Approval and Lead Time
- National DSL approval required for any residential involving under-18s (in addition to RSL approval)
- Minimum 8 weeks lead time from approval to event date for UK residentials
- Minimum 16 weeks for international trips
- Application includes: dates, venue, programme, leadership team, target numbers, indicative budget, identified risks
Pre-residential Documentation
In addition to standard pre-event documentation:
- Venue due diligence: written safeguarding policy obtained from venue; venue insurance confirmed; venue accessibility statement
- Site visit by ESL or RSL before booking is confirmed (or virtual walk-through with venue staff)
- Detailed itinerary day-by-day, hour-by-hour, with location and lead leader for each session
- Sleeping plan — every bedroom mapped, every person allocated, with rationale
- Night supervision rota — who is on duty between lights-out and morning wake
- Travel plan — modes, times, drivers (with DBS + insurance + licence checks), contingencies
- Comprehensive trip-specific risk assessment signed off by RSL and National DSL (residentials cannot use a generic programme risk assessment)
- Travel insurance confirmed (per participant); public liability insurance confirmed (Jesus Youth UK level)
- Medical form for each young person (more detailed than standard event consent — full medication list, dosages, GP contact, dietary, allergies, swimming ability if water activities)
- Photocopy of EHIC/GHIC for international trips (held by lead, returned post-trip)
- Passport details for international (passport number, expiry, nationality — not a copy of the passport; record the details and return the document)
- Emergency contact tree — out-of-hours, including National DSL on call
- Lost child / missing person procedure specific to the venue
- Fire and evacuation procedure specific to the venue, walked by ESL on arrival
Consent
All children under 18 must have expressed parental consent before they can attend a Jesus Youth event. This will be verified before admittance. A signed permission form must be produced by the child on arrival in order for:
- the child to attend the event and participate in activities offered
- permission for photography and videography
- confirmation that the child will adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Code of Conduct
Parents will also be provided with relevant information regarding the location of the event and contact details of a Responsible Person In Charge in case of any concerns leading up to or in the duration of the event. During the event, the Responsible Person In Charge will also be responsible for contacting the parents regarding any issues concerning their child.
For recurring events, a single parental consent form will be used. This form will remain valid for future events unless an update is made by the organisers or requested by the parents.