Adult Roles on Camp

The Folk Marshall plans and organises activities for young people to do whilst on camp. This will normally include some craft/making, a hike, games, and evening entertainment. 

On a longer camp (and sometimes on a short one) we will play a Wide Game: a game that everyone participates in, that takes place outdoors over a wide area. On a week-long summer camp, we will usually have a day trip.

The Folk Marshall can’t run all of these activities by themselves so other members of the FM team might take on specific bits – you might offer to plan and lead a hike, research a day trip, or be responsible for equipping and running the craft tent, planning the wide game, leading on bushcraft, organising a quiz one evening… every camp will be different. 

A lot of thought goes into planning the programme, so if you have an idea or suggestion for an activity that you’d like to run, it’s good to discuss it with the Folk Marshall as early as possible.

The KP is in charge of stocking the kitchen and overseeing the preparation and cooking of meals on camp (which is done by young people and adults in clans).

This means planning a menu, scaling up to the correct quantity for the number of people on camp, writing simple recipes and instructions for young people to follow, and then purchasing the food and getting it to camp. 

The KP also ensures that alternatives are provided for anyone with different dietary requirements - veggie, vegan, gluten free, those with allergies or intolerances of any kind.

On a large camp the KP will normally have a team of people to help them.

When on camp the KPs are responsible for briefing the clan prior to each meal so that they know what they are making and where to find the ingredients. They might have to do additional runs to the shops for any items needed.

Logistics covers all the practicalities of how we get to camp and keep ourselves dry and warm once we are there.

People in the logistics team will usually include:

Kit officer

Looks after the tents, equipment such as gas burners, and all the other gear we bring with us, making sure we have the right kit (in the right quantities) and that it is in good condition.

Travel coordinator

Booking trains, coaches and vans, co-ordinating with drivers, and ensuring the travel plans are communicated with parents/carers. A bigger job than it sounds!

Water/fire/recycling

On a tented camp the role of ‘water’ is an integral one, making sure there is enough hot and cold water for drinking, hand-washing, cooking, washing-up and, crucially, teas and coffees.

The fire officer will see that a fire gets set and lighted every evening, ideally with the help of young people. They will arrange a supply of firewood and make sure fire safety is observed.

Different sites will have different set-ups but ideally we want to recycle as much as we possibly can and compost any food waste, so the recycling officer will ensure this happens.

These three roles can be separated out or combined together as a small team, which gives more flexibility if one or two adults are pulled away to do other things.

Camp Co-ordinator

The Camp Co-ordinators have overall responsibility for planning and organising the camp. On a large camp they will normally do this with a core team of adults including the KP, Folk Marshall, Logistics and Safeguarding Leads.

Safeguarding Lead

Whilst we are all responsible for safeguarding, every camp must have a named Safeguarding Lead whose role it is to ensure that we have done everything we can to keep young people safe. 

Other roles:

On bigger camps we might have other roles such as:

Welfare/ inclusion/ SEN champion

Looking after all of the young people on camp and ensuring they are happy and having fun, and that any additional needs are met. This person is often responsible for allocating tent- or dorm-sharing arrangements.

Elfin lead/Pioneer lead/Venturer lead  

On bigger camps we will have a nominated leader for each age group - normally a familiar adult who knows the young people well. They can lead on age-specific activities (eg pioneer bivvy), as well as dealing with any issues that come up.

Lead first aider

Ensuring first aid kits are fully stocked, accident forms get completed and a record is kept of any medication administered.

Breakfast clan:

Waking all your clan members - so you need to make sure you know which tents or dorms everyone is sleeping in!

Cooking the breakfast - usually a hot breakfast such as pancakes, porridge or eggy bread. You will have been briefed by the KP the night before about what you're making and where to find everything.

Getting out cereals and milk for the early risers. Making some tea and coffee. Setting up a serving area.

Doing the 'rising cry' to wake everyone up when breakfast is nearly ready.

Lunch and dinner clan:

You might need to round your clan up from different parts of the camp - this may require a bit of forward planning (reminding people they are on clan and finding out where they're going to be).

Cooking the meal with your clan and preparing the dessert. You will have been briefed by the KP about what you're making and where to find everything.

Cleaning the tables, setting up a serving area and putting out cups and water.

While some of the clan are serving, others can be eating so that they are ready to put the finishing touches to the pudding.

Washing up clan: 

Before the meal is served, those on washing up clan need to prepare the washing up area.

Put out three large washing up buckets filled with warm water: two soapy and one for rinsing.

Washing up clan should go to the front of the dinner queue so they can be ready to get on with their duties promptly.

Your task is to wash up the communal pots and pans; each camper should wash their own plate, bowl and cutlery.