Please observe the following guidance and note that we have imposed some of our own guidelines on top of those from the Government / Welsh Government / NYA. The Guidance applies both in England and Wales and will come into effect on Monday 21 June.
Even though the Government announcement on 14th June was a 4 week delay in moving forward on the roadmap, there are some changes to our guidance, the main ones are in bold.
1. 1. Groups must HAVE PRODUCED a Start Back Risk Assessment for meetings and have had it passed by Mark Napier This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.for approval.
2. 2. A Covid Risk assessment must be passed by GSM for every Section meeting in a Group.
3. 3. Overnight activities: Camping is to be allowed for Scouts and Senior Scouts in a Group of 6 maximum. Separate guidance is attached to the end of this announcement.
4. 4. All Sessions must be run in a fixed location, ie the location your start back risk assessment is written for.
a) Day trips are allowed but under the following restrictions. Any activity that is away from the location of your start back risk assessment is classed as a trip, the activity must start and finish the same day.
b) A Day away permit must be applied for.
c) A Covid risk assessment must be carried out for the trip, this must be detailed and include the travel to and from, plus any restrictions at the place being visited. This also applies to a hike. The Risk assessment must be sent to your AC for approval before the activity can take place.
d) All activities must be supervised, so a leader must be in attendance, even on a hike, they cannot remotely supervise the activity.
e) Remember, the insurance does not cover cancellation for Covid so if a cost is incurred and the event cancelled, the Group is out of pocket as the B-PSA will not cover the cost.
5. 5. Ratios: please make sure that you have the correct number of leaders for children attending each section meeting, this is more important if you are working outside. Remember no leader can work with more than one section on the same day. Please use the current Supervision document if unsure.
6. 6. Group Size: Numbers indoors must be limited to ensure that social distancing can take place and must comply with the rules for the venue being used, HSE state 100 square feet per person. Outdoors we now have to work in bubbles of 15 maximum, unless all the section members are in the same school bubble when it can be larger. Leaders are not included in the 15 but must stay with the same bubble, this is to help minimise the number of people who would have to isolate in an exposure to a positive case.
7. 7. 2m distancing must be maintained between everyone as much as possible indoors and out. Leaders must keep a 2m distance from the members and each other. If they must go closer, work side by side and wearing eye covering, for a short a time as possible.
8. 8. Face Masks: Scouts (10+), Senior Scouts and all Adults are to always wear a mask indoors and outdoors, unless they have a medical exemption. There is no exemption for masks off outdoors as games often mean that the 2m rule is not observed.
On a hike masks can be removed but must be replaced if participants are closer than 2m to another person, leaders must enforce this.
9. 9. A bad weather plan is required for all outdoor sessions.
1010.These rules are not to hinder meetings but are to help keep our members and their communities safe. Currently there is a new strain of the virus affecting the UK, which is more transmittable than previous ones. This may result in areas having to reintroduce more severe restrictions, so please be aware that we may have to change the way we meet at short notice. The latest variant of Covid is now affecting the younger part of the population, we need to adhere strictly to our guidance, to ensure that we are not responsible for spreading Covid-19 in our communities.
1111.Remember if you or your leaders do not feel safe, you do not have to return to face to face meetings. Please ask for advice via your AC if you need help to get back to face to face Scouting.
Keep safe and happy Scouting,
it’s getting better (slowly).
The Covid team
References for England:
1100-NYA-COVID-19-Guidance-26_5_21-P2.pdf (joltrouter.net)
Protective measures for holiday or after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings for children during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
For England and Wales:
Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance and support - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
For Wales:
Alert level 3: summary | GOV.WALES
Leaving your home and seeing other people: alert level 3 | GOV.WALES