Policies & Procedures - Forest Fun Club

Admissions

Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Parents/Carers will complete a booking form to secure a place.
Once paid in full the fee is non-refundable unless due to a medical condition which would exclude a child from activities. A doctor’s certificate would be required. Please do not send your child to FOREST FUN if they have been sick or had diarrhoea in the 48 hours prior to the session.
By signing the admissions form the parents /carer agree to terms and conditions, policies and procedures.
It is the responsibility of the Parent /carer to inform the club of any changes to the information given on the form.
It is the responsibility of the parent/carer to inform the club of any circumstances, which may affect the child’s behaviour.
Only authorized people can sign a child out at the end of a session. It is the parent/carer responsibility to inform in writing should there be a change to who is collecting their child
All children are to be signed in and out of a session.
If you wish to collect your child prior to the stated pick up time, you must telephone first.

Footwear

Sturdy trainers or Wellington boots. Flip-flops or sandals are not appropriate.

Clothing in General

We recommend that children wear old clothes, as they are likely to become dirty or possibly torn. Legs and arms should be covered at all times, therefore, shorts and short-sleeved t-shirt are not recommended.
Wet weather clothes such as waterproof jackets and trousers are advisable if bad weather is forecast
Should the weather be cold, or likely to turn cold, it is advisable to wear lots of layers of clothes, including several pairs of socks, hats, gloves and scarves.
Children should bring sunhats/caps with the in summer months to help protect from sunburn.

You must fill in the medical form provided and any changes/updates are reported in writing.
If your child needs to take any medication whilst at FOREST FUN please ensure it is clearly named and instructions for its use have been discussed with a member of staff.
Any medication needs to be given in at the point of registration where it will be put in a secure first aid bag and carried to the site by a member of staff.
Staff will only be able to administer medication to a child if full instructions have been given.
If you child has any physical / medical condition that you feel may affect their time at FOREST FUN you must record this on the medical form.
A member of staff will record any incidents and you will be made aware of upon collection.
There will always be members of staff on site with medical training.

All activities have been risk assessed and all staff will be familiar with them.
A register of staff and children will be completed so that an accurate record of all those present is available in any emergency situations.
Children will be counted at the gate, on arrival at site, and at 30 minute intervals, and again at the gate before departure.
A correctly stocked first aid kit is available at all times.
All members of staff are aware of arrival and departure proceedings.
Forms are available to all members of staff for reporting medical incidents.
Safety sweeps are performed prior to every session.
Equipment is regularly checked and dis-guarded or mended if broken.
The adult to children ratio will be 1:8.
Medicines will be collected at registration and stored in a secure first aid bag which will be carried to site by a member of staff It will then be stored safely.

No pick / no lick.
No leaving the boundary without an adult.
If you need the toilet ask an adult to accompany you.
If you or another child is hurt inform an adult.
Take your litter home.
No mobile telephones.
All food to be handed in at registration (including sweets).
No penknives.
Play fair, be considerate to others.
If you have finished using a resource return it to the box so others can use it.
Respect – Do not destroy anything anyone else has made/created.

Session Site Management

Before children arrive: a safety sweep of site will be done and recorded, staff will be given their roles for the session, the boundary will be clearly marked, equipment will be stored correctly and toilet facilities checked
Children will be registered at main gate, parents will not be allowed through the gate, With staff supervision, children will wait in an area adjacent to registration area Once everyone is registered The gate will be locked and the children will be given the opportunity to go to the toilet. We will then walk to the FOREST FUN site
After the session there will be Clearance of site including any rubbish
Everyone will walk to gate via toilet and wait adjacent to gate parents sign out children. Once all children have been signed out staff will check the toilets are clean and leave the site ensuring all gates are locked behind them.
Any problems with the site will be reported to the landlords

We will operate a system for warning and exclusion where there is inappropriate behaviour
If a child’s behaviour is particularly inappropriate FOREST FUN reserves the right to exclude this child without a verbal warning and you will be expected to collect your child immediately
In the first instance the child will receive a verbal warning from any member of staff. On a child’s second warning the incident will be logged and the parents/carer will be contacted. If a child is warned for a third time we will exercise the right to exclude them
Unacceptable behaviour includes: behaviour likely to cause harm or distress or danger to themselves or others
No form of bullying be it emotional, physical, verbal or psychological will be tolerated. Where necessary a member of staff will discuss with parents/carers with children involved in a bullying incident and all such incidents will be recorded

We will take the decision to cancel no later than 3pm the day before a session, this will give parents /carer adequate time to make alternative child provision
We will cancel in the event of high winds of thunderstorms or events that mean the site becomes unsafe or closed. Or there is so little uptake, less than 10 children that it is impractical to run the session
In these circumstances we will contact staff and parents by telephone or text to inform of the cancellation.
A day in lieu or refund will be offered for customers. Staff will not be entitled to invoice FOREST FUN under these circumstances

All possible steps will be taken to preserve the strict confidentiality regarding any information to which FOREST FUN has access to
Staff will never pass any information obtained as part of my work at forest fun to anyone outside the club
All names, contact details and personal information will be kept secure
Staff will not use mobile phones for calls or take any photos of children
Staff will inform the club leader straight away if a child discloses of any information that maybe of concern and not question the child any further.
Staff will not discuss individual children with people other than the parent / carer of that child other than for the purposes of planning or group management. The only exception to this will be if the personal safety of a child is in question, then the child protection policy will override confidentiality

All staff have an up to date CRB/DBS check
Staff can work within the session with groups of children, however, they will never work with just one child
Members of staff will always accompany children to the toilet having informed another member of staff first
Parents/carer will not be allowed to remain on site during a session
If a child needs a parent/carer to accompany them throughout a session, approval is needed by FOREST FUN , at least 2 weeks prior to the session, correct CRB/DBS documents need to be in place and this is the responsibility of the parent/carer
Any disclosure by a child will be recorded and appropriate action taken
Any concerns about a child’s behaviour, physical condition or appearance will be recorded and appropriate action will be taken

We only collect information needed for a specific purpose, to keep a child safe and their parents informed
We keep our information secure, all personal information is held securely in locked filing cupboards
We ensure information is relevant and up to date
We only hold as much as we need and only for as long as it’s needed
If requested we allow the subject of the information to see it
Staff are aware that personal data can only be accessed for business purposes

The grass in the site will remain unmown to encourage greater biodiversity.
The site is permanently roped off and is not to be used by anyone other than by the school for forest school sessions and forest fun in order to minimize impact on the site.
A no pick policy will be implemented.
The site will be moved from time to time to encourage regeneration.
Trees will be checked annually as part of the Academies maintenance and Health & Safety Audit Checks. However, any tree damage/concerns will be report to the Academies immediately following a session.