We may hand out permission slips in respect of the many activities and events that take place outside of our meeting place or normal meeting day/time.  These slips do more than just simply tell us that your child has your consent to attend or take part in an activity.

First, we need to know, in advance, how many members are coming to an activity so we can plan and budget resources effectively – how many hot dogs to buy so that nobody goes hungry, or how many seats a bus needs to have so that nobody has to walk to camp!! The last thing we would ever want to do is disappoint a young person or turn them away from an activity on the day.

Secondly, a returned permission slips tell us that you have understood the nature of the activity to be undertaken by your child. For instance, a water-based activity such as canoeing or sailing will demand the child must be able to swim at least 50 metres. The medical information section will describe any existing allergies, conditions or medications being taken, but cannot anticipate how your child would react to the heights of a climbing wall or the confined spaces in an underground cave. Should you ever have any questions or uncertainties about what exactly an activity entails, please don’t hesitate to ask a leader.

Thirdly, by indicating that you plan for your child to participate in an activity we are then aware that we need to notify you beforehand of any changes, such as a new meeting time or location, or not to come if the activity gets cancelled. This also applies to situations when all the ‘expected’ scouts are present and ready for an activity to begin, or for their bus to depart from the meeting point before the scheduled commencement time. We might do this to avoid young people hanging around, waiting unnecessarily for the scheduled time, and we would therefore have no knowledge of other scouts being dropped-off after we have left.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, if you give us a contact telephone number it is essential that we can reach you in an emergency.  A house landline is of limited use if you have gone shopping or out to an evening social event, we will leave a message asking you to call us as soon as you return.