Whilst the kids are encourage to play wild and be free they still have to be watched and directed away from potentially hazardous situations or sometimes just told to stop what they are doing.
We are parents too, and under no circumstances would we ever expect our kids to be put in danger.
The best form of safety comes from prevention.
Our safety prevention strategy includes:
- During "Wet Activities" kids are encouraged to stay within 20m up or downstream of the facilitator.
- During "Wet Activities", where appropriate, kids are encouraged to wear buoyancy aids, to be provided by their parents
- Whistles are provided for the duration of the session and kids are encourage to blow them should they need help.
- The facilitator will also have a whistle and the kids will be taught to respond to a designated series of whistle blasts.
- Kids must stay within site of the facilitator at all times.
- The facilitator will maintain constant site of all kids, and will complete a head check at least once every five minutes.
- Children are encourage never to be alone, they must always play in a minimum of a pair
- Each activity location has been selected because of its favourable conditions, site safety being the most important factor. Each location and all hike routes used, will be supported by a written description or route log. Any person may use this information to trace the groups steps should the need arise.
- At any time a facilitator may contact a parent and ask for their child to be picked up if the facilitator feels that the safety and wellbeing of the other kids is being compromised. A brief description of what was happening will be given to the parent but the facilitator will not engage in a lengthy discussion about his reasons. The kid will still be free to attend further sessions unless there is a persistent issue.
Please note this is a last resort, the facilitator will actively try and redirect the child to safe play before any action is taken
Activity Waivers and Insurance
Activity waivers will be required before kids can partake in activities. A waiver is a legal document designed to limit the "reasonable" responsibility of a service provider following a activity related incident. A waiver does not relieve a service provider of their legal duty of care and the provider may still be considered responsible after an incident . As such liability insurance is still required.
Medical
We do not need to know about all your kids medical conditions however we do need to know about the ones that affect him during outdoor physical activity.
Please inform the facilitator if your child has any of the following conditions. All information will be confidential.
- Asthma
- Diabetes
- Allergic reactions to insect bites, plants or foods
- Epilepsy
In the event of an accident or medical incident
In the event of an accident or medical incident, the facilitator will initially determine the seriousness of the incident and act according to a predetermined plan. He may verbally call the remaining kids closer while he deals with the incident or he may use his emergency whistle to signal/instruct the kids to go to the predetermined safe meeting spot and have them stay there. He may if appropriate instruct an older or more experienced kid to help round up the other kids. If deemed necessary and in accordance with advanced first aid protocol the facilitator will activate EMS/911 and perform any required first aid. EMS will be able to easily locate the group by viewing the location descriptions and route logs or by finding the GPS signal emitted from the facilitators cell phone.
In the event of a lost child
In the event of a child being out of site for more than five minutes the facilitator will immediately start using his whistle to signal/instruct the remaining kids to go to the predetermined safe meeting spot and have them stay there while he conducts an initial search of the local area. If after 15 minutes the child is not found the facilitator will activate EMS/911 and follow there advice. At no time will the facilitator ever be out of site of the remaining kids.
In the event of a multiple incident
In this situation the facilitator will immediately contact EMS/911, conduct a triage assessment of the incident and act in accordance with multiple incident first aid protocol.
