Activity group lead training

Training 3: On the day of the activity group

Please arrive in plenty of time before the session is due to start to check the venue and to make sure that it’s safe to run the session. If you identify hazards, please let the activity group coordinator know as soon as possible.

Once you’re happy that the venue is safe to lead the activity, you’ll need to get everything ready for the session. Make sure that you have enough and adequate seating for the older people and that you have all of the equipment that you need to hand.

Before you start the session, the activity group coordinator will check attendance.

Please make sure that during the session you consider the welfare of the older people. Some older people may require regular breaks and an opportunity to drink plenty of fluids. Activity groups are designed to enable all older people to participate in a meaningful way so it’s important to ensure that your session is inclusive for everyone who choose to take part.

Keeping everyone safe

As Re-engage staff and volunteers, we all have a responsibility to look out for each other’s health and safety. Many older people have mobility issues and may be more at risk of accidents.

To help keep everyone safe at the activity group, please keep an eye out for the following:

• Trip hazards, such as people’s bags or the edge of a rug
• Slip hazards, such as spilled drinks or a recently mopped floor
• Burning or scalding risks, such as an older person leaning to pick up a mug of hot tea which might be too heavy for them

If you see any potential hazards during the activity group, please alert the rest of the group and support the activity group coordinator to remove or reduce any risks for example, by helping to move objects that someone might trip over into another room.

The activity group venue

Please be mindful when parking that you’re not blocking the entrance or obstructing the activity group venue door.

The team at Re-engage check with all the older people who attend that they are able to safely manage up to three steps up into an activity group venue and that they’re able to use the toilet facilities without support.

Older people can sometimes find it difficult to get in and out of armchairs and sofas, so the activity group venue offers a variety of seating options for the older people and the ventilation and lighting is good.

All Re-engage events are non-smoking and activity groups are no exception and pets are not allowed at activity groups.

Ending the activity group session

Once the session has finished, please check that everyone is feeling okay and that they’ve drank plenty of fluids. It’s a good idea at this point to check to ask people if they’ve enjoyed the session and if they’d like to attend again.

We ask all older people to fill out a feedback form every six months to ensure they are enjoying their time at our groups. Our feedback forms ensure we are providing a good service which will help us continue our groups long into the future.

Reporting safeguarding issues or concerns

If during the activity group someone tells you something that concerns you, for example, something that makes you worry that they might be at risk of harm or neglect, please speak to the activity group coordinator about this in private as soon as possible.

They will then share this with Re-engage as part of our safeguarding policy. It’s important that you don’t promise to keep anything that anyone discloses to you a secret and that you don’t offer to help them ‘fix’ any problems they are facing.

Help and support

If you’ve any questions or queries about activity group, please take a look at our library of FAQs on the Re-engage website which are regularly reviewed.

You can also contact the Re-engage team by emailing knowledge@reengage.org.uk or by calling 020 7240 0630 (office hours 9am-5pm Monday to Friday).