Safeguarding at a sports camp: DBS, medical notes and who collects whom

Safeguarding is a process, not a policy document

Every organisation that works with children should have a safeguarding policy, and most do. The ones that actually keep children safe are the ones where the policy describes things that really happen at the desk, on the pitch and at the gate. This guide covers the three places where that gap usually opens: the people you employ, the medical information families give you, and the moment you hand a child back.

It is written for organisers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the disclosure schemes differ by nation and the rules change. Where we say 'check the current guidance', please do.

Checking the people

Anyone working with children at a camp — coaches, assistants, volunteers, the person at the registration desk — should have an appropriate criminal-record check. In England and Wales that is the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS); in Scotland it is Disclosure Scotland's PVG scheme; in Northern Ireland it is AccessNI. The level of check depends on the role and whether the activity counts as regulated activity, so confirm the right level with the relevant body or your sport's governing body rather than assuming.

A check is a snapshot, not a lifetime licence. Keep a record of who was checked, at what level, by whom and when, and decide how often you renew. The DBS Update Service lets an individual keep a certificate current and lets you re-check it with their consent; many governing bodies require this.

• Record the certificate number securely and show only the last few characters anywhere it is displayed.
• Track expiry or renewal dates and flag them before the camp, not after.
• Do the same for first-aid qualifications and safeguarding training; both lapse.
• Name a designated safeguarding lead for every camp and make sure every coach knows who it is.
• A check does not replace supervision, references or the simple rule that adults are never alone with a child out of sight.

Medical notes: collect less, read all of it

A medical question on a booking form is a promise that someone will read the answer. So ask only what you will act on: conditions that affect participation, allergies, medication the child carries or needs help with, and anything the coach must know in an emergency. Then read every answer before the camp, not at the desk.

Health information about a child is special-category data under UK data protection law. That has practical consequences: keep it out of the general spreadsheet, limit who can see it to the people who need it for the child's care, do not email it around, and delete or anonymise it when the camp is over and any retention period has passed.

• Surface the flag where it matters: on the register as the child arrives, and with the coach of that group.
• Agree a plan for each serious note before the day — where the inhaler lives, who carries the adrenaline pen.
• Keep emergency contacts next to the medical note, not in a different tab.
• Printed copies live in a closed folder at the desk and are destroyed after the camp.

Consent, photos and the booking form

The booking form is where consent is captured, so it should be explicit. Separate the things a family must agree to — your terms, the medical declaration — from the things they may agree to, like photography or marketing emails. Pre-ticked boxes are not consent. If you intend to photograph children for social media, say so plainly, make it optional, and make sure the coaches know which children are opted out.

Who collects whom

Handing a child to the wrong adult is the safeguarding failure organisers fear most, and it is almost entirely preventable with a boring process applied every single time. The process is: know in advance who may collect, sign every child out against a named adult, and ring the booker before handing over to anyone not on the list.

Build the collection list from the booking. The booker is usually the first authorised adult; ask for any others at booking time and allow families to update the list before the camp. At the gate, the person signing out should be able to see the list for that child without seeing anything else about the family.

• Record the time, the staff member and the adult's name at every sign-out, including early departures.
• Older children walking home alone need written permission from the booker, captured before the camp.
• Late collections: know where the child waits, who waits with them (two adults, ideally) and whom you call.
• If the unexpected adult is persistent and the booker cannot be reached, the child stays with you. That is the rule; say it kindly.

Incidents and records

Something will happen eventually: a fall, an allergic reaction, a worrying comment from a child, a parent who turns up angry. Have an incident form, fill it in on the day, and keep it. Know in advance how a concern about a child's welfare is escalated — to your designated safeguarding lead, and where appropriate to the local authority or the police. Governing bodies and the NSPCC publish clear escalation guidance; follow the current version.

Keep records for as long as your policy says and no longer. Incident records and safeguarding concerns are often kept for much longer than ordinary booking data; take advice on what applies to you.

Putting it together

A safeguarding-ready camp looks ordinary from the outside: the coaches are checked and the paperwork is in date; the medical notes have been read and a plan made for each; consent was explicit on the booking form; the gate has a list, a pen and a rule. FormSide is built so that most of this falls out of the booking itself — if you want to see the register and the staff records in action, the product page walks through both.