RYA sailing school compliance checklist
6 min read · Updated 6 October 2026 · Written for Principals, Chief Instructors and centre managers
The short answer
The staffing side of compliance comes down to four habits: check every person's qualifications and vetting before the season, check every roster for ratios, qualifications and supervision before it's published, brief and record on the day, and keep records of who did what and why. This checklist covers those. It doesn't replace the RYA's recognition requirements or your own operating procedures, which come first.
Before the season
- Operating procedures and risk assessments reviewed and signed off by the Principal.
- Every instructor's and assistant's qualifications verified against originals, with expiry dates recorded.
- First aid certificates in date for everyone whose qualification requires one.
- Vetting (DBS, PVG, AccessNI or Garda) done for everyone who needs it, recorded by status, number and date.
- Safeguarding policy in place, welfare officer named, and staff trained to your policy.
- Under-18 staff identified, with their hours planned within the legal limits for their age.
- Safety boats serviced, instructors' powerboat qualifications checked, and boats assigned to programmes.
- Emergency plan and contact details current for every member of staff.
Every roster
- Every session has enough instructors for the students booked, at the ratio your procedures set.
- Every instructor is qualified for the course they're on, with nothing expired.
- Senior Instructor supervision arranged where your procedures require it.
- Enough instructors with the right powerboat qualification on each session to drive the safety boats, and a Senior Instructor on duty.
- Nobody, and no boat, is booked in two places at once.
- Young workers' hours and breaks within the limits; everyone else has proper rest.
- Any decision to go ahead despite a warning is recorded with a reason and a name.
Every day
- Forecast reviewed against the day's sessions and cover adjusted if needed.
- Staff briefed together: sailing area, signals, recall, who covers whom.
- Duty officer has a printed sheet of who is on and their emergency contacts.
- Boats and safety kit checked before launching.
- Incidents and near misses recorded the same day.
Records to keep
- Who was rostered on each session, and changes made after publishing.
- Qualification and check records with who verified them.
- Overrides and the reasons given.
- Incident and near-miss reports, and what changed as a result.
- Keep personal data only as long as your retention policy says, then delete it.
Tip: Print this list and pin it next to wherever the roster is built. The checks are easiest when they happen at that moment.