Parent Information Guide

REGISTRATION & DROP OFF
Ahead of camp you must complete your child permission form, we cannot accept children onto camp without this completed information. You will be emailed this form shortly after your booking confirmation. This must be completed a minimum of 2 working days ahead of your child attending camp.

Drop off between 8am-9am (on your first day allow at least 15 mins to register). Drop off is at the Sports Centre reception at The Edinburgh Academy Junior School site. Address can be found below so you may find us on the day:

10 Arboretum Road, EH3 5PL

From this point a member of our staff will take your child from the registration area, along with all of their belongings, down to their camp rest area. On arriving at the rest area your child will be met by their head coach or camp instructor, who will sign them into the camp and make them feel welcome, introducing them to the rest of the team.

If you have been sent any other forms ahead of camp e.g. for medical reasons, please complete at home, and either email back to the camp manager in advance or print and bring these with you on Day 1.

PICK UP AND SECURITY

For AM sessions, collection is at 12.45pm. Full Day bookings are any time before 6pm.

If someone else is collecting your child, (including a sibling) staff will check the child permission form to see who you have detailed as authorised to collect your child. This adult will be asked for photo ID to confirm their identity.

To request alternative collection procedures please contact the camp manager by email on info@accessea.co.uk

Please note, all children must be collected by 6pm

Where possible, please avoid dropping off or collecting your child within the 9.30am to 4.30pm period as children and staff will be taking part in activity sessions. If you do need to drop off or collect within these hours please call the camp to arrange this with the Camp Manager in advance.

WHAT TO BRING
A refillable drinks bottle

A packed lunch and snacks for the morning and afternoon breaks

Sun cream and sun hat. Please make sure children have applied sun cream in the morning before camp. Staff will remind children to re-apply cream throughout the day and help younger children with this if needed. In the absence of the child’s own sun cream, staff have a small supply of Hypo allergenic SPF50 sun cream they will use, unless you request otherwise

We recommend children wear comfortable clothing and closed toe footwear (not their best items, as your child will be involved in activities such as arts and crafts and field sports)

A change of clothes is advised in case of wet weather or muddier conditions and a waterproof jacket beneficial to allow us to maximise our time outdoors.

WHAT NOT TO BRING
Valuable clothes, mobile phones, computer games, ipads, money etc.*

It’s easier if children do not wear jewellery to camp as there are certain activities where these items will need to be removed**.

Mobile phones: Although we understand the need for older children who make their way to and from camp to have a mobile phone, they are not allowed to be used once on camp, during break times or for photographs. They must be kept in personal baggage at the risk of the owner at all times. Please ensure your child is aware of this.

** Please note: Unfortunately staff are unable to look after anything for children during sessions. We cannot accept any responsibility for loss or damage to personal items or clothing and these are not covered by AccessEA insurance.

It’s a great shame but for health and hygiene reasons we can’t allow any birthday cakes (or other food treats) to be brought onto camp to be shared with the groups.

LUNCHES
A refillable drinks bottle (water is readily available throughout the day)
A healthy and balanced packed lunch and snacks for morning and afternoon break
Ice pack or frozen drink to keep food cool (please note fridges are not available)
Please bear in mind that as children will be active and with us for longer they will need more in their lunches than for a typical school day.
All Holiday Camps are a NUT FREE ZONE, please keep this in mind when making packed lunches.

UNABLE TO ATTEND?
If for some reason your child is unable to attend please phone the camp directly before 9.30am. 0131 624 4902. Please do not send your child to camp if they are ill as this can spread infection to other children and staff.

Please do not send your child to camp if they have been asked to self-isolate by NHS.

YOUR CHILD’S HEAD COACH/INSTRUCTOR
Each child will be assigned a head coach or lead instructor, during their time at camp. They will be responsible for your child’s welfare while at AccessEA Camp.

You’ll be notified of who this is when you arrive at camp. Your child’s head coach or lead instructor will be occupied during camp hours delivering the activity sessions, however you can speak with the Camp Manager at any time, just contact the camp directly to arrange this on 0131 624 4902.

MEDICATION AT CAMP
If your child needs medication at camp, you must let the staff know and complete a medication form available at registration.

If your child suffers from Anaphylaxis or Epilepsy, please complete the form sent with your confirmation email and hand into camp on their first morning.

CAMP COMMUNICATION
Please check the camp notice board, located within the reception for additional information you may find useful, including camp competitions and charity details.

We will send any formal communication via email.

DAILY TIMETABLE
We confirm the timetable on the day of camp. This is because external factors such as the weather may affect what we are able to actually offer on the day. The daily timetable will be prominently displayed in the registration area for you to check each morning.

GROUPINGS
Your child will always be placed in a group with children of a similar age. How many groups we have depends on the number of children attending the camp and their ages in any given week. If your child is attending camp for more than one week you might find that they’re placed in a different group each time. Please don’t worry about this, your child will still be with children of a similar age. It does not mean your child has been moved up or down between the age groups.

LOST PROPERTY
Please remember to clearly label all items as our camp staff can contact you if they’re found at camp. We won’t be able to contact you if items aren’t labelled. Lost property items will be displayed in the registration area. Please check this area at drop off/pick up time.

If your child misplaces any personal items at camp please speak directly to the camp who can try to locate the item for you. 4 weeks after camp each season any unclaimed lost property will be taken to a local charity shop by our camp staff. We are not responsible for any items left at camp.

ACCIDENT FORMS
Should your child have a minor accident and require first aid whilst at camp, we will notify you at collection and give you an accident report form to take home. On the rare occasion that a more serious incident occurs our camp staff will call you with notification immediately and follow up with an accident report form. Please ensure accurate emergency contact information is completed within the child permission form.

