Clifton College Holiday Club and Activity Courses Parent Guide
Full details about the different age-specific Holiday Clubs and Activity Courses including dates, times and registration points can be found online and in our brochure including directions, dates and times.
Bookings
All bookings must be made in advance, with at least one working days notice. Please be aware, we may not be able to accept children who turn up on the day and are not booked in.
All bookings must be made online at www.cliftoncollege.magicbooking.co.uk.
We are unable to accept bookings over the telephone.
Full payment must be made at the time of booking. We will not accept children unless payment has been made in advance. Payment is regarded as acceptance of our booking conditions. We accept payment by credit or debit card and childcare vouchers. If you wish to pay by childcare vouchers then you must follow our published procedures and ensure payments are made at the time of booking and received by us within 7 days as until full payment is received, bookings are considered provisional and are not to be regarded as guaranteed.
Clifton College reserves the right to make changes or rearrangements to the daily programme of activities, for example, swimming session availability or in the event of unsuitable weather or other factors which may arise and which are beyond our control. Alternative activities will always be provided. There may be occasions where we have to cancel an activity course due to booking numbers being below the minimum set for that particular course, in which case we will either offer an alternative activity or a full refund.
COVID-19
Clifton College Holiday Club follows the UK Health Security Agency’s advice for those staff and children who are unwell with symptoms of a respiratory infection, including COVID-19, and for those who have taken a COVID-19 test and have received a positive test result. The guidance can be found HERE.
Booking Cancellations
If we receive a booking cancellation request with 14 days notice or less, then we are unable to offer a refund or future credit.
We are unable to offer a refund if paid via Childcare Vouchers. A future credit (to be taken within 12 months) will only be offered in the event of a cancellation.
Arrival and Departure Arrangements
Drop-off for all age settings is from 8:00 – 10:00am.
Collection for all age settings is from 4:00 – 6:00pm.
Please respect our Holiday Club and Activity Course times and deliver and collect your children in line with the published times. Should you need to make arrangements outside of these times then please talk to our Administrator or a Manager well in advance so we can try and accommodate your request although please bear in mind we are likely to be at venues other than the Registration Points once our daily programme commences.
Morning Registration for all Holiday Clubs is at 10.00am and we return to the Registration Points at 4.00pm.
Our early service, between 8:00 – 10:00am and our late service between 4:00 – 6:00pm is included in the daily price for all Holiday Clubs and Activity Courses.
We must stress that the very latest time for pick up is 6.00pm. We cannot guarantee staffing levels beyond this finish time and pick up after this will incur an additional charge of £20 regardless of reason. If collection is after 6.00pm we will politely ensure that our procedures are understood and if this occurs more than once for the same child then Senior Management will be informed.
Children must be signed in/out by the accompanying adult, recording the time of arrival/departure on the Register so that we are aware that the child has arrived/left. We will not allow any child to return home unaccompanied or with an unauthorised adult unless we have authorisation.
We must stress the need for us to have up to date contact telephone numbers (home/work/mobiles) that we can call during the day in the event of an emergency, illness or to check information urgently. Please ensure we have as many contact numbers as possible.
Clothing and Belongings
Due to the nature of the activities, we recommend that children do not wear their best or most expensive clothes as we cannot take responsibility for damage to clothing.
For specific wear, please see our Kit List.
We cannot guarantee the return of lost property, but we try to return items that are clearly labelled. Lost property will only be carried forward to the next holiday programme when it will be available for collection. Any items not collected will then be disposed of.
Mobile devices including phones, tablets and games consoles are not allowed to be brought in any Holiday Club setting or Activity Course. The only exception is when a child is departing unaccompanied and their parent/carer would like them to have a mobile phone with them, in this event, the mobile phone will need to be handed to staff upon arrival for safe storage and will be handed back to the child on departure. We are always willing to allow a child to contact parents/carers using a College phone if required.
