HEN Camp Organiser Guidelines

The following guidelines are provided to help make your role as camp organiser a positive experience and to help ensure a good time is had by all. The Guidelines for Camp Attendees are available for your assistance and we suggest that you either email these to camp participants as they book in or hand them out as campers check in. You may wish to add any points that are particularly relevant to your camp or camping ground.

Hints on Running Camps and Events: See Colita’s article Anything is Possible

Insurance: To be covered by HEN’s public liability insurance, please contact insurance.clerk@home-ed.vic.edu.au It DOES NOT directly cover participants for medical damages etc. nor does it cover adventure activities. Campers should be advised that they undertake such activities at their own risk. The currency certificate is usually requested by camp staff.

Arrival at Camp: We recommend that you have campers check in with you upon arrival so that you are aware of who is at camp and can ensure they all have the camp guidelines. This is also an opportunity to welcome campers, in particular new families, and coordinate some introductions. You may wish to have a brief welcome meeting to facilitate this and help new people identify who is with your group. It would be most unfortunate if a new family wandered around for the entire camp feeling unsure and unwelcome. It might pay to include a ‘let me know if this is your first camp’ message when confirming bookings and to set up a buddy system for each new family who can help to introduce them around and explain what to expect. Please also take it upon yourself to touch base with them to make sure they have met some other campers and feel welcome. We recommend you delegate some tasks to others and roster a ‘go to’ person for each day to share the load and ensure you get to enjoy camp as well as others.  

Damage: Please keep a record of any damage and negotiate with the camp owners to reach a satisfactory conclusion. Any camper causing damage may be charged repair costs not covered by insurance but make it clear that it remains the parent’s responsibility to supervise their children or appoint someone to do so.  

Supervision: The HEN Camp Attendees Guidelines remind families that they retain full responsibility for their children at camp and also to be especially mindful of non-swimmers. We recommend you roster a water safety awareness person to check that swimmers are being supervised by their parents.

Problems and Disputes: Should a dispute arise between campers, please do your best to resolve the issue being respectful of all parties or call for assistance to help you do so.

Incidents/accidents: Should an incident or accident arise, as well as taking appropriate action for the safety of all concerned, please fill in a HEN incident report form as it may be required for insurance/legal purposes.

Asking Campers to Leave: Whilst you will no doubt make every effort to resolve any problems that occur in a considerate manner, you do have the right to ask a camper or family to leave if they are unwilling to resolve the problem or continue with problem behaviour despite attempts at mediation.

Suspected Child Abuse: HEN is committed to preventing child abuse. Any suspected abuse must be reported to the police by the event organiser or any attendee who holds such concerns. Please see our Committment to Child Safety for more info.

All the best with your camp

The HEN committee