Youth Groups

COURSE LEADER SUPPORT PACK

We have designed this pack to give help and advice to all of you who have chosen to organise an outdoor activity residential course with us.

Whether this is your first or even your twentieth year bringing your school/group to us, we hope that you will find this pack helpful and that it covers every aspect of your preparation.

This pack contains information not only from ourselves, but also tips/suggestions from party leaders who have been visiting the centre for many years. If you were someone who contributed to this pack we would like to thank you for your comments and suggestions.

Please remember that from your initial enquiry right through until the end of your residential course, we are more than happy to help you with arrangements every step of the way.

Getting Approval
Communicating With The Skern Lodge Team
Making Your Booking
Promoting The Trip
Finances
Transport
Participant Numbers
Choosing Your Activities
Course Paperwork

GETTING APPROVAL

Approval requirements are dependant on your school/companies procedures. Many state schools are required to seek approval for any residential courses from their Local Authority / County Council. Approval can take up to 4 weeks after the relevant paperwork has been submitted; therefore, it is advisable to get your paperwork in early.

Skern Lodge are happy to complete and return your Outdoor Provider Standards Form and support this with copies of our current Risk Assessments, AALA Licence, Public Liability Insurance and Instructor Qualifications.

Whilst collecting in your deposits, this is also a good time for parents/guardians to complete a consent form, which is part of the LEA guidelines and gives permission for their child to attend the residential course.

If you are applying for funding for your residential, again we are more than happy to complete any forms / provide documentation to support your application.

The Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits (HASPEV) leaflet is a comprehensive guide, and although this should not be used in place of your LEA’s or schools/companies guidelines it can give you invaluable information on planning your trip from start to finish.

Available on request from Skern Lodge are copies of:

AALA Licence
Health & Safety Policy
Risk Assessments
Instructor qualifications
Public Liability Insurance

COMMUNICATING WITH THE SKERN LODGE TEAM

Most of our communication is by e-mail or telephone. If you would prefer us to post information to you please let us know when making your booking.

During the course of your booking arrangements you will liaise with the administration and operations teams at Skern Lodge these teams consist of:

Andrea Sawbridge	Bookings Manager - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Debs Quinn	Bookings Manager - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Once you have made your booking either Andrea or Debs will take over the management of your booking. Although either of them are available to help you at any time, your bookings manager will become your main contact.
Flavia Smith	Reception / Administrator
Sarah Thomas	Programme Manager
Barry Kaufman-Hill	Operations Manager
Sarah Rigby	Office & Environmental Manager

We want to ensure that the arrangements for your trip run smoothly and are as stress free as possible. If you feel we can help in any way please do not hesitate to ask.

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MAKING YOUR BOOKING

Before making your booking

Have your preferred date/s (and any alternatives) at the ready
Know your numbers or have a rough idea

To make your booking, please e-mail us with your preferred dates or call us (01237) 475992 to check availability. Once a suitable date has been agreed on we can provisionally book you in to the slot ensuring no one else takes it.

If an invoice is required in order for you to pay your deposits, please let us know. We shall then issue a copy to your school, County Council or Head Office, as appropriate.

Once we have you provisionally booked in we will send you:

Confirmation
A booking form for completion
An invoice for the deposits (where applicable)

To confirm your booking you will need to send us:

Your completed booking form
Your deposit/s

TIPS

Get things done early!
Holiday insurance - check with your school, Local Authority or Company re: course/holiday insurance and book as necessary.

PROMOTING THE TRIP

1. Pay us a visit

Before promoting the trip you may find it beneficial to visit us here at the centre to see the facilities and meet the staff. Clients that have visited before booking or before promoting the trip have all found it an invaluable experience.

2. Decide how you are going to market the trip

Some clients choose to market the course as a holiday, some choose education/Geography Field Studies/personal development as the driving force and others mix the two together.

Here at Skern we do not think of ourselves as an outdoor activity centre, rather a development centre. We want everyone to have fun, learn new skills and try out lots of activities that they wouldn’t normally get the chance to do.

We believe that the benefits are far greater than those above. Outdoor activities, especially in the residential environment, are fantastic tools for personal development, promoting confidence, team working, understanding others, communication and much more.

They will also learn about understanding risk, making personal assessments, reducing environmental impact (both here on-site and around the Devon coast and countryside) as well as living and sharing together.

3. Organise a Parents Evening

Getting the parents and, if you wish, the children to attend an evening is a great way to promote the trip. We can provide you with a copy of our DVD to show during the evening and will even send a Skern Lodge representative to give a talk and answer any questions. Just contact us to arrange a suitable time for us to visit.

4. Put posters up

Many customers use posters to help market the trip. If you would like photos to help produce these posters we could forward a selection on for you.

