Safeguarding 

ACORNCAMPS takes Child protection (and indeed the protection of leaders) seriously. All volunteers and staff have been DBS checked, references have been taken, and any questions or queries are followed up. Each camp has a safeguarding lead who is responsible for all aspects of safeguarding during the mission week. 

If you have any questions at all about the policy, safety of children, or wish to discuss anything please contact our Managing Director. If for any reason you have an issue about the full-time staff that you would like to discuss with the trustees, then please contact the chair of trustees David Todd.

We have a number of documents which can be found here:

  1. Child Protection Booklet - this is an essential requirement that all team members have read.
  2. Safeguarding summary page - which is given to all volunteers during the pre-camp training.
  3. AC Safeguarding incident form - to report any incident that occurs.
Keeping S.A.F.E. Below is a small and easy way to remember some of the basics. Please note this is in no way a substitute to the Safeguarding policy or the Safeguarding lead booklet.

Stay away from all compromising situations which could be misinterpreted in any way.

Always report quickly and accurately any information that is disclosed from a child, or vulnerable adult. (click here: AC Safeguarding incident form)

  • Do not ask any leading questions.
  • Do not react in any dramatic way.
  • Do not promise not to tell other people.

Find ways of communicating love without using inappropriate physical contact or showing favouritism.

Enjoy working with kids – they love being loved, and demand your love and respect.


Keeping in contact with teenagers 

Building relationships is central to what ACORNCAMPS is all about. We expect that you will develop meaningful, deep friendships with Hungarian brothers and sisters, and hope that some of these will be life-long. We would love for you to keep in contact with the Hungarian leaders you meet, so that you can mutually encourage one another in your walk with the Lord.

The camps aim in part to introduce teenagers to their local Christian youth leaders, and build relationships with them. This means at the end of camp we encourage them to keep in contact with their youth leader or pastor before us.

To help keep contact with under 18 yr olds healthy and helpful, we have a number of requests for your communications post-mission week:

  • Please keep in contact with them! You can use the main Camp Facebook group (set up by the Hungarian youth leader on your camp) to post messages of encouragement, memories, share photos, write Bible references etc.
  • It may be that a discussion group would like to keep in contact with leaders and each other; the Hungarian discussion group leader can set this up and both leaders are required to be members in order to stay accountable. In this context more person-specific communication can take place in a safe manner.
  • If any individual teenagers give you their postal address, you could send an open postcard note.
  • Please note: Short-term volunteers do not become Facebook friends with teenagers under 18, nor give out their personal email address until the teenager is over 18. If teenagers wish to email volunteers, they can contact us with the volunteer's name in the Title, copying in an adult from their family or church, and the email will be forwarded to the volunteer.

Taking photos on camp

We ask all staff and volunteers to refrain from taking photos during the camp. ACORNCAMPS has a designated photographer for each camp who will take relevant photos and at the end of camp post online a selection which can be viewed. 

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