School and group bookings Terms and conditions

A ‘school’ or ‘group’ includes any group representing a number of people (such as children or adults) visiting or using At Play In The Woods’s services such as primary schools, secondary schools, independent schools, pre-school nurseries, child-minding groups, scout groups and similar.

All bookings are subject to availability. Your choice of date may not be available, but alternative dates will always be offered.
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For bookings to be considered, At Play In The Woods requires correspondence from the school such as official email address confirmation or letter confirmation as any school / group booking agreement is between the school / group and At Play In The Woods.  For example, personal email addresses used by school / group staff will not be considered.

Where payment is required online this must be made at the time of booking unless agreed in writing by At Play In The Woods in which case an invoice will be issued.  Full payment must be made by the group/school and received (by us) at least 21 days prior to the session (or in the case of multiple sessions, at least 21 days prior to the first session in the series of multiple sessions) unless agreed otherwise in writing by At Play In The Woods.

Late payment of the full amount may result in cancellation of bookings and any part payments up until that time will be forfeited and are non-refundable otherwise interest will be charged at one percent above the base rate of the Bank of England plus an administration fee of £120.00 is payable.

For online payments any delay in this payment (i.e. long time gap between starting your booking and making the payment through PayPal) may result in your space(s) being released to others.  Therefore delayed payments DO NOT guarantee a booking of space(s).  In such cases where a delayed payment is received after the space(s) have been released to others and there are no longer any spaces available, a full refund will be made.

If anyone fails to attend the session (or in the case of multiple sessions, to attend any part of the series of multiple sessions) you have booked, the prepayment for that person will be forfeited. If any additional persons attend the session (or in the case of multiple sessions, attend any part of the series of multiple sessions), additional payment for such persons is required on the day of the respective session otherwise interest will be charged at one percent above the base rate of the Bank of England plus an administration fee of £120.00 is payable.

Should your group/school be unable to attend the session (or in the case of multiple sessions, to attend any part of the series of multiple sessions)the full prepayment for the session will be forfeited. Note: It is important that you notify us as soon as possible regarding attendance issues as we will endeavor to reschedule wherever practicable – an additional fee may be applicable.

On some occasions At Play In The Woods may decide to cancel events due to safety conditions such as high winds or heavy rain.  If this occurs At Play In The Woods will seek to reschedule the event or provide a full refund.

Please note we are unable to accept liability for any errors resulting from data which you have supplied incorrectly, whether by telephone, email or otherwise. Information we require includes the following:

Contact telephone number(s), Email address, Number of children, Ages of children, Specific food requirements (e.g. vegetarian), Relevant health / medical issues.

It is the responsibility of the school / group to carry out risk assessments for the site, including the environment, activities as well as arrival and departure procedures, taking into account their group’s needs. Any specific risks identified must be communicated in writing to At Play In The Woods with reasonable advanced timing to enable agreement regarding effective and timely management steps.

It is the responsibility of the school / group to provide adequate adult:child ratios in order to control the group in terms of instructions and safety rules (both written and verbal).  Adult:child ratios provided by the school / group must be in line with current legislation and respective LEA / Local Authority requirements / guidelines and it is the responsibility of the school / group to ensure that these requirements are met.

It is the responsibility of the school / group (through the attending school staff / group supervisory staff) to ensure the welfare and well being of their group, including all individuals within the group, both children and adults, at all times.  This includes managing all specific dietary needs (such as dietary intolerances, allergies, religious dietary requirements and other dietary preferences), as well as specific medical needs of all individuals within the group, both children and adults, at all times.  At Play In The Woods will endeavor to support specific needs under the direction of the school staff / group supervisory staff.

It is the responsibility of the school / group to provide a qualified first aider with a suitable and comprehensive first aid kit.  At Play In The Woods’ first aider and first aid kit should be considered as back up only.

It is the responsibility of the school / group to carry out adequate checks on all staff and volunteers including gaining of clear Enhanced DBS disclosures prior to attending the session.  All school / group staff and volunteers have the authority to stop activities at any time.

The school / group is responsible for gaining prior consent from parents / guardians of children attending the session, including making them fully aware of the environment and types of activities and they are responsible during the session for maintaining fast and easy access to emergency contact details for the children’s parents / guardians i.e. telephone contact numbers.

Activities may take place in woodland, grass areas, muddy areas and the open countryside. These environments have hazards such as trees, branches, logs, sticks, twigs, uneven ground, rocks, stones and mud. It is the responsibility of each individual, both children and adults, to take reasonable care for their own safety and the safety of others in these environments. Activities may include running, walking, sitting, kneeling, climbing in these environments such as active team games, den / shelter building, tree climbing, camp fire lighting, cooking, using tools and using bows and arrows . It is the responsibility of each individual, both children and adults, to take all reasonable care for their own safety and the safety of others during Activities.

In the unlikely event of an accident, or loss or damage to any individual’s personal effects, At Play In The Woods will not be liable for any direct or indirect loss, arising from or in connection with the activities or the site (except for death or personal injury caused by At Play In The Woods’s negligence) and you will waive any claims against At Play In The Woods in this respect.

All attendees, both children and adults agree to be bound by our instructions and safety rules. Any person that is unable to comply with our instructions or safety rules (both written and verbal) will be excluded from the session without refund.

These Terms and Conditions contain important information concerning participation by you and members of your party in the Activities provided by At Play In The Woods and, accordingly, you acknowledge and agree that you shall ensure that all members of your party are aware of and accept these Terms and Conditions.