5. Skern Lodge Promotional Leaflet

We have a specially designed promotional leaflet outlining everything parents need to know about the centre, which we are more than happy to e-mail through on request.

6. Let them know

Once you have the date booked, have decided on what you want to get out of the trip, and how you are going to market it, pop it all in a letter to send to the parents, outlining why you are doing it, why you have chosen Skern, the dates, the cost, payment options and direct them to the Skern Lodge website so they can see for themselves.

TIPS

Once you have done your first Skern Lodge trip marketing future ones are easy. Our current clients have told us they use the following methods:

Get the children who attended Skern the previous year to do a presentation
Photographic displays of previous trips
Word of mouth – it is part of the schools folklore
Self promoting from year to year
Become part of the rite of passage at the school
DVD’s of previous trips

FINANCES

Our course fees include; food, accommodation, activities and tuition, specialist equipment, minibus transport whilst at the centre and VAT. Our only additional costs are for the optional extras listed below.

1. How we work

Non-refundable deposits are required once the provisional booking has been made or in November if the booking was made the year before
Full balance is due no later than 8 weeks prior to the course
View the booking conditions
BAC’s details can be provided on request

2. Working them out
When working out the cost per person, don’t forget to include:

Free staff places
Return transport to Skern Lodge
Any activities that cost extra see the prices for junior school or senior school for details:
- RIB (Powerboat) ride
- Off-road cycling
- Expedition bivi
- On-site bivi (accompanied/supervised by Skern Lodge staff)
- Visits to local attractions
Extra food requirements e.g. packed lunch/tea to take on departure
Birthday cakes

3. Getting the money in
Although some groups collect the payment as one lump sum from participants/parents, most of them prefer to spread the cost of the course over a period of time:

Spread over 3 monthly payments
Collect more than the required deposit so that the remainder is less
Give options for the remaining balance weekly, monthly or lump sum
Take post dated cheques
Time it so that it falls in line with parents end of month pay cheque

TIPS
The most important tips highlighted by clients

Start early!
Have clear cut off dates
Give an early deadline

POCKET MONEY

1. How much pocket money should they bring?
Everything is included in the price so pocket money doesn’t need to be extortionate.

We have a shop on-site, which sells sweets, drinks and merchandise, as well as hot and cold drinks machines for when the shop is closed.

Junior schools tend to recommend £5 - £10 per child for a weeklong stay
Senior schools tend to recommend £10 - £20 per child for a weeklong stay

More is usually allowed if a service station stop is required on the way to Skern and/or back.
Parents often give extra to buy themselves a Skern Lodge sweatshirt or T-shirt. Alternatively we are happy to accept cheques for these items.

2. Tips on managing money whilst at Skern Lodge

Ask for it in £1 and £2 coins to make it easier to distribute
Named sealed envelopes and staff run a bank each day
Children keep accounts on the envelope
Give maximum amount to spend at tuck shop each day
Additional money for t-shirts, sweatshirts etc. kept separately and not included in weekly allowance
Children to show completed diary entries before being given any money
Encourage children to be responsible for their own money
Keep valuables inc. money in staff room or Skern office
Give out extra money on Thursday (if a disco night!)
Keep a tally of individuals spend on daily basis. Pay outstanding bill as one lump sum on the last night of your stay.

TRANSPORT

1. Coach/minibus
Many clients use our local coach company, Redwoods Travel, which we are able to provide you with a quote for and assist with the booking arrangements. The coach company will then invoice you directly prior to your course.

If you use your own company and they need provisions to park the coach/minibus during your stay and/or food and accommodation for the driver/s please enquire into availability before hand.

2. Cars
We encourage the use of public transport for your visit, if however you need to use a car please try to fill it with as many participants as you can…but be warned – we have VERY little parking!!

3. Train
Our nearest station is Barnstaple, 9 miles from the Lodge. Some groups find this the best option especially from London as it halves the journey time.

Getting from the train station to Skern

Bus - Local buses depart from Barnstaple travelling direct to Appledore every hour, timetables can be found at www.firstgroup.com

Taxi – Taxis are available at the station, the journey cost is approximately £30

Skern Lodge pick up – depending on other commitments here at the centre, we may be able to organise picking you and your group up from the station. Please contact us to discuss your requirements and we will see what we can do.

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PARTICIPANT NUMBERS

When deciding on the number of participants that you would like to bring to the Lodge, it is worth considering the following;

We are busy throughout the year and at certain times may only be able to accommodate a certain number of participants from your school/group due to restrictions on the number of bed spaces available.
If travelling by either minibus or coach, you may wish to consider booking participant numbers based on the maximum capacity of the vehicle(s), not forgetting to include your staff attending the trip in your figures.

1. When we need them and why
When you make your provisional booking we will need a rough idea of the numbers you plan to bring, to ensure we can fit you in. As we take new bookings every day this will also ensure that we do not take a booking, which will lead to you turning participants down after you have promised them a place.

