HOLIDAY COURSES - IMPORTANT INFORMATION

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT

Our Early Bird Discount is applicable to most Easter & Summer Holiday Courses. Places must be booked and paid for in full in one transaction to receive the discount. Easter courses must be booked and paid for before 1st March 2024 and summer courses before 1st June 2024. This discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer and places on all courses are strictly subject to availability.

EARLY AND LATE CLUBS

We are happy to look after children six years old and over from 8.30am before the morning courses and until 5.30pm at the end of the afternoon courses - but please do not exceed these times. We provide ample staff to supervise early arrivals and late pick-ups, and keep an additional register of all children arriving early and/or leaving late. 

If your child is booked on to a course running at the School, please sign them in at the Smythe Library Early Club. If they are taking part in a course at the TSC, please sign them in to the TSC Early Club.

As part of the Early Bird offer, attendees are also entitled to a free Early Club place when booked onto a morning course, or Late Club place when booked onto an afternoon course. Those booking all day courses are entitled to both Early and Late Club places.

REGISTRATION

At half-term all courses will register at TSC. 

Customers who have booked Mock Exams will receive details of the specific registration venue the week before their booking.

During the Easter and summer holidays there are 2 registration venues, with different courses registering at each venue. Generally Tonbridge School Centre (TSC) will host the registration of the sports courses and The Smythe Library (on the main school site) will host the registration for the creative and educational courses. Prominent signage will be in place and Recre8 flags and banners will be used to highlight registration venues. For a complete list of which courses will register at each venue, please see the table below.

*Please note that registration for Scuba courses will be on poolside. Swimming lessons will also register on poolside at the specific time booked.

The best place to park is the main school car park which is near to Tonbridge School Centre (TSC) and has plenty of spaces for all. TSC is accessed via a drive opposite to Dry Hill Park Road. With the exception of Skills Academy, who will register on Rowan’s Astroturf for a 10am start, courses based at TSC will register inside the building in ‘The View’ at the opposite end of the corridor to Reception. If your child needs to register in the main area of the school, you can follow the path from the main car park, past the sports pitches and across to the school which should take no more than 5 minutes. Once at the School, please follow the signs to the Library and Library Garden. In fine weather we will register in the Garden and in extreme or inclement weather we will be indoors. In severely inclement weather we may be able to park some cars near to the Library however this isn't guaranteed as there may be many other users across the school using this area. If the adult dropping off or collecting a child has mobility issues, we will find them a space within a convenient distance.

Having taken customer feedback onboard, registration for both venues will now begin at 9.45am for morning courses and 1.15pm for afternoon courses. If you have children to register at both venues, you may leave one child with our staff at the first venue whilst you take the other to their registration venue.

Once a coach/leader has their whole group (or at end of the registration period if that comes first), they will escort their students to the specific activity venue and commence instruction. If they do not have their whole group, they will mark the register as such and an assistant or a senior Recre8 staff member will wait at the registration venue to accept latecomers. After first day registration, children under 6 should be taken directly to the course venue and should be collected from there also.

COLLECTION

In most cases parents should collect their child from the same venue as registration. Please make sure that if the name of the person collecting differs from that given at registration you have contacted us earlier in the day to make us aware. If a collection venue has altered due to a change in weather, signage will be prominently displayed and staff will inform parents as they arrive.

If your child is attending both morning and afternoon courses then they will be supervised by our staff during the lunch break. If your child has a morning course at the school and an afternoon course at TSC (or vice versa), they will be escorted to the afternoon registration area at lunch time and should be collected from the afternoon venue and not the one you dropped off at in the morning. If you are unsure of your child's registration or collection venue, please contact us ahead of time or speak to a member of the team on the first morning.

All children must be signed out at collection, so please don't ask them to meet you anywhere other than the collection venue or attempt to 'intercept' them as they return from their course.

If you realise that you will be late in arriving for your child’s pick-up time, please let us know as soon as possible.

LUNCH & BREAK TIMES

Our support team provides supervision at lunch and break times. During the breaks no formal instruction will be given, but our support team will mix socially or take small groups out for informal sport (weather permitting). Alternatively, pupils may watch a DVD, play card or board games, read, or sit and talk to friends. If children are staying for the whole day, they will need to bring a packed lunch and we recommend they bring a small snack even if they are only with us for a half-day course. As some children may be allergic, we respectfully request that you don't send your child with nut-based snacks. All children should also bring a full water bottle and water is always available for refilling. Unfortunately, lunches cannot be purchased on site. In the event that a child forgets or loses their lunch, their parent will be contacted by a senior Recre8 staff member to arrange for a replacement.

SECURITY

We are always conscious of the need to maintain and, where possible, improve the levels of supervision of children in our care and continually review the security arrangements for our Holiday Courses to ensure that any risk is as low as possible. Each day, children should be escorted to their registration venue, signed in and handed over to our staff, all of whom will be clearly identifiable.

On collection, please do not ask children to wait for you anywhere other than at the relevant Hub – please sign them out in person and escort them back to your car or off site. This will enable us to ensure that no one wanders off without adult supervision. Please advise us as early as possible if your child/children will be picked up by someone other than the person that drops them off.

