2011 Stewarding FAQs

If a festival fills up you can add your name to the waiting list here. If a festival is full and we have started a waiting list, the words 'waiting list' will be displayed next to the festival name.  You need to enter your first name, last name and email address.

When you add your name to the waiting list you will see a confirmation page and be sent a confirmation email. Your details will be stored on a separate database and if for any reason we get a high drop-out rate, or we are asked to provide more stewards at that festival, we will send you an email to let you know when we are re-opening applications for that festival. You will then be able to apply for that festival as soon as applications open again to the general public.

The email we send gives you advance warning that applications will be opening again, so that you can apply as soon as it is re-opened, but does not give you priority over other applicants. If you are really keen to steward at a certain festival, keep the dates free, as places may become available anytime up to the week before. Often if we reopen a festival, places go very fast, so if you are a new applicant you may want to begin your application (personal details, uploading a photo etc) WITHOUT selecting a festival in order to help you to be ready to apply if we do reopen any spaces. If you later try to complete your application, you will need to use exactly the same computer. NB only one “saved for later” application can be stored in this way on each computer.

If we only have a few spaces available, experienced stewards who are on the waiting list may be contacted first.

During the Priority Application Period:
You need to log back to your application using the link sent to you in your Priority Application email then follow the instructions below.

Once applications have opened to the public:
You need to go back into the application form, and log on with your User name and Password as they were entered onto your application form so that the form will recognise you and bring up your previous application. All the information that you entered when you first applied will be present, so please check this thoroughly and make changes if any of it is out of date.

On Stage 3 you will need to resubmit your declaration about unspent criminal convictions. When you get to Stage 4, click on the name of the festival you want to apply for.

Please note: If you have already applied for festivals and are adding additional festivals, you will NOT see the festivals you have already applied for in the list of festivals in stage 4, please do not worry about this, as you will have already had them confirmed in your confirmation email.

Fill in all the relevant information for the festival you wish to apply for and click Submit. (Repeat this for each festival application that you are adding.) You must continue through the rest of the stages of the application form, including the training section and the final submit button on Stage 7, or your application will not be submitted to us.

Your original training choice will still be ticked for you, and you do not need to change this. (Unless you booked an onsite training session and are adding an earlier festival, in which case you should change your training to the first festival you are stewarding at with us).

On Stage 7 you will be able to review and submit your application. If your application for further festival(s) has been successful, you will receive a confirmation email from Oxfam with the names of the festival(s) you have just added.

Please note: If you wait 1 working day from your first application, the application form will recognise that you have already paid and will not ask you for a second deposit. If you add a festival before lunchtime on the next working day after your initial application, the form will take you to the payment screen, and if you received the payment confirmation email for your first application, you are safe to close your browser now.

Steward training session dates will be available on the application form. Training will be held in various locations around the country. Please book onto a training session while you complete your application.

Training sessions run throughout the summer, but if you book onto a session, please make sure it is BEFORE your first festival. Training is valid for four years, which means that if you attended training in 2007 or before, you are due to renew your training this year.

Glastonbury training sessions are only for people applying to steward at Glastonbury (if you’re also applying for other festivals you only need to attend the Glastonbury session).

General training sessions are only for people who are not applying for Glastonbury but are applying to steward at any other festival.

Onsite training sessions are only for people stewarding at that festival who have not booked an offsite training session and are held at most festivals. In order to attend this, you will need to arrive at the festival earlier than the advertised arrival date and time, so you must make sure you are able to do this when you book your place. (Please check the date of the training session carefully, as you may have to arrive the day before the standard arrival date.)
If you book onto an onsite training session please make sure you book this for your first festival of the season. If you later add another festival earlier in the year, you will need to swap your training session, as we will need you to train before your first festival. Please contact us at stewards@oxfam.org.uk with the subject line ONSITE TRAINING and the festival name, or call us on 0300 200 1266 and we will try to help.

N.B We have tried to provide training sessions around the country and onsite, and we hope that you will be able to attend one of these sessions. We do not expect you to travel an unrealistic distance from your home to attend training. For example, if you live in Manchester and those sessions are full, please DO NOT book onto the Bristol session, but book onto the onsite session. See the questions below for more specific information.

Supervisor training is a one day conference this year. It does not cover the basics of stewarding and you will only get the option to book this if you tick in your application that you would like to supervise. Whether you have supervised with Oxfam previously, or are considering supervising for the first time this year, we strongly recommend that you attend the supervisor conference. There will be sessions with both the Oxfam Festivals Team and external speakers from within the festival community (e.g. Security, medics, fire) to bring you fully up to date with ways of working and legal requirements.

If you book the supervisor conference, we expect you to have up to date steward training too (which means that you attended steward training in 2008, 2009 or 2010, or that you have booked onto a session for 2011). As you can only book one training session on the online application form, if you are booking both sessions for 2011 please book the standard steward training session on the online application form and book the supervisor conference session by emailing stewards@oxfam.org.uk. We will reply to your email and confirm your place. Please read the question "If I attend Supervisor training will I be a supervisor?" in this section.

No – you will be charged an admin fee of at least £20, whatever the reason for your cancellation. The total amount of admin fee deducted from your deposit will depend on how many festivals you cancel and the dates you cancel them – see below for more details. An admin fee will be charged if you cancel because of illness, as your cancellation still affects our planning.

If you cancel before the cancellation date:
If you cancel one festival before the cancellation date, a £20 admin fee will be deducted from your deposit.

If you cancel two or more festivals before the cancellation date, on separate occasions, a £20 admin fee will be charged each time you cancel, up to your full deposit.

If you cancel two or more festivals on the same occasion before the cancellation date, you will only be charged a £40 admin fee.

Once the admin fee has been deducted the rest of your deposit will be returned within three weeks of your cancellation, or within one month of your final festival with us if you are attending, or have attended, other festivals. (The exception to this is if Glastonbury is the last festival that you are volunteering at with us, in which case your deposit may take up to six weeks to be returned. This is due to the large number of stewards at Glastonbury and the time it takes us to check our shift records.)

You will receive an email from WorldPay to confirm this has taken place.

If you cancel after the cancellation date:
If you cancel one or more festivals after their cancellation dates, you will lose your full deposit.

If you cancel one or more festivals after the cancellation date, but have already stewarded with us this year and completed all your shifts, we will consider your refund on a case by case basis.

If you cancel one or more festivals after the cancellation date, but have a place at a future festival, we may contact you to assess your reliability for future festivals. If we decide to keep your place at a future festival and you complete all your shifts, we will consider your refund on a case by case basis.

If you cancel a festival on the arrival day, and have a place at another festival (whether you have already stewarded or it is the future) you will lose your deposit, unless you can provide a compelling reason for your cancellation.

If you cancel one or more festivals after the cancellation date, but can provide us with documentary evidence (such as a doctor’s note) we will consider your case regarding your refund.