It is the responsibility of the Visit Leader to prepare a specific risk assessment for a Residential Visit.
A residential establishment is required to have risk assessments in place for their own premises. There is no need for Visit Leaders to request copies of these risk assessments
Visit Leaders are responsible for recording significant and foreseeable risks specific to their visit. This should take into account:
- The participants (including leaders and helpers)
- The venue
- The accommodation (in terms of how it affects the group)
- The activity
- Getting there
- Time of year
The findings of the risk assessment and the relevant precautions/controls should be agreed and understood by all participants including Visit Assistants (and parents where appropriate).
As part of the risk assessment, careful consideration has to be given to establishing leader: participant ratios. Various factors could affect the ratios during a visit such as staff or participant illness, or the need to provide 1:1 supervision. It is the responsibility of the Head of Establishment and Visit Leader to ensure that adequate levels of supervision can be maintained in these circumstances.
Sample risk assessments can be found within the Toolkits section of the website
