Sports Camp Check-In, Group Moves and Pickup

Start with a site check

Before customers arrive, inspect the spaces and equipment. Check exits, toilets, water, weather, emergency access, and the staff on duty.

Confirm any changes since yesterday. Another venue user may have moved equipment, locked a door, or left a hazard.

Open only the spaces that have been checked and approved for use.

Accept each handover clearly

For a child, confirm the participant, registration, and handover from the authorised adult or approved arrival arrangement.

Record the actual arrival time and receiving staff member. Do not mark a child present just because a parent drove into the car park.

For older participants with approved self-arrival, use the agreed process and applicable rules.

Check important updates privately. Do not discuss a health condition across a busy table.

Follow up on expected absences

Have a defined process for a participant who has not arrived as expected. Check messages and contact the responsible person through the approved route.

A person who never entered your care is a different situation from someone who was present and is now missing. But an unexplained absence can still need urgent action based on what you know.

Do not assume a child is safely at home when the agreed arrival plan or available information suggests otherwise.

Count by name at each transition

Use the current roster. Check before leaving, after arriving, and whenever responsibility changes.

Name the receiving staff member. Confirm the transfer out loud or through the approved record.

Do not allow an activity leader to take “a few kids” without a recorded group and handover.

Act immediately when someone is missing

Stop the affected activity. Alert the lead and activate the missing-person plan at once. Keep the other participants safely supervised.

Check the last known location, recent handovers, and sign-out information while assigned staff begin the planned response. Do not send every adult away to search or send children to look alone.

For a child missing from your care, contact local law enforcement immediately; call the emergency number for immediate danger. Do not build in a waiting period while you try to solve it alone. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children advises immediate contact with local law enforcement when a child is missing.¹

Share the last confirmed location, time, clothing, relevant risks, and other necessary facts. Follow police directions on family contact, searching, and public messages.

Protect emergency exits while monitoring access under your plan. Do not lock people inside or create another hazard.

When the person is found, check their wellbeing, inform responders and the responsible adults, record the event, and review the failure before restarting.

Release children through the approved process

Check that the collecting person is authorised. Verify identity using your agreed method. Do not rely only on a child recognising the person or the adult knowing the child's name.

Record the release time, collecting person, and staff member. Keep records out of public view.

Handle pickup changes through a verified contact route. Follow valid legal restrictions and the reviewed process for custody concerns. Staff should not try to interpret a complex court order in the pickup queue.

Do not keep unnecessary copies of identity documents. Follow your privacy and verification policy.

Plan for late or unsafe pickup

Keep the child supervised in an approved setting with the required staff cover. Contact the authorised adults and backup contacts.

Use your local escalation plan when no safe pickup can be arranged. Contact emergency or child-protection services when required by the situation and local rules.

Do not leave a child alone, take them to a staff member's home, or arrange an improvised private ride.

Where an adult appears unable to provide safe care, use the trained safeguarding process and seek appropriate help. Do not let a fee argument drive the safety decision.

Your task: Test arrival, a mid-day group change, an early pickup, an unlisted collector, and a late pickup. Check that every step leaves a clear record.