Your first camp and your Nights Away Permit
Running a camp is how most leaders get their Nights Away Permit. Your Nights Away Assessor works with you while you plan, sees the camp, and goes through it with you afterwards. The First camp page is there to help you prepare for all three.
It doesn't assess you, and it can't give you a permit. Your Nights Away Assessor assesses you and makes a recommendation, and only your Lead Volunteer can grant a permit, on that recommendation, on the membership system.
To switch it on, tick This is my first camp when you create a camp, or open the first camp guide from an existing camp's Overview. Choose who's being assessed. They need to be a member of the group, because the reminders go to them.
At the top, record the permit category you're going for (Indoor, Campsite, Greenfield or Lightweight Expedition), your assessor, your Group Lead Volunteer and your Nights Away Notification reference. Then record the permit holder on site. Even on your assessment camp, somebody who already holds a permit must be there and responsible for it, so the page shows a warning until one is named. Record their permit's category and expiry too, and the page warns if it doesn't cover the camp: a Greenfield permit covers every category, a Campsite permit covers Campsite and Indoor, and Indoor and Lightweight Expedition permits cover only themselves. It also warns if the permit runs out before the last day of camp.
If you use Leader Compliance and its last sync included the permit holder, the page offers their category and expiry from the membership portal, naming who it matched, with a Use these button. It matches on name, so check it's the right person; if two people could match, it offers nothing and you type the details in. Somebody holding several Nights Away categories is offered the one that covers your camp.
Below that, the page follows the scheme in four stages: before you start, planning, at camp, and afterwards. Each item on Scouts' Assessment Checklist is there in our own words. Where your camp already shows something, it says so beside the item, for example your adult to young person ratio, health forms returned, kit lists, the menu and its allergy flags, or what your risk assessment covers. Where it can't, it's a conversation to have with your assessor, and there's room for a note.
Mark each item as Ready to talk through or Talked through with my assessor as you go. These are your own notes on your preparation, not a result. Choose a category and the items that don't apply to it drop out, just as they do on the official checklist.
The page counts down to your Nights Away Notification, which is due at least 7 days before camp. If no reference has been recorded, the person being assessed gets a reminder email 14 days and 8 days before camp. Add the reference once it's in and the reminders stop.
Share it with your assessor. Create a link on the First camp page and send it to your Nights Away Assessor, or email it from there. They can open it without an account and see the checklist, what your camp shows for each item, your notes, and the programme, menu, kit list, risk assessment and budget. It never shows a young person's name, health details, contacts or payments. They can comment on any item, or on the camp as a whole. You're emailed when they do, and they're emailed when you reply. Make a new link and the old one stops working; switch it off at any time.
Your plans is where you write down what the checklist asks about that a camp has nowhere else to put: your first aiders (somebody with at least First Response must be there, and it doesn't have to be you), your emergency plan, including what happens if the permit holder has to leave camp, InTouch, your site visit, transport, local facilities and fuel. Each shows beside the item it answers. Wet-weather alternatives come from the Programme page.
Logs at camp keeps an inspection log for the whole team, and a medication log of what was given, to whom and by whom. Only leaders who can see medical details can see or add to the medication log. It's never in the evidence pack or on your assessor's link, and clearing the camp's personal data clears it too.
The evidence pack is the same thing on paper: every stage and item with what your camp shows, your notes and the comments, then the plan itself. Print it or save it as a PDF from the First camp page. Like the link, it has no young person's details in it, whoever prints it, because it's meant to be handed over.
The official Nights Away Assessment Checklist is still what your assessor completes and uploads. Procedures vary between Districts while approvals move to the membership system, so check with your Lead Volunteer or assessor how yours works. The First camp guide is free on every plan.