Try a Nights Away event

Nights Away or residential events, such as camping or sleepovers, are a key part of Scouts. They’re something that every young person should have the opportunity to take part in.

A night away can be indoors. You could sleep in your meeting place, an Aquarium, an activity centre, a theme park or even in a local museum.

Nights Away events that are indoors need volunteers to hold the lowest level of Nights Away Permit. This is because they’re more straightforward to run. It can be a good choice for your first Nights Away event or for younger sections.

Often, people have a theme for their nights away. A theme ties the event together – you can use it to plan your activities, decorations or food. You could theme the camp around a badge, such as a space themed camp to complete the Space Activity Badge, or you could pick something popular in your group, such as dinosaurs, pirates, circus, football or music.

When everyone starts to arrive, most people will probably be excited. It’s often best to start off with an energetic game to burn off some energy and settle in. It’s also useful to make sure the sleeping area is laid out before it’s time to go to bed (if you can), so this could be a good way for everyone to feel at home.

It’s also a good idea to think about when everyone will arrive. You may want people to have eaten before they arrive. If everyone arrives just after they’ve eaten, you could spend some time outside stargazing or watching a film before bedtime. You may also want everyone to arrive ready for bed, such as already in pyjamas.

During the day, try to keep activities and energy levels balanced, with some time to burn off energy, as well as some time to calm down and rest. You may want to use any outdoor space, such as at a local park or outside your venue.

You might want to have a few activities or games people can pick up at any time to fill in the gaps to reduce any waiting, such as books, colouring in, board games, crafts or cards. This can be good for if people finish anything early too, such as eating.

Some groups choose to have activity bases that everyone visit in smaller groups. This means that everyone has the chance to try lots of different activities and make new friends in their group.

On your last day, try not to finish too late. You should leave plenty of time for everyone to tidy up, pack away, go home and rest!