Geocaching Risk Assessment Template

Typical hazards & measures

• Communication failure and coverage gaps — Agree whistle or radio signals and rendezvous times, print key numbers and the route map, brief what to do if messages fail, and switch to a regroup-and-return plan from the nearest safe waypoint when mobile coverage drops or devices cannot connect.
• First aid and medical needs — Carry a stocked first-aid kit and a trained adult, hold current medical and allergy lists, ensure inhalers and auto-injectors remain with the pupil’s group, adjust pace and terrain for conditions, and record treatments with prompt parent communication.
• Dogs and livestock — Pass animals slowly with space, avoid fields with loose cattle or horses, keep groups tight and calm, never run at or pet dogs, reroute to alternate rights of way if stock crowds the path, and follow any temporary diversion requested by landowners.
• Inclusion and additional needs — Prepare individual plans with pupils and families, adjust terrain grading, distance and pace, provide visual schedules and rest points, assign buddies, and offer accessible alternatives for caches that are not safely reachable by all participants.
• Road crossings and traffic — Select safer crossings during route design, brief pupils to halt at kerbs and cross only on the leader’s command, position adults front and rear, avoid car-park cut-throughs, adapt pace to traffic flow, and reroute immediately if sightlines or density render a section unsafe.