Into Nature School
FULL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Please ensure that you are familiar with our Terms and Conditions, Policies and Consent to Activity, prior to your child attending our programme. A copy of our full Health and Safety Management System is available on request.
Review Date: August 2024
By registering your child at Into Nature School you do so in full agreement with these Terms and Conditions and acknowledge that you have read, fully understand and agree to the following:
REGISTRATION AND ENROLMENT
At time of registration you must provide true information that has been requested and not withhold or alter any information that may affect or limit your child’s ability to participate safely and fully in the programme.
At time of registration you must provide true information that has been requested and not withhold any information that may affect or limit another child’s ability to partake or teacher’s/volunteer’s ability to undertake his/her roles safely and fully in the programme.
FEES AND PAYMENTS
Holiday Programme $75 Incl GST per session.
An invoice will be emailed within a week of receiving your holiday registration. Please read carefully the specific payment details and conditions on the invoice. We accept cash and internet banking. A receipt may be issued on request.
Payment must be made in full, in advance, prior to the programme commencing.
Twenty one (21) days is given to complete payment in full after the initial invoice has been sent unless a registration occurs sooner than seven days before the session begins. In this case, payment must be made immediately to secure your child’s place.
If payment has not been received 24 hours before the session commences the registration will be void and the place given to another child.
Late Fee
All children must be collected on time. A 30 minute grace period is given before and after the session commences at 9am and once the session has ended at 3pm, unless prior arrangement has been made.
Parents will be charged an additional fee of $25 incl GST per child if they are dropped off or collected outside of these times, unless prior arrangement has been made.
Termly Programme $90 Incl GST per day.
When you enrol your child into our Termly Programme a commitment to the full term is required. Your child’s place has been reserved for them every week and cannot be filled by another child if you choose to have them not attend a session. Therefore, you are required to pay for every session of the term once you have committed attendance.
Payments must be paid in full in advance or prior arrangement of 2 instalments.
We do not offer casual sessions or fortnightly attendance.
An invoice will be emailed before each term begins. Please read carefully the specific payment details and conditions on the invoice. We accept cash and internet banking. A receipt may be issued on request.
Sessions are once per week during the term. The number of sessions per term can change and will be confirmed prior to the term commencing.
Late Fee
All children must be collected on time. A 15 minute grace period is given before the session commences at 8.30am and a 30 minute grace period once the session has ended at 2.30pm, unless prior arrangement has been made.
Parents will be charged an additional fee of $25 incl GST per child if they are dropped off or collected outside of these times, unless prior arrangement has been made.
Fee Changes
Fees for the One Day Programme and Holiday Programme are subject to change without notice.
CHANGES, ABSENCES AND CANCELLATIONS
Please make sure that when you register your child at Into Nature School you are 100% committed to your child attending. Cancellations and no-shows have a significant effect on our entire programme including; children on wait lists, administration, staff ratios and resources. Once you have registered and have accepted our Terms and Conditions, you are legally bound to comply to the following:
Holiday Programme Changes
Registrations that are requested to be transferred or changed before the Holiday Programme has commenced or during the time of the Holiday Programme can be accepted only if there is space available.
Holiday Programme Cancellations
If a Holiday Programme registration is cancelled more than 7 days before the start date (the start date is considered as the first Monday of the school holidays), you will receive a full refund less an administration fee of $25 incl GST.
If an registration is cancelled less than 7 days before the start date (the start date is considered as the first Monday of the school holidays), you will receive a 70% refund less an administration fee of $25 incl GST.
If a registration is cancelled 48 hours or less than the commencement of the Holiday Programme or there is failure to attend - no refund will be given. You will still be charged the full daily rate.
If Into Nature School requires the need to cancel a session due to extreme, unsafe weather and this has been paid for in full, a credit or make up day will be issued to you.
Holiday Programme Absences
Failure to attend the Holiday Programme due to illness, a refund or part refund may be made. This decision will be made at the discretion of the Director on a case by case basis.
SIGNING IN/OUT - HOLIDAY PROGRAMME
Children attending the Holiday Programme must be signed in/out by a parent or nominated caregiver on arrival and before they leave Into Nature School site.
The parent must personally notify the teacher in charge if someone else will be collecting their child and this will be noted on the sign in/out form.
Termly Programme Changes of Enrolment
Enrolments may be changed or transferred before the commencement and during the term of the Termly Programme by mutual agreement between the Directors, teachers, school or family requesting the change or transfer.
Changes or transfers are made on a case by case basis and are always made in the best interests of the child/children.
A change or transfer request is not always guaranteed. Changes will only be made if a place is available.
Termly Programme Cancellations
If you intend to withdraw from Into Nature School at the end of the school year, notice must be given by 1st December.
