Keeping young people safe sits at the heart of everything we do in Scouting. Whether it’s a weekly meeting, a hike, a camp, or an adventure on the water, good planning and confident leadership make all the difference. To support Scout Groups across the country, Scouting Ireland is proud to launch our updated Scouting Safely – Safety Guidelines for Scouters and Scout Groups -a practical, comprehensive resource designed for real life Scouting.
This new guideline brings together everything Scouters need to run safe, high-quality activities in one place. It’s clear, structured, and packed with checklists, templates, and examples to help you plan well, respond well, and know when to seek further guidance.
👉 You can read the full resource here.
What’s Inside - At a Glance
To help Scouters get started quickly, we’ve created a short “Scouting Safely - At a Glance” guide. Here’s a quick look at what it covers.
1. The Essentials
Every activity starts with the fundamentals:
- Plan – Do – Review
- Risk assess the venue, activity, and participants
- Safeguarding first: vetting, ratios, mandatory training
- The right skills, the right kit, the right people
- Clear briefing and youth involvement
- Report all accidents and incidents
2. Ten Quick Checks Before Any Activity
A simple pre-activity checklist to make sure everything is in place — from supervision and competence to first aid, equipment checks, parental consent, and weather conditions.
For water activities, SAILS applies: Safety Afloat, Leadership Afloat, PPE, weather, rescue cover.
3. If Something Goes Wrong
The guide outlines what to do in the event of an accident or incident:
- Care for people first
- Get help
- Record the facts
- Notify Scouting Ireland
4. When Circumstances Change
Activities don’t always go to plan. The “dynamic assessment” section explains how to pause, reassess and adapt when weather, behaviour, equipment or supervision changes unexpectedly.
5. Mapping to the Full Guidance
For deeper support, the full guideline covers:
- Roles & responsibilities
- Legal and regulatory requirements
- Den and premises safety
- Risk assessment templates
- Health and wellbeing
- Water safety
- Transport
- Accidents and reporting
- Insurance
- Training and competence
- Record-keeping
It’s designed so you can go straight to the section you need — whether you're preparing a hike, organising transport, or dealing with an unexpected incident.
Why This Matters
Scouting is all about adventure but adventure is only meaningful when it’s safe. These guidelines strengthen confidence, clarity and consistency across all Scout Groups. They help keep young people safe, support Scouters in their roles, and ensure every activity reflects our shared commitment to doing our best.
