FAQs for parents
Key information and what you need to know
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Yes, of course! Just get in touch with our office and we can arrange this with you. For Safeguarding reasons, we do not allow anyone on our site without an appointment. We will let you know where to meet us, what time and who will be meeting you to show you around. We will ask you to let us know who is coming and for you to bring photo ID for anyone over 18 attending the site. Sometimes a visit can be approached as a taster session so your child can see exactly what a session entails, leave after a short time or stay for longer. This can be arranged through the programme coordinator.
We keep our exact locations discreet but will share directions with you via email prior to your visit.
Yes. We work within the Cambridgeshire Academic term dates and Central Bedfordshire Academic term dates. We will highlight any training days, start and finish dates as part of the programme information.
Yes! We are an outdoor provision all year round. We have permanent shelters in all the working areas in the woods. Often children will make their own shelters too (great for learning and practising how to tie knots!). We also have indoor spaces with heaters for the very cold days, and shaded areas to gain respite from the sun.
If the weather forecast shows it will be sub-zero temperatures or extremely high heat, we may offer a reduced time in the woods. It depends on how well your child copes with external factors and the additional clothes or sunscreen which may be required to protect from the elements so there is always a conversation to be had in advance of a session taking place. If there are severely high winds forecast and we feel the woodland is not safe, we may endeavour to find an alternative indoor venue. As a last resort, we may cancel the session.
We recommend your child has a waterproof bag/rucksack with a drink, spare clothes, weather appropriate clothing and a plastic bag for wet stuff. The bag will need to be checked after each session as there could be muddy/damp items that need to be cleaned!
Yes, all our sites have a compost toilet on site with a hand washing station next to it.
Yes, a snack is integral to our sessions, many learners love cooking theirs on the fire. We will ask you about things they like and dislike, though it is useful for you to initially provide some snacks which they like to eat to help them feel comfortable. Initially, we may ask you to pack a snack which we know they like. Please note: WE ARE A NUT FREE SITE
Our tutors are First Aid trained and carry First Aid kits throughout the sessions. Most incidents are minor and require minimal treatment. In the event of a non-emergency first aid incident, we will manage it on site and send home an accident form in your child’s bag. When possible, the programme coordinator will also message or call.
If a more serious incident were to happen, we will follow our emergency procedures which ensure any incident is dealt with efficiently and effectively with your child’s wellbeing at the core. If we needed to call an ambulance we would notify you immediately using the emergency contact details you have provided. A tutor would stay with your child until you or another nominated next of kin arrives to assume responsibility for their care.
We have children with all kinds of SEND who take part in sessions where they are involved in making fires. Fires are never lit until tutors are happy that your child understands how to be safe around the fire and we do lots of practise! We also have very strict safety rules which have to be followed. If at any point it looks like your child is being unsafe or is in danger, tutors will immediately put the fire out and try again at a later date. We usually find that children are very interested in making fires and will try very hard to behave safely in order to do this activity.
We use a range of simple tools for a purpose within the woodland. Tools may be used to make crafts/ complete projects and for working within the site. Again, we have safety rules and risk assessments in place for the use of tools. Tutors manage the use of tools very carefully and will only allow children to use them independently when they show they can behave appropriately and use them safely. They will also wear the appropriate Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).
As part of the programme set up, we will ask you to fill in our media consent form. You can choose what media is used and how we are allowed to use it, which may be for a learning journal or for a website. It is important to note that any media is kept on our secure drive and will only be used in line with the preferences you have set. You can change these preferences at any time.
Yes we can. When the programme is initially set up by the Programme Co-ordinator, this is something that you should highlight when you fill in our medical form. Emergency Epipen administration is covered in our mandatory First Aid training. (It is your responsibility to make sure that the medicine is in date and is kept in your child’s bag, available for every session.) Your programme coordinator will be in touch to discuss how this will be managed.
Your programme coordinator can help with this. Please contact them to discuss what is needed. We do not administer medications (as per our first aid and medicines policy), however we are happy to work with you to find a solution to enable medication to be taken as directed.