If you decide to withdraw from the Termly Programme during the school year you must give 6 weeks notice.
If you fail to give appropriate notice, you will be required to pay the applicable session fees following the date that you do give notice.
Failure to give the required notice has a significant impact on our staffing, ratios, other families on the wait-list and the dynamic of our student roll.
If there is a no show at the beginning of the term or if the required notice has not been given, a penalty fee may be charged at the discretion of the Directors.
If you withdraw from the Termly Programme and have paid the full term fees in advance, you will be refunded any remaining term fees, after the 6 week notice period.
If Into Nature School has to cancel a session due to extreme, unsafe weather and this has been paid for in full, a credit or full refund will be mutually agreed upon and issued to you.
Termly Programme Absences
If your child is absent due to an illness or injury you will be given one (1) sick day per term in lieu of the absence. No monetary refund will be issued but a make up day will be given. This must be used within the same term that the sick day has occurred.
Sick days will not accumulate over multiple terms.
If your child is absent due to an outside commitment such as school camp, event or family holiday; no refund, credit or day in lieu will be given. You are still required to pay the fee for that day as stated above.
Priority Places
Current enrolled students will have priority placements for the following term and will be given first choice as to whether they maintain their selected day of attendance, change their day of attendance or (for home educated students only) select to attend an additional day.
Enrolment places at Into Nature School will not be held. If the choice is made to have a ‘term out’ of attendance, you do so, at the risk of losing your child’s place altogether. There is no guarantee that a place will still be available the following term.
Siblings of children already in attendance will receive a priority place over a new family joining.
ATTENDANCE ROLL - TERMLY PROGRAMME
Attendance of all Termly Programme children is recorded at the beginning of the day at roll call. This information is provided to your child’s regular school for their records at the end of the term.
If your child is absent you must notify Into Nature School via text 027 329771 or 021 2137629 as soon as possible so that this can be recorded on the roll.
The parent must personally notify the teacher in charge if someone else will be collecting the child and this will be noted.
CONSENT TO ACTIVITY
At time of registering your child for the Holiday Programme the Consent to Activity must be read carefully. By completing your child’s registration/enrolment you acknowledge that you consent to your child participating in and understand fully the nature of Into Nature School activities.
COMMUNICATION
At Into Nature School we value a collaborative and triadic relationship: parents, students and educators. We are always available to support, suggest and help guide parents on their learning journey with their children. If you require to speak with Into Nature School staff on an individual, private basis, about any query or concern at all, please do email to make a time to do so. Communication is very important and transparency and honesty is essential to your child’s success with their learning.
Into Nature School will document play and learning experiences in the form of photos and slideshows on Facebook publicly and also through children’s individual portfolio records. Anecdotal notes will be included from time to time. If you require additional information or require further explanation about the learning experiences that take place, please let us know.
There will be no assessment against standards or benchmarks or comparison between students. Our philosophy is that learning through play is an individual process, it is vast and varied and depends on the development and stage of a child- not age.
Evaluating and reflecting on learning happens between the teaching team at the end of each forest school session. These anecdotal notes are confidential and support the ongoing planning and evaluation process of learners and experiences.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT
We appreciate parent input and sharing of expertise. If you or another family member has a skill, resource or expertise that may be utilised at Into Nature School, we welcome you sharing this with us.
We do not encourage parents to stay during the session. Our aim is that your child builds confidence and independence and to do so, they require the opportunity to observe, explore and become comfortable in their own time. Of course, we appreciate that anxiety is a real thing for many children, especially on their first day. Our staff are extremely capable and experienced to facilitate this transition. They do so in a way that supports each child on an individual basis. Please speak to us if your child may require greater support to transition to Into Nature School.
WELLBEING AND SAFETY
The safety, wellbeing, and experience that all children have when they attend Into Nature School is paramount. A duty of care and all reasonable measures have been taken to ensure your child’s safety. In the event of an unexpected injury or if your child becomes unwell, we will contact you and/or the relevant medical authorities promptly. All appropriate steps will be taken to ensure the child’s well-being. Any medical costs will be solely your responsibility.
Children attending Into Nature School must come prepared and should be dressed appropriately for the season and weather. This includes: a change of clothing, wetsuit or rash shirt to protect them from the sun or to provide warmth when swimming, comfortable shoes, sun hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, waterproof jacket, waterproof pants, appropriate winter layers such as wool or merino, wool hat.
Parents will be notified immediately if children arrive unprepared and it will be the parent’s responsibility to return with the necessary clothing.
Each child must have their own full water bottle and plenty of lunch and snacks.
Boundaries, safety guidelines and safety expectations are made clear before any activity takes place. These guidelines are visibly available to parents on signage. Please become familiar with these.