Additional Support
We recognise that the needs of individual children vary and will endeavour to accommodate children with additional needs within the Holiday Club and Activity Course environment where we can offer appropriate care within our staffing ratio. We are realistic about the limitations of our environment for children with additional needs and attendance is considered on an individual basis. If English is not a child’s first language then it will be important for us to establish that they at least have an understanding of basic instructions for health and safety purposes. Please contact the Holiday Club & Activity Course team prior to booking to discuss any requirements further and to consider what (if any) arrangements can and need to be put in place. All potential additional support situations MUST be notified at the time of booking by responding with full details in the child’s profile on our booking system.
Behaviour
We set ourselves high standards and expect our staff to act professionally at all times and to present themselves as positive role models. In return we have expectations of certain standards of behaviour from children that include:
- Showing respect and treating others as they would wish to be treated.
- Showing respect for all personal property and the facilities.
- Listening to and following instructions from staff members.
Swearing, abusive and hurtful language is not acceptable. Aggressive behaviour or violence will not be tolerated. One individual’s behaviour will not be allowed to endanger others in the group.
Please be aware of these standards and support action taken by staff to encourage good behaviour. Parents must inform us via the booking process of any potential behaviour issues and any associated signs, triggers or strategies that would help us to deal with situations in a positive manner. All children are encouraged and regularly reminded to tell a member of staff as soon as anything happens that causes them upset or distress so that we can address any issue immediately.
Clifton College Holiday Club follows a Behaviour Policy including 4 stages:
Stage 1: Reminder – Child/(ren) will be reminded of their behaviour and expectations
Stage 2: Verbal Warning – Child(ren) will be reminded again and Parents/Carers will be given feedback upon collection
Stage 3: Removal from activity/environment – Child(ren) will be removed from the activity/environment until they have understood that their behaviour is unacceptable and the reasons why.
Stage 4: Challenging behaviour to be dealt with appropriately as above. Incident form will be completes and emailed to parent. Holiday Club Management will arrange a meeting with Parents/Carers to work together and find a suitable solution.
Should there be a serious behavioural incident that in our opinion puts a child or other children at risk, or behaviour that we cannot reasonably control then we will telephone parents/carers on the emergency numbers we have been given at the time of booking to request immediate collection.
Immediate challenging behaviour including unwarranted physical contact, bullying, verbal aggression and physical aggression are automatically at Stage 4. If a child feels that they are being subjected to bullying then they are encouraged and regularly reminded to report this to staff members immediately. All reported cases will be dealt with sensitively and fairly and appropriate decisions will be taken in full consultation with all parties.
Similarly, we will not tolerate aggressive, threatening or abusive language or behaviour from parents or carers towards staff members.
Medicine
Medicine (both prescription and non-prescription) will only be administered to a child once an Administering Medicine Form has been completed and consent signed by parent/carer. Medication must be in-date, clearly labelled and in its original packaging.
Sickness
No child will be admitted to any Holiday Club or Activity Course if they are showing any signs of illness or infection on arrival. All children who are ill or infectious should not attend for the full duration of their ailment, and for 48 hours after the last symptom occurs particularly any child who has suffered a bout of diarrhoea or sickness.
If you are unsure whether a child may attend, call us on 0117 315 7666 to discuss. Parents/carers are ultimately responsible for determining their child’s ability to participate in the activities. While we sympathise with the needs of each parent, we must provide a healthy environment for others. A sick child often needs special, one-to-one attention and it is difficult for staff/tutors to take time away from others to do this.
All bookers must ensure that we have emergency contact telephone numbers that will be answered immediately and also that a suitable adult is available locally to attend the setting as a matter of urgency should we consider the need for a child to be collected for any reason during the day.
Swimming
Swimming is available to children aged 6 and over. Please be aware our 25m indoor swimming pool has a depth ranging from 0.9m to 2.0m. It is not a walk in style leisure pool and entry/exit is via steps at each corner. If you require further information regarding our swimming sessions then please ask at time of booking. We have a very comprehensive swimming policy, further details of which are available on request.
Each child’s swimming ability is assessed by our staff members on an annual basis with tests being reset each September. This enables us to determine which areas of the swimming pool they can use. The information provided by parents is used as a guide only.
The swim tests/assessments include:
Beginner = 1 width of the swimming pool without putting their feet on the floor and showing no signs of distress.
Average = 4 widths of the swimming pool and 1 minute of treading water all without putting their feet on the floor and showing no signs of distress.