2. Fluctuations in numbers
Even if your trip is compulsory you can probably expect a small fluctuation in numbers.

Please ensure you and anyone paying for places on the course are aware of the cancellation policy outlined below and highlighted on the booking conditions:

Cancellation incurs the following charges:

More than 8 weeks prior to course	Deposit
Between 8 weeks & 2 weeks	50% of course fee
Less than 2 weks	Full course fee

If your numbers drop please let us know as soon as possible to avoid any further charges, or unnecessary paperwork.

If your numbers rise please contact us IMMEDIATELY and prior to promising the place/s to the participant/s. Variation in numbers are dependant on a number of things to ensure your course can run, including staff allocation, rooming requirements and other groups on-site.

3. Staff ratios

Your staff
The responsibility for the overall supervision and behaviour of the group rests with the party leader. This is especially important outside of activity times when the group are in ‘free time’ mode. Skern Lodge staff are always available to assist.

Although ratios can vary widely from 1:5 to 1:16, and are often based on school/companies policy or LEA guidelines we have found that both junior and senior schools most commonly work on a ratio of 1:10.

How clients decide on their staff ratio

LEA Guidance
Schools policy
Transport arrangements
By the Skern free place entitlement
Staff available
Class size
Costing
Dependant on children’s needs

Our staff
We have strict staffing ratios on activities; during the activities supervision rests with the Instructor. He or she may request your assistance in certain areas (i.e. another pair of eyes).

CHOOSING YOUR ACTIVITIES

How to choose what everyone wants to do

When you receive your activity options sheet it will ask you to pick a certain number of activities you definitely want to do, along with a number of reserves.

Although we try to include all of your choices in your programme it can depend on factors such as tides, instructor qualifications and timings.

Some schools/groups involve the children in the decision but most prefer not to. Our Programme Manager is always available to discuss options with you to ensure your programme meets the course aims and the activities are suitable for your age range and group type.

Many of our clients rely on our Programme Manager and past experience when choosing their programme. Some suggestions on choosing activities from our current clients are listed below:

Just choose the activities yourself
Voting as a class, tick top choices - all vote for ones they want. Try to include everybody!
Talk to them regarding certain evening activities to get a general feel of what they want
Choose a varied programme so each child should be able to succeed at something
Look for a good range of challenge and wet and dry activities
We use feedback from previous year's pupils
Group discussion
Pupils vote for 8 day and 4 night activities each
Where leadership skills can be evidenced and how we feel students are going to deal with phobias and fears
Making sure you know and can explain what each activity involves and maybe have pictures/slides on each. Then endeavour to pull together a majority outcome
Year group meeting - votes for the most popular options
Show the options and let each individual complete an option form. Then make the decision based on their overall choices

COURSE PAPERWORK

The approval has been gained, the booking has been confirmed, the trip has been promoted, money has been coming in, the transport is booked, final numbers are confirmed and it is suddenly only 8 weeks until the excitement begins…

At this point you will receive the final course paperwork to complete the organisation of the trip. This consists of:

Working groups list
To be completed, splitting pupils and staff evenly into the number of groups specified and including details of medical conditions, special diets and whether individuals are non-swimmers. If you would prefer to supply us with your own version of the list please ensure you sort the names in to the required number of groups and supply all the information requested.

Activity options
If not already agreed with Programme Manager

Full balance invoice
If not already paid in full

Notes for Guidance
Outlining everything you need to know to help make your course run as smoothly and efficiently as possible including, the Skern Lodge rules, health & safety notes, domestic responsibilities, security, Duty Instructors roles and responsibilities.

Parents Leaflet
Including details of our commitment to high standards of care for their child, telephone numbers for the centre, kit list and information on pocket money.

Rooming
As long as we have your final numbers along with the break down of males and females (if applicable) we will send you a copy of your roomplan showing how many pupils / staff in each room about 3 weeks prior to the course.

Programme
A copy of your finalised programme will be sent to you at the same time as the roomplan.

TIP
Return all course paperwork by the dates stated

N.B. If we receive details after the due dates the following may occur:

Booking form/deposits: Although it is not our policy to override your provisional booking without consulting you first, your course is not confirmed until we receive this, so the spaces could become available to other interested parties.
Working groups list: We might not be able to cater for any dietary requirements for your group and you would then need to make your own arrangements. Time may also be taken up on your arrival sorting groups and individuals out resulting in an activity session being missed.
Activity Options: We may not be able to programme the activities you have requested.

If you have problems returning any of the required information please contact us to discuss a suitable date.

AND FINALLY...

We look forward to organising your course and hope that you found this information helpful. If you feel that anything is missing or would like to add your own invaluable tips please contact us with your suggestions.