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Royal Navy Affiliated Sea Scouts
A kayaker passing beneath a bridge during an adult adventure session.

Royal Navy Affiliated Sea Scouts

REASONABLEADJUSTMENTS

Preparing for camp together.

Preparing for camp together

Reasonable adjustments & support

Help us understand what your young person needs to enjoy camp.

If your young person may need support to take part, contact the camp team and your Group Leader as early as you can. Tell us what might make camp difficult and what usually helps. We’ll discuss this with you and your young person, consider reasonable adjustments and check arrangements with the venue and activity teams where needed. We’ll explain what we can put in place and, if a requested adjustment isn’t possible, why and what other options we considered. You can contact us again if needs change or become known later.

Ask for a private support conversation

A diagnosis is not needed to ask for help. A brief message asking us to get in touch is enough to start. Please keep medical reports and detailed health information for the secure route agreed with the team.

Tell us what helps

Useful information includes:

  • Medical needs, allergies, medication and dietary requirements.
  • Learning, communication, sensory, emotional or behavioural support needs.
  • Mobility, stairs, personal care, sleeping or changing concerns.
  • Religious needs and any adjustments you would like us to consider.
  • What helps at home or at Scouts, and what your young person would like us to know.

Sharing a request starts a conversation. Arrangements need to be discussed and confirmed for the individual young person.

An active military base

What the setting means

Camp takes place on an operational Naval Base. Facilities are shared with serving personnel, and base rules, access arrangements and daily routines limit what we can change.

Daily life includes moving around the base as a division, marching to meals, stairs, busy shared spaces and organising kit for the day. Please talk to us early about any part of this that may be difficult.

We want families to have a clear picture of camp so that support can be planned together before arrival.

Facilities and support we can check with you

Wheelchair access and mobility

Some areas have stairs and distances between activities can be significant. Tell us about the routes, facilities and support your young person needs. We’ll check access to the relevant areas, including toilets, sleeping and activity spaces, and consider alternatives where there are barriers.

Washing and changing

The standard facilities shown below are communal. If your young person needs privacy or accessible facilities, tell us what would work for them. We’ll check what space or timing options can be arranged with the venue and explain what is available.

Individual adult support

Camp volunteers have limited capacity for dedicated one-to-one support. We’ll look at when support is needed, what we can arrange and whether an adult from your group could help as part of an agreed plan. Any arrangement must meet Scouts safeguarding and safety requirements.

Questions from parents & carers

How can we help your young person take part?

Camp is large, busy and noisy. Operational requirements on the Naval Base frequently mean last-minute changes to plans, and we cannot always give advance warning. Please use the information and photographs here to consider the experience with your young person and Group Leader.

These examples show what we can explore together. Please speak to us about any barriers to taking part. The camp team will follow up on the options and let you know what can be agreed for your young person.

Agree and review the plan together. We’ll confirm the agreed adjustments and who will provide them. If circumstances change before or during camp, contact the camp team so we can review the plan.

Know what to expect

A closer look at daily life

Use these photos to talk through camp before you arrive.

Queues, shared facilities and lots of people in one area are part of the experience. The rooms in these photographs are empty; at camp they may be used by many people at the same time.

Galley & dining

A long galley serving counter with a walkway alongside it.

Collecting a meal

Young people queue, move along the serving counter and collect their food before finding a seat.

A large dining room with tables, chairs and a long communal table.

Shared dining space

The dining area is shared with other people and can be busy and noisy at meal times.

A wide view of a large dining room with rows of tables and chairs.

A larger view of the galley

This wider view helps young people picture the size and layout of the room before arrival.

Showers, toilets & changing

An open tiled shower room with several shower heads and no individual partitions.

Open communal showers

Showers are in an open communal space. Speak to the camp team if your young person needs a private washing arrangement.

A row of urinals in a shared tiled toilet area.

Shared toilet area

Some toilet areas include a shared urinal area.

Toilets inside individual cubicles with doors.

Toilet cubicles

The facilities pictured also include individual toilet cubicles.

A shared changing room with benches and hooks around the walls.

Communal changing

Changing areas have shared benches and hooks. Please discuss any support needs before camp.

Scouts and volunteers gathered between rows of tents at a previous camp.

Living alongside others

Lots of people, shared routines

Camp brings young people and volunteers together in divisions, dining areas, activity groups and the tented village. There can be queues, conversations, movement and noise around you.

Talk through how your young person experiences busy places and let us know what helps them manage. Any support arrangements need to be discussed before camp.

Photo from a previous camp.

Facilities photos supplied by the camp team. Final allocations and routines will be confirmed before camp. Select a facilities photo to view it in full.

My child is autistic and struggles with crowds and noise. What could help?

Camp includes busy meals, queues and shared spaces. Tell us what your child finds difficult and how they let you know they need a break. We can explore a familiar adult, quieter timing where possible or an agreed break from a busy area. We’ll confirm which options are available.

My child struggles with last-minute changes. How can you help?

Plans can change at short notice. Tell us what helps your child prepare for a change. We can explore a simple visual plan, a named adult to explain changes and a backup activity or routine where practical.

My child finds larger groups difficult. Can you adapt the programme?

Young people spend much of the week in divisions and smaller activity groups. Meals and shared facilities can still be busy. We can explore smaller briefings, a familiar buddy or taking a break and rejoining at a suitable point.

My child uses ear defenders. How will safety instructions work?

Tell us when your child uses ear defenders and how they receive instructions. We’ll work with the activity team to consider a quieter briefing, visual signals or another reliable way to receive instructions and warnings. We’ll agree the arrangement for each relevant activity.

My child may leave the group unexpectedly. What support can you consider?

Tell us what can trigger this, how your child communicates distress and what helps them stay with or return to the group. We’ll assess the specific setting and consider options such as a named adult, a familiar buddy, agreed breaks or an adapted activity. If dedicated support is needed, we’ll discuss what the camp and group can reasonably provide and agree who is responsible.

What if a support need becomes known close to or during camp?

Tell the camp team as soon as you can. We’ll listen, check whether immediate changes can help and review the support plan with you, your young person and their Group Leader. We’ll explain any practical limits and consider other ways for your young person to take part.