Setting Up a Safe Camp for a Youth Group

Setting up a camp for a youth group requires thinking through hazards and logistics that do not apply to adult groups. Supervision ratios, boundaries, sleeping arrangements, sanitation, food safety, and emergency procedures all need to be sorted before participants arrive, not after. A well-run youth camp looks effortless because the planning happened beforehand.

Site Assessment

Before setting up camp, walk the site and identify hazards. Widow-makers, dead branches in trees above the camping area, are a real risk and should be cleared or the camping area moved. Check for flood paths if rain is forecast. Identify the nearest emergency exit from the site. Note any features that require a boundary, a cliff edge, a water body, a road.

Boundaries and Supervision

Set clear boundaries for the camp area at the start and communicate them to participants. In unfamiliar terrain with young participants, the boundary should be conservative and enforced consistently. The supervision ratio needs to allow leaders to maintain awareness of all participants while also managing camp tasks. Planning supervision in advance rather than working it out in real time is important.

Sleeping Arrangements

In youth programs, sleeping arrangements need to comply with the organisation's safeguarding requirements. Leaders and participants should not share tents unless it is a genuine emergency and is disclosed. Tent allocation should be organised and communicated before the camp, not improvised on arrival in the dark.

Emergency Procedures

Before the camp, confirm the emergency procedure with all leaders. Who calls for help, what number to call, what is the grid reference of the camp, where is the nearest vehicle access. In a genuine emergency, people revert to what they have been briefed. A briefing that happens before the camp is worth ten times one that is attempted under pressure.

Camp Documentation

Log the camp in LogsKeptSimple with participant list, location, dates, activities undertaken, and any incidents or near-misses. This provides an organisational record of the program delivery that is useful for reporting, accreditation, and any future incident investigation.