Planning a Girlguiding Trip or Residential: A Leader's Checklist
A phase-by-phase checklist for Girlguiding leaders planning day trips, sleepovers and residentials — from early permissions to the post-event review.
Trips and residentials are often the highlight of a girl's Girlguiding year. They also need the most preparation. Working through the plan in phases keeps it manageable.
Months before
- Check Girlguiding's rules and approval process for the type of event, and speak to your commissioner early
- Confirm a leader with the appropriate Going Away With qualification will lead any residential
- Book the venue, transport and any activity providers
- Set a budget and decide what parents will be asked to pay
- Start the risk assessment
A few weeks before
- Collect parental consent and up-to-date health information for every girl
- Confirm adult numbers meet Girlguiding's ratio requirements for the event
- Check every adult's DBS, Safe Space and first aid status is in date
- Plan menus around allergies and dietary needs
- Send parents the itinerary, kit list, costs and emergency contact details
- Finalise and share the risk assessment with every adult attending
On the day
- Take a register at departure and at every transition point
- Carry health information and emergency contacts securely — and available offline
- Know the emergency plan: assembly points, local hospital and who calls whom
- Bring a stocked first aid kit and record any treatment given
Afterwards
- Report any incidents or near misses through Girlguiding's process
- Review the risk assessment with what you learned
- Close the accounts and return any unused money
- Securely destroy or delete event-specific personal data you no longer need
Girlguiding has specific rules, forms and approval processes for trips, residentials and adventurous activities, including ratio requirements and who must approve the event. Check the current guidance and talk to your commissioner before committing to dates.
UnitSolutions' Emergency Protocol Hub keeps evacuation checklists, venue contacts and an offline roll-call PDF on your phone, so you're not relying on signal in a field.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who needs to approve a Girlguiding residential?
Girlguiding has an approval process for residentials that involves your commissioner. Check the current guidance and start the conversation early.
What should I carry on a Girlguiding trip?
A register, every girl's health information and emergency contacts (available offline), the risk assessment, the emergency plan and a stocked first aid kit.