HIGH RISK ANNUAL DOCUMENTATION GUIDANCE

Modified on Fri, 31 Jul at 12:44 PM

High Risk Annual Documentation Guidance -

The following guidance should be read before completing the High Risk Group Annual Documentation.

Download the High Risk Group Annual Documentation template here

What is this?

The High Risk Group Annual Documentation is a set of five documents that together describe how your group operates safely. It must be completed each year, reviewed by your technical adviser, and approved by the ICU Activities team before the start of the academic year.

Why is it needed?

This documentation has been introduced following the launch of the Safe Adventures report and reflects ICU's commitment to improving the shared understanding and transparency of how your group runs activity safely.

How do I get it approved?

You will need to submit this document as part of your core risk assessment submission by 16 August.

Who asks the technical advisor to review?

Once you have filled in the document, you are responsible for getting your technical advisor to review and sign the document off before submitting it alongside your core risk assessment.

Once submitted to us, ICU Activities Team will also contact your technical advisor with an onboarding email confirming they have reviewed all your documentation.

Approval Timeline

We will be reviewing submissions as they come in, but will review everything within 10 working days of the core risk assessment closure date (16 August).

You will receive final approval only after your technical advisor has responded to the onboarding email.

If your technical advisor doesn’t reply, we will contact you and ask you to choose a new technical advisor. If your technical advisor indicates concerns with your activity, we will facilitate a conversation with them.

Need help?

Contact the Activities Team by submitting a ticket via our portal.

Participation Statement - public facing document

This outlines to current and potential members what your activity involves, what they can expect from your group, and what is expected of them if they join. You will need to publish this on your group's A-Z page once approved.

Most of this document is pre-populated for you. When filling in required sections, describe your activity as if you are writing for someone who has never heard of it. Keep it factual and specific.

Competency Framework - internal document

For each level, describe what a member at that level looks like across each of the five S.K.A.T.E. categories. Be as specific as possible, avoiding vague descriptors and ensuring criteria are demonstrable. Where possible, reference specific qualifications, numbers, or verifiable outputs.

Skills (S) - Describe the practical, hands-on abilities required at each level.

This could include:

Core activity skills that can be observed and assessed
Emergency and rescue skills specific to your activity
What someone at this level can do, not just what they know

Knowledge (K) - Describe what someone at each level demonstrably knows.

This could include:

Specific hazards and risks associated with your activity
Environmental and situational factors relevant to your activity (e.g. weather, terrain, tidal conditions)
Safety procedures and emergency protocols

Attitude (A) - Observable behaviours that demonstrate appropriate attitude to safety.

This could include:

Whether someone consistently follows safety procedures
Whether they proactively raise concerns or near misses
At higher levels, whether they actively promote a safety culture within the group

Training (T) - All formal and informal training relevant to the activity that is required for specific level of participation or leadership.

This could include:

ICU training
NGB qualifications
Activity-specific training (e.g. outdoor first aid, rescue training)
First aid training

Experience (E) - Volume, recency, and relevance of practical experience.

This could include:

Number of sessions participated in or led
Range of environments or conditions encountered
Whether experience is recent (e.g. as a guide, active involvement within the last 12 months)
At higher levels, experience of leading others and making safety-critical decisions in the field

Competency Statements - public facing document

Competency statements translate the competency framework into plain language for members. They describe what someone at each level can do, and what they are permitted to do as a result. You will need to publish this on your group's A-Z page once approved, alongside your participation statement.

Write these so that a potential member with no prior experience of your activity can read them and understand exactly what each level means in practice. Avoid technical jargon where possible, and be specific about any restrictions.

Roles & Responsibilities - internal document

This section sets out who does what in your group during activity itself, noting that your activity leaders are not necessarily committee. It is an internal document for your committee, activity leaders, and ICU staff.

Activity Leader / Assistant Activity Leader Role Profiles:

Describe these roles as they actually work in your group.
Be specific about the minimum qualifications/training required, how leaders are identified and assigned, and what they are and are not permitted to lead.
If your group does not have assistant activity leaders, note this and leave that section blank.

Responsibilities:

Think about what must happen before a session starts (e.g. equipment checks, participant briefing), during the session (e.g. dynamic risk assessment, monitoring conditions), and after it ends (e.g. incident reporting, equipment storage).

Operational Procedure - internal document

Your operational procedure sets out how your group plans and runs activity, and what happens in an emergency.

Activity Planning Table:

Each question should be answered with 1 role name (e.g. President / Activity Leader)

Your Emergency Procedure:

This should be written specifically for your activity.

Think about what makes your activity different in an emergency (e.g. remote locations, specialist rescue services, specific environmental hazards).

It should be clear enough that any activity leader can follow it under pressure, without needing to refer to anything else.
Think about:

What makes an emergency in your activity different from everyday incidents? e.g. Climbing: an unconscious person might be in an inaccessible, high-up place.

What's the first action an activity leader takes? e.g. Call emergency services & ensure casualty is safe

Who coordinates communication? e.g. The most experienced person on-site / Activity leader delegates to most senior committee member present
What's the communication chain? e.g. Activity leader → Committee President → ICU → Participant families (please be aware, students should never contact a participants family)

ICU Emergency Contact Requirements and Incident Reporting:

These sections are pre-populated and must not be changed.
Read them carefully and make sure all activity leaders are familiar with them before activity takes place.
Note that incident reporting is mandatory following any accident or incident, regardless of severity.
Make sure you name the role responsible for submitting incident reports.