This document outlines how InTouch will operate for 25th Camberwell and Dulwich Explorer activities. Additional measures may be put in place for more complex trips (e.g. international or remote expeditions).
Whilst some communication from those on-trip to those who are not (such as parents) will be handled by the on-trip leadership team, the InTouch Nominee is appointed to provide communication and management support from an off-trip location in circumstances in which the leaders on the trip have a reduced ability to communicate effectively or in which coordination of multiple off-trip parties is required. This could be due to poor phone signal, the scale of the communication required, or the scale of the incident to which leaders are responding “on-the-ground”.
Most InTouch situations are straightforward. The most common relate to injuries involving a visit to a Minor Injuries Unit, poor behaviour by a young person requiring immediate parental involvement or collection from the trip, or disruption to transport substantially delaying the return journey. Some of these circumstances will be handled by on-trip leaders. Sometimes, additional support will be requested. The processes the InTouch Nominee should follow are detailed in the “Individual Parent Communication” and “Multiple Parents Communication” sections below.
Below these sections are details of what the InTouch Nominee should do in the rare situation that an essential on-trip leader is incapacitated and unable to perform their role, and in the extremely rare situation of a serious incident. The InTouch Nominee will not take on responsibility for the management or coordination of any serious incident and, depending on the severity of the circumstances, may not be required to take on responsibility of the management or coordination of any incident involving the incapacitation of an essential on-trip leader.
The InTouch Nominee is the first point of contact by on-trip leaders for off-trip support, but they do not need to act alone. Additional support is always available if needed.
Some trips will also involve a Home Contact. This is the inverse of the InTouch role, and provides a nominated point of contact for parents/guardians or other leaders to enable them to pass a message to the trip. It is a role typically only used for international trips or those expected to involve sustained time in remote areas. Details of this role are included at the end of this page.
The InTouch Nominee must hold a valid DBS certificate, have completed the “Data Protection in Scouts” online training module, and should not be a parent of an attending young person. They should be provided with OSM access to the relevant section for the duration of the trip.
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You can use this line to explain In Touch in parent comms: “For this trip, [NAME] is the In Touch Volunteer. They’re not attending but may support leaders with parent communications if needed. If you need to contact us in an emergency you should phone [LEADER] on [PHONE NUMBER].”
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