core government / NYA guidance.
- Enhanced cleaning arrangements are in place.
- Ability to comply with social distancing requirements and limits on gathering sizes which is underpinned by UK law, if you can’t do the activity at 2m then change the activity.
- Ability to ensure hygiene levels are maintained, including for frequent hand washing/cleansing with alcohol gel.
- The risk to workers, young people and the community being safely managed.
8. Remember if you feel that it is not safe to restart face to face meetings then do not until you are happy that the situation has changed. In the interim carry on with your current method of communicating with your members. Please check that your start up Risk Assessment is still up to date and nothing has changed in your meeting place. Read the updated guidance from the NYA, version 4.
9. Any Questions please address to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and they will be shared with the team.
Remember keep it safe and lessen the risk.
Best Wishes
The Covid Team
References: https://nya.org.uk/guidance/