We regularly review our safety expectations with students. This includes advising/reminding children of boundaries, safe tool use, expectations and routines.
Into Nature School will take all reasonable measures to ensure your child's safety. If your child acts outside of the instructions given to them, then they do so at their own risk and they may be instructed to leave the programme or activity.
In the unlikely case that a child becomes aggressive, threatening or violent and staff perceive that the child, other children or staff members are at risk of injury or distress; the Lead Educator/Education Director will be required to take necessary measures to protect those involved and prevent the situation escalating. This may include: calling parents to remove the child, removing the child physically from the situation, or in extreme cases; physically removing the child.
The full Into Nature School Health and Safety Management Plan is available on request.
RISK
We take the health and safety of every child very seriously and are constantly updating our policies and management strategies to achieve our goal; that no harm will come to participants whilst at Into Nature School. Into Nature School staff are qualified and experienced in the facilitation of all of the activities that take place. Although we take all reasonable steps to mitigate accidents, there is an element of risk in some of the activities at Into Nature School and by consenting to your child participating in activities, acknowledge this.
Participation in all activities at Into Nature School is voluntary although students are supported and encouraged by their peers and teachers to participate to a level which challenges them. Therefore, we promote challenge by choice and encourage children to learn to take calculated risks.
By enrolling your child at Into Nature School, you understand that there are risks associated with outdoor activities that cannot be reduced to zero. You are aware that you are able to ask any questions of Into Nature School or the qualified outdoor instructor on staff, to gain a better understanding of the activities, before deciding whether your child takes part.
Into Nature School will identify any hazards that are liable to arise and identify correct procedures to deal with these. It is necessary for your child to follow any associated instructions that are given, at all times.
At time of enrolment at Into Nature School, you are required to read, sign and provide a consent to activity. This consent is confirmation that you are aware and understand the activities that take place at Into Nature School and risks associated with these activities.
Into Nature School has a duty of care for your child and will take all reasonable care of his/her property during their session, but will not be held responsible for any accidental injury to the child associated with normal childhood play or loss of or damage to property.
PRIVACY ACT 1993
All personal information collected by Into Nature School is confidential and will only be used for the purpose of establishing and maintaining records held by Into Nature School.
Personal information will only be released or made available to another person if they are an education or health professional working with Into Nature School for the best interests of the child.
Held information will be available to you at anytime and you will be given the opportunity to correct it in accordance with the Privacy Act.
CASE STUDIES AND DATA COLLECTION
Into Nature School reserves the right to gather data and keep case studies in relation to progress and achievement.
Into Nature School reserves the right to use this material in any publications and/or marketing.
No real student names will be used in any public forums where progress and achievement are shared.
PHOTOS AND INTERNET
Into Nature School reserves the right to take photos and/or video of activities and children participating in those activities for documentation, data collection, promotional and publicity purposes.
By enrolling at Into Nature School, you give consent for photos and/or video to be taken of your child, unless otherwise instructed in writing.
If you do not want your child to appear in photos and/or video, you must state this on the enrolment form or email the Educators at Into Nature School at intonatureschool@gmail.com
VULNERABLE CHILDREN ACT 2014
Into Nature School has followed the necessary procedures as outlined in Page 6 of the Vulnerable Children Act to ensure that all employees are suitable to be children’s workers and that no child will be put in a vulnerable position or at risk.
In the case of contractors or other personnel being present on site at Into Nature School, any companies employed to complete any contract work will be required to provide evidence of suitability to work in, on or around a premises which has children present.
Into Nature School will not accept any responsibility of the suitability of parents or caregivers coming and going from the centre.
Any parent or volunteer who is sharing their specialist knowledge or expertise during one of the sessions, will be requested to comply with Into Nature School procedures in line with the Vulnerable Children Act 2014. If a background check including a police check has not been obtained then volunteers will not be left alone with any child. A Forest School educator or facilitator will always be present.
CONTACT
In case of an emergency, or if your child is unable to attend Into Nature School One Day School due to an unexpected absence or illness please text Hillary on 027 329 7741 or Amy on 021 213 7629. We avoid answering calls during the session and usually do not check emails until the end of the day.
DISCLAIMER
By completing your online registration form or by signing the enrolment form you also confirm to have read, understood and agree to these Terms and Conditions.
Into Nature School reserves the right to cancel or withdraw any child’s enrolment where the Terms and Conditions have not been complied with.
If fees are unpaid/overdue beyond a 4 week period, your child will automatically be withdrawn from the roll. An additional 2 weeks will be charged from the date of withdrawal to cover administration. A payment plan request for unpaid/overdue fees will be considered on a case by case basis.
Non payment of fees is an automatic notice of withdrawal.
Failure to pay any outstanding fees will be transferred directly to a third party collection agency.
