Risk Assessments for Adventurous Activities

It is now a requirement for all adventurous activities to have a written risk assessment and the risks need to be communicated with the participants and their guardians (if relevant) – POR 2.5 safety policy is relevant here and POR 9.4.  The Regional Assessors have provided the following information to help you with activity risk assessments.  We are planning some training in the new year.

There is a risk assessment checklist which is a living document (PDF version also available).  It is intended to assist you in considering risks you might not have thought of.  However it is not intended to be a complete list of every possible risk.  We suggest that when planning your activity, you consider what risks you might encounter and how you might mitigate those risks and then document it.  Once you have done this, you might like to review the attached list to consider if you have missed something material for your activity.  Do not overcomplicate matters and include risks that are not materially relevant.  This is a matter for your judgment and is an important part of your planning.  More important than this is to continuously review the risks during your activity and adjust your approach to maintain a safe approach. 

We have prepared a couple of sample risk assessments for 2 specific activities – a walk in a T0 area and kayaking in class C waters.  These are provided as examples of how you might prepare a risk assessment and should not be copied.  They are very specific to the group and the location being considered. 

Please let us have any feedback on this material and we hope you find it helpful.

Thanks

Bruce Macdonald
Manager of the Activity Permit Scheme
South East Scotland Scouts
Scottish Charity SC010563

Hazard Activity for Explorer Scouts/Young Leaders

The management of risk is a critical part of any safety culture. People are in general not very
good at judging risk in the heat of the moment, so it is very important to think about risk in
advance of any activity and to plan how it will be controlled.

Risk is made up of two comments likelihood and consequence. A high risk activity may have very
serious consequences but happen occasionally, or have moderate consequences and happen
frequently.

Hazard asks you to think about the consequences and likelihood of hazards associated with some scouting activities. 

You should play Hazard in a small group and may decide to have a facilitator to moderate the
game and lead the discussion.

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