CAMP FEEDBACK
If you have feedback on our services, please make the camp aware. At the end of each camp we will issue a short survey, we’d love to hear about the fun your child is having at camp and would welcome a review if you can spare a minute.

Should you have an issue or concern around your child’s time with us, we’d ask that in the first instance you speak to the camp. The staff on site are working with the children directly and will be able to quickly help you. Should you not be happy with the outcome from camp, you are welcome to contact our senior management team at the Central Office on 0131 624 4919.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
We’ve tried to fit as much as possible into this guide, however for more details you can read our FAQs page on our website.

Alternatively call us on 0131 624 4902 or email info@accessEA.co.uk

What are your key policies?
We have policies for behaviour management, bullying, child protection, confidentiality, health and safety and COVID-19. They help us keep anyone using our facilities or joining one of our classes safe and sound, as well as giving the team clear guidance on important aspects of care. We’ve summed up our key policies below, but let us know if you want a full copy to read through and we’ll send it to you.

What's your behaviour management policy?
We want children to enjoy themselves at camp, and we find that a few basic rules about respect and behaviour help them do so. We’ll discuss what those rules are at the beginning of each session, encouraging the children to be kind to and considerate of others.

If anyone strays from the rules and expectation of kind and considerate behaviour, they will be taken aside and spoken to by a member of the team. They will talk through the behaviour and why it is happening and try to resolve any issues. On the very rare occasions that things cannot be resolved and unacceptable behaviour continues, we might ask that a child leaves the camp, or does not return the following day.

What's your policy on bullying?
We will absolutely not tolerate bullying and treat any bullying behaviour very seriously. If we suspect or observe bullying, or are told about bullying behaviour, we will intervene as soon as we can. We’d like to think that our behaviour policies and vigilant team mean bullying doesn’t happen in the first place, but if it does, we will take action.

What's your child protection policy?

AccessEA Safeguarding Statement
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all our team members to share this commitment. We will create an environment in which children feel safe. Any suspicions or allegations of child abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.

Any of our team working with children know that they have a duty in law to act if they consider a child is at risk or if a child makes a disclosure. In this event a team member will contact the relevant local authority and act on their advice.

Children deserve to be kept safe from all abuse, whether online or in real life. Although we don’t currently provide any activity sessions that include IT, we have a duty of care for the children who come to camp. If any of our team are concerned about a child’s online use, this will be reported in the same way as other safeguarding concern.

What's your confidentiality policy?
The information you give us about you and your child is only used by us for camp purposes. We don’t share this information with anyone else, only the camp team so they know enough to care for your child. Once the camp is complete, information is stored securely in line with our data protection policy.

What's your wellness, hygiene and food policy?
Our holiday camps promote a healthy lifestyle by encouraging participation in lots of different energetic activities, eating well, drinking lots of water and staying sun-safe.

All our camps have a no nuts policy to keep anyone with allergies safe.

If your child is unwell, we ask that you do not send them to camp until they are better. Let us know and we'll confirm when we can welcome them back. We'll also let you know if we have any reported cases of more serious illnesses at the registration desk.

If your child is unwell at camp, we'll let you know and ask that you collect them to be cared for at home.

In addition to our usual rigorous health and hygiene policies we also have our COVID-19 Secure policy.

What's your health and safety policy?
We take the health and safety of your child very seriously at AccessEA and have a system of checks and assessments in place to check that our facilities and equipment are fit for purpose and safe to use. We’ll do everything in our power to keep everyone safe and sound while in our care or when visiting our buildings or grounds.

We carry out thorough risk assessments anywhere that camp activities take place. Risk assessments are ongoing and are an important part of the ‘checking’ process. If our checks uncover anything that could be unsafe, we put in place precautions to prevent anyone coming to harm.

Our team’s coaching qualifications include knowledge of the safe delivery of activities and specialist instructors have specific qualifications for activities such as archery and fencing. Instructors and coaches will always be involved in risk assessing and then checking the safety of the activities they lead. We will always have a first aider on site.

Specialist activities: Archery
Archery is part of the Adventure Camp here at AccessEA. All of the archery equipment is checked by Dragon Adventures who deliver the camp. The maximum group size is 12 children with a trained instructor. All the safety equipment required is provided and children are advised to wear long-sleeved tops to protect their arms.

In addition to our usual rigorous health and safety policies we also have our COVID-19 Secure policy to keep everyone extra safe.

What's your COVID-19 Secure Camps Policy?
The safety and health of those that take part in or deliver our camps is paramount. We make sure we are up to date with the latest government guidance on COVID-19 and have the measures in place to deliver our activities in a safe environment. As the situation and the guidance is changing all the time, we’ll let you know if anything changes that might impact on the activities delivered or the way we deliver them.

As part of our COVID-19 Secure Camps Policy, adults will be required to wear face masks when entering the main reception area and follow the one way systems and social distancing rules. Our team will wear face masks during registration and at collection times.

If there are more than two adults in the Sports Centre reception area, we ask that people form a queue outside, observing social distance guidelines.

You can find full details on our COVID-19 Secure Camps Policy.

What is your registration and collection procedure?
On the first day of camp we need a printed and signed child permission form for each child attending. Ideally, you will have sent this to us in advance. The form details important information about your child, including emergency contact details and medical notes. We may also need additional forms such as anaphylaxis/auto injector (epi-pen) forms if relevant.

If the person collecting is different from the person who dropped your child off they will need to be listed on the Child permission form and have acceptable identification such as a driver’s license so we know they are who they say they are!

If for any reason your child will not be collected at the end of the camp day, and you would like to authorise that they make their own way home, please liaise with our Camp Manager (info@accessea.co.uk) to confirm arrangements in advance.