Good = 60 metre swim and 2 minutes of treading water all without putting their feet on the floor and showing no signs of distress.
Non-swimmers may enter the swimming pool only if they are wearing one of our swim jackets.
Quality & Safety
All information in our brochure and on our website is correct at the time of publication. Changes may occur and, if so, we will advise parents via email as quickly as possible. Activity programmes are subject to change in the event of adverse weather and occasionally we may have to cancel a course due to low take up of places.
All our Holiday Clubs and Activity Courses operate in safe and secure environments. With 20 years experience, we have an exemplary health and safety history and child safety is our priority. Our staff, tutors and coaches are all suitably qualified for the roles they undertake and we operate a comprehensive staff training programme that includes:
Safeguarding / First Aid / Fire and Evacuation Procedures / Equipment Safety
Staff members are appointed following selection procedures that include a personal interview and take up of references. All staff, tutors and coaches complete satisfactory DBS enhanced disclosures.
All children will be covered under our Public Liability Insurance while they are with us.
In the event of an accident, first aid will be administered to children by a suitably qualified member of staff and the emergency services will be called if necessary.
For children attending from countries outside of the UK, we must establish that they have at least a basic understanding of English if it is not a child’s first language and that they can satisfactorily communicate with us. This is vital for health and safety purposes as well as enjoyment. Our staff members are not fluent in other languages and we do not teach English to children. We therefore expect parents to contact the Holiday Club & Activity Course team prior to making any bookings to discuss further and to consider what (if any) arrangements can and need to be put in place. We reserve the right to refuse to accept children who are not able to communicate satisfactorily with staff. We will request parents/carers to collect children if we consider them to be at risk due to a lack of understanding of English and booking payments will be refunded.
We endeavour to ensure no nuts or nut products are used on our site. We may have children attending who have severe nut allergies and could be such that the slightest contact with nuts could be life threatening. We therefore respectfully ask that NO NUTS are knowingly brought onto the premises. This includes peanut butter, Nutella spread, Pesto, some cereal bars, some granola bars, biscuits/cakes that contain nuts and sauces that contain nuts.
Equal Opportunities
Clifton College Holiday Club is an equal opportunities provision and welcomes all children, regardless of their gender, ability, school, race or religion. Each child attending is of equal value and is entitled to equal access of opportunity. Education and understanding of other people’s needs and backgrounds will be fostered to promote positive behaviour and attitudes. Discriminating behaviour, attitudes and comments will be challenged. We will regularly review our policy and amend it where necessary. We have legal obligations in relation to Safeguarding. As a caring organisation, any suggestion of abuse or neglect will be investigated and reported to the relevant authorities and agencies.
Concerns and Complaints
Our staff team are trained to process your comments and pass them on to the appropriate individual who will endeavour to respond within 24 hours.
All complaints, however serious, should always be referred to the Holiday Club Manager. If this route of communication is not appropriate then please contact the Commercial Operations Manager on 0117 315 7668.
If necessary, complaints will be further investigated and a verbal or written reply will be returned to the complainant within 7 working days. A record of complaints is maintained. Full details will be recorded on our database including any subsequent details, action taken and whether the complaint is complete. Where appropriate, any investigations will be undertaken in accordance with the principle that the welfare of the child is safeguarded and promoted. If the complainant considers the response to be unsatisfactory then they will be asked to put all details in writing so that further consideration can be given and a written response provided within 28 days detailing investigation findings and action taken. If another external agency investigates, we will consult on how to proceed and the complainant informed of progress.
Sun Cream
We recommend that all children bring a sun hat/cap for protection against the sun. Sun cream, in a named plastic bag, can also be brought and given to the registration staff on arrival. Children in Kids’ Club will be reminded to apply their own sun cream at regular intervals. For younger children, we will help to apply their cream as required, unless we are told otherwise at the time of booking.
Photography
Please be aware that we occasionally authorise photographs/videos of children for our promotional material including our website, official displays and publication in future brochures. We recognise that there may be circumstances where a parent or carer will not wish their child to be photographed or filmed in which case there is an opt-out box consent option on the online booking system.