This page describes the correct use of contact details in OSM.

Contact Policy

Please note that it is a parent’s responsibility to ensure the data held for their child (or yourself if you are a leader or helper etc.) is up-to-date. 2nd Bracknell, The Scout Association, it’s leaders and helpers can not be held responsible for any inaction or issue due to contact information, medical or diet information being wrong.

You may maintain your child’s (or your own) information via the members My.SCOUT page (preferred) or by informing a leader of the information.

Throughout this page, references to a ‘child’ or ‘parent’ also mean you if you are an adult leader, helper or other adult member.

Phone numbers

Note that you can enter text, such as a name, after the number (separated with a space) and the mobile application (that leaders use) will ignore it when dialing the number.

Home - The home phone number (landline).
Mobile 1 - A parent’s mobile phone number.
Mobile 2 - The other parent’s mobile phone number.
Emergency Phone - The emergency contact’s number and their relationship to the member, separated by a space. The reasoning behind this is that it will be useful to know if we talking to Granny if we are ringing about a serious accident etc.

There is no point in recording an emergency contact that is the same as one recorded in Home, Mobile 1 or Mobile 2, since we will have tried those numbers first anyway. The emergency contact really does need to be someone else.

Ensure you enter all phone numbers in full, with the STD code (0 etc.), since the mobile apps can pick the number up and dial it for you.

email addresses

Email 1 – A parent’s email address.
Email 2 -The other parent’s email address.

Do not use the same address twice, the member will get two emails.
Do not include names and other information in the stored address
i.e. do not use David Ferrington <David.Ferrington@2ndBracknell.org.uk> use just David.Ferrington@2ndBracknell.org.uk

Especially do not include some indicator as to whether the email is for the mother or father, this will break the mailing system and is of no value.

Leaders, please see also OSM Contact Details usage for Leaders

Address

This is a single entry containing the whole address of the child (i.e. 2 Some Street, Warfield, RG42 1XX)

If the child stays at multiple addresses, just use the one where they most often stay.

NHS#

This is the child’s NHS number and it is most important if we have to take someone to the hospital because records are now computerised and looked up using the NHS number. You can read about the NHS# at : http://tinyurl.com/58bra3.

Parents (Spouse for leaders and adults)

This is the child’s parents or guardians names (or your spouses name if you are a leader and have one)

Record Charlie Smith’s parents as Janet & John, not as Janet Smith & John Smith, or even as Janet & John Smith. When the lastname is the same, please do not repeat it, it detracts from the entries where the names are different. Similary, don’t indicate the Mother or Father (with M or D etc.) when it’s obvious from the name who they are, only do so when the names could be either gender or there is a special relationship (like stepmother).

Medical

Record any significant medical information here. Be as specific as you can be, this information may just save their life! Please include any specific medicines the child normally takes.

DO NOT put something like None or No Known Issues in this field if there are no medical issues to record, it helps us to spot known issues because they stand out in a list.

Dr’s Address

The name, phone number and address of the member.
i.e. Dr. Kade, 01344 428742 – The Gainsborough Practice , Warfield Green Medical Centre, 1 County Lane, Whitegrove, Warfield, RG42 3JP

This is very important if we have to take someone to the hospital and they can’t locate the records via the NHS#. The actual name of the doctor is most important (the surgery name is not the name of the doctor), even in these days of multi-doctor practices. The phone number and address are also important.

Diet

Any dietary requirements of the child (i.e. ‘No Nuts’ or ‘No Beef’ etc.)

DO NOT put something like None or No Known Issues in this field if there is no dietary  issue to record, it helps us to spot known issues because they stand out in a list.

Religion

Although not required, it does help us if we know the religion of your child (please do not read anything into this).

School

It helps us a lot if we know the school your child is currently attending, especially if they are having a special evening or off-site visit etc.

Last Tetanus

This is the date of the child’s last tetanus injection. This may seem trivial, but hospitals are nowadays loath to give a tetanus booster if the the current immunisation is in date. However, it’s no good putting In Date since these records run thoughout the life of the member and what was in date when they started, may not be when they are an Explorer!

If you don’t know the exact date, then a month and year or just a year are better than nothing. Likewise Pre-school booster is also ok.

 Can Swim Req’d

This indicates that the child can swim the required distance to take part in water based activities. This requirement changes with each section.