If you deem your child old enough and responsible enough and would like them to be able to sign themselves out of a Recre8 course, we MUST have written permission from a parent or guardian. Please email us at recre8@tonbridge-school.org AND bring a physical copy of the authorisation to give to the course leader.

For children under 6 years attending Mini-Olympics, CYCLEme TOTS, or Gymnastics, parents will be shown where the course will take place immediately following Registration on Day 1 - please allow a little extra time for this. Thereafter drop-off and collection will take place at that specific venue. Please park in the car park at TSC and walk to the collection/drop-off points. Traffic gets very busy and we ask that you do not park or wait in cars along the driveway. Minibuses may be manoeuvring in this area and there may well be lots of pedestrians of various ages.

MUSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOPS

Musical Theatre workshops will feature a performance on the final day with parents and family all welcome to attend. The performance will aim to commence at 3.30pm and parents and guests are therefore requested to arrive in good time to walk to the venue and be seated prior to this time. As parking near to the venue will be extremely limited and we would like to prioritise spaces for guests with mobility issues, please park in the main school car park near the sports centre and walk over. 

Parents often ask to take pictures of the whole group performing. If you do not give permission for your child to be photographed or recorded, please advise us in writing, or speak to a member of staff if attending the performance in person.

CLOTHING & EQUIPMENT

If your child has clothing or equipment for the afternoon in a bag that is too large to cope with, we can safely look after it in our office, where it can be collected at any time. Likewise, if your child has a camera needed for a photography course but is taking part in another course for the other half of the day, we can safely store the camera for them. All art courses are potentially messy and we therefore recommend your child wears old clothes. Whilst children are encouraged to bring sports equipment if they have it, often, this is not essential.

Please check the Activities & Courses page for your child's course to see if there is any equipment which is essential for safety reasons. For instance, gum shields and shin pads for hockey and socks for trampolining.

There is no need to bring any personal electronic equipment (e.g. mobile phones, tablets or music players) to the courses. Any equipment which is brought on site is done so entirely at the owners risk and we accept no liability for any subsequent loss or damage. Any use of a device deemed unacceptable by Recre8 staff will result in it's confiscation, with a return being made to a parent upon collection.

BEHAVIOUR POLICY

Good behaviour is vital whilst on site. We want all children to enjoy their time with us as much as possible and so unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated. We expect all children to treat each other with kindness and consideration.

WET WEATHER PROVISION

Where possible, we will provide suitable wet weather facilities for each course. In such cases where an activity cannot safely take place indoors, a suitable alternative will be provided. Coaches may also use the time for a theory or video analysis session.

FIRST AID, ILLNESS & INJURY

In very minor cases children deemed old/mature/competent enough to do so will be encouraged to self-treat e.g. clean and put a plaster on a graze whilst the member of staff supervises. Cases of a more severe injury, or when the child is not deemed competent, staff will adhere to our updated first aid procedures, including the use of specified PPE. Please make us aware if your child is allergic to any common first aid items, for instance, plasters or latex gloves.

If in the unlikely event that your child becomes ill or is injured to an extent which means they cannot continue, we will contact you to make you aware. You can then decide if you wish to pick them up early. If your child requires hospital treatment and we are unable to contact you or the person given as your emergency contact, a member of staff will accompany them.

ALLERGIES, MEDICAL CONDITIONS & ADDITIONAL NEEDS

If your child has any allergies, medical conditions or additional needs, we must be made aware before booking as failure to disclose may result in our staff being unable to attend to them correctly in a first aid or other emergency situation. It will also help us to provide the best care and learning experience for your child if we are fully aware of their needs. If you have been a long term customer, but your child's situation has changed, please do get in touch so we can update their information. 

PHOTOGRAPHY

It is possible photographs and videos may be taken by Tonbridge School Staff during the courses for use in future ‘Recre8 Tonbridge’ brochures and on the school website and social media pages. Please advise us in writing if you do not wish your child/children to feature in them. Some courses feature a performance on the final day and parents often ask to take pictures of the whole group. If you do not give permission for your child to be photographed or recorded, again, please advise us in writing, or advise a member of staff if attending the performance in person.

Other than at the planned and advertised performances (as mentioned above) photography and videography of Recre8 courses by parents is not permitted to ensure that no one is taking pictures or videos including children other than their own. This is in line with the wider TSC photography policy.

AWARDS

On some sports courses it is possible to gain nationally recognised awards, the cost of which is included in the price of the course. However, it should be noted that some children may not be able to achieve the required standard in the time available.

LOST PROPERTY

Lost property will be brought to Reception at TSC or the Recre8 Office in the Smythe Library at the end of each day where you may make enquiries about any items your child/children have mislaid. Any found items will be kept in the respective area (TSC or Smythe Library) for the duration of the holiday period where-after they will all be taken to TSC and be held for a further maximum of 1 month. If you think your child may have left something behind we encourage you to make contact and if found, collect it as soon as possible. 

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

If there are any problems on one of our courses please come and see us, contact us via email at recre8@tonbridge-school.org or by phone on 01732 304123. We are here to help and would prefer to know of any problem straight away so that we can deal with it as swiftly as possible. If you have a safeguarding or child protection concern please visit the Safeguarding page to report it.