We have been approached by the local fire cadets on a “how to share activities” between us. Dose anyone have current experience of restrictions/pitfalls or how to achieve it?
Would be looking at RAFAC CFAV delivering the likes of adventure training to their cadets and vies versa.
liabilities I think are going to be the biggest issue and who would take responsibility?
Cheers
Your local RFCA should be able to advise - suggest you start there. Do you have a local (county?) Joint Youth Services & Cadets Committee? (e.g. we do, I used to be on it - police, fire and SJA cadets were in theory represented, along with scouts/guides/sea scouts/air scouts). The chair of that committee might be a good person to talk to.
You’re right that duty of care is a consideration but with imaginative thinking shouldn’t be a showstopper; after all, you can do joint activities with ACF/SCC.
Liability will probably be an issue. MOD self indemnify for their members (cadets) taking part in approved activities. Not sure how it would work with non-members taking part in same said activity.
Presumably the Fire Cadets would have insurance to cover their participants. Where it’ll come unstuck is if they ask for you to have PLI to take their cadets out…
It may simply be easier to go down the freelancer route than trying to bang a square peg in a round hole.
We did drill with the police cadets on a few occasions (mostly teaching it to them), it is just like any other activity. Each “side” would need to send its own “CFAVs” to look after their cadets and whoever is delivering the activity should be qualified to do so.
MOD indemnity would apply for CFAVs delivering an authorised activity for non-members, as they are a third party and this is covered under JSP 814 - this would effectively be PLI. What it would not do is cover you for activities with a non-MOD cadet force except for claims against MOD CF members. The non-MOD CF would need to have appropriate insurance for their activity for this. Should you require compensation for injuries sustained on an activity run by the fire cadets, your claim would be against their insurance, not the MOD.
Did we not use to have the option to add “external instructors” as staff on SMS events?
Or did I dream it?
We do - coupled with checks and balances to ensure they are legit etc. I was approaching from an “us” delivering to “them” perspective.
@Batfink yes absolutely. Ultimately if they are delivering the activity then our due diligence is to ensure our members are covered by there policies - we would then run it as a activity with a external provider and seek approval to that effect!
However how do we get our cover to cover them if we are delivering the activity?
(Would this ultimately be approval from our DDH) RegCmdt?
Keeping in the context that they provide staff for there cadets!
By getting the training correctly authorised, they are covered, just as cadets and staff are covered. See JSP 814 for details.
So the term CF within JSP814 would read ALL cadets Forces? ie, St johns, fire cadets, police cadets and any other …Cadets?
No, they are a third party. We are indemnified against claims made against us when running an approved activity for them.
I think we should be doing more with other youth organisations.
I recently found out a SJA cadet group has started up in the town, I’m looking to approach them, to see if they would be willing to trade; do first aid training and we do map nav, drill, basic aeronautics utilising the flight sim.
That’s a great idea. You can probably get your whole squadron through silver first aid in no time.