• Wild Nature School is inclusive of all, recognising the importance of being in nature.
  • All children are welcome with the understanding that they can engage and benefit from the programme without negatively affecting the safety, enjoyment or learning of other students or facilitators.
  • Full information about the requirements of children must be included in their enrolment information.
  • If a child has learning or behavioural needs that require 1:1 supervision this must be made clear when registering with extra support paid for by the child’s whanau.
  • At every session there will be two facilitators.
  • One facilitator will have first aid training and knowledge – including natural remedies.
  • Each session operates with a ratio no greater than 1:10 for 7-12 yr olds or 1:8 for 4-7 yr olds.
  • Kindy sessions currently have parents/caregivers attending who are responsible for their children.

Our programme is based on us having high expectations and trusting the children to be responsible and independent critical thinkers. Enabling children and not ‘managing’ them allows for self-management and autonomy which is in line with our learning philosophy and pedagogy. 

  • Children will be made aware of the physical boundaries of our Wild Things area and reminded each week.
  • Children follow these instructions and respond in a respectful way, as respect is reciprocal.
  • There will be a safety briefing at the beginning of every session taking into account the weather and any changes to the environment.
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult to go over the The Herb Farm area, ie. to use the bathroom.
  • Children under 8 yrs and those who are not confident swimmers must be watched by an adult when around the creek. Those over 8 yrs and who are confident must always be with someone else in these areas.
  • For those children who are developing their self management skills, a greater level of facilitation is provided through one-on-one reminders, chats and role plays. In some cases a child may need one-on-one supervision, this will be at the cost of the parent.
  • We have first aid always available – including extra water, aloe vera and fire blanket for burns.
  • Children know and are reminded each session to tell us of any injury or accident even if they don’t require assistance.
  • We keep a record of accidents and treatment given. 
  • Parents are informed of accidents.
  • In an emergency situation, facilitators will make sure that they respond in a way that does not create risk of further injury, or leave children without adequate supervision. If a situation such as this should arise, cell phones will be used to get assistance and no child will be left unsupervised.
  • Parents will be informed immediately if their child is involved in any injuries, accidents, incidents, dangerous behaviour or unsafe use of equipment.
  • The Wild Things facilitators will ensure a Duty of Care at all times, within the autonomy given to children through our philosophy of self directed learning.
  • If a staff member sees any possibility that an activity or area could cause an extreme accident or injury, they will stop this and not allow it to re-start until it can be continued safely.
  • The Wild Things facilitators meet regularly to review the Health and Safety policy, this includes daily and during session decisions due to weather – The Wild Things facilitators adjust activities, boundaries and safety guidelines in keeping with changes to the weather and environment during sessions, ie, high winds and danger of falling branches could mean packing up and moving to a different space on the property.
  • We promote a values based education by modelling respect, tolerance & trust. Our underpinning principle is kindness. We talk about these values daily and it is an expectation that the children aim to practise these values.
  • Our positive learning environment is achieved through the values modelled by the educators. We focus on and emphasise positive behaviours and appropriate language. This liberates educators and students from the stress of confrontational relationships.
  • We have high expectations that the children work on these values while they are here to maintain our philosophy around values based education.
  • We understand ‘challenging behaviour’ to be something someone does,  not something someone is or has. We understand this is often because of an unmet need. This means under the right conditions we can help children develop different coping strategies.
  • We work together with the child/ren to deal with conflict and cope with emotions.
  • We aim to facilitate and support children to develop positive strategies suitable for who they are/age/stage.
  • We do not try to improve or change behaviour from an extrinsic or rewards based perspective.
  • Wild Things operates from a child-centred view, which means we approach situations and challenging behaviour on an individual basis. We do not have one model that all children must comply with. We are here to help children work with their feelings and improve their emotional intelligence at whatever stage they are at.

If a problem (behavioural or other) were to arise:

  • The educator will observe and allow the child/ren autonomy and an opportunity to deal with the conflict and/or solve the issue without adult assistance.
  • Try to re-engage the child/ren in the first instance.
  • Ask how the child/ren may be able to solve the conflict/issue, allow for some reflection/or re-set/self-regulation.
  • Support the child/ren in redirection and then facilitate a discussion using our meeting model, where everyone gets a turn to speak.
  • Support the child/ren in deciding on a solution to the problem.

If a student displays extreme or harmful behaviour which is:

  • Deliberately against our culture.
  • Is unsafe or harmful (verbally, emotionally or physically) towards themselves or others.
  • Behaves in a way that interferes with another child’s ability to learn or participate in the session.
  • Prevents the educators from facilitating learning.
  1. Parents will be notified by phone or the issue will be discussed at the end of the day. This will then be dealt with on a case by case scenario, in consultation with the parent/caregiver/emergency contact, with special behavioural and learning needs being considered.
  2. Where the behaviour is deemed to have been unsafe, parents will be contacted immediately and the child will be immediately excluded from the session. 
  3. An incident report will be completed by the Wild Things educator.
  • Rarely, but possibly, due to the special needs of some of our students and the way in which emotions and behaviours can escalate quickly; it is essential that staff make professional yet prompt and confident decisions to ensure that all children and staff are safe.
  • This includes the safety of a child who may be responding in an extreme, dangerous, aggressive or harmful way towards him/herself, other students, volunteers, visitors and staff.
  • If a child displays extreme, dangerous, aggressive or harmful behaviour that poses being harmful or at risk to themselves or others; the child may be required to be removed from the vicinity of others to ensure he/she is not able to hurt him/herself and/or other people.
  • If this situation were to arise, the staff on duty make a collaborative decision as quickly as possible to either:
  1. a) Remove the child.
  2. b) Remove the rest of the group.
  • If the decision is made that the safest option is to physically remove the child displaying the behaviour this will be done in a calm, non-aggressive and non-confrontational way that ensures the safety and care of the child being removed is of utmost priority.
  • This decision will be made collaboratively with at least one other staff member.
  • A staff member will be supervising the child at all times and will record notes of the situation, actions, comments, concerns and resolution.
  • The child’s parents will be called immediately.
  • Wild Things will always remain child focused and the welfare of the child is of paramount importance.
  • Wild Nature School will ensure that the safety of all children is paramount and no form of physical, sexual or verbal harassment or violence from peers will be accepted or tolerated. 
  • While the situation is being evaluated, the children/young people concerned will be kept separate. In some cases, where the abuse has occurred at the programme, immediate suspension of a child may be appropriate, as outlined in the Behaviour Policy. 
  • Wild Things will keep personal information as private as possible. Parents will also be asked to keep all information confidential to allow proper investigation and resolution. 
  • All parents/caregivers concerned will be kept informed about how Wild Nature School  is responding to concerns, including meeting with staff to discuss these concerns. 

By registering your child in Wild Nature School you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions and understanding the following:

 

Enrolment 

  • Registration of spaces will be filled on a first come, first serve, basis. 
  • Ahead of enrolments opening, returning students and their siblings will have first choice of places over a new family joining. 
  • Wild Nature School has the right to make changes, without notice, to the proposed programme due to environmental conditions, or facilitator illness or absence.

Payments

  • Registration is not guaranteed until payment is made, or a payment plan agreed upon.
  • Wild Things one day programme costs $70 per day and a term commitment is needed for the programme to run.
  • Wildlings (kindy) sessions are $20 per whanau, per session.
  • Wild Things holiday programmes costs $70 per day.
  • Payments can be made by internet banking.  Please use your child’s first name as a reference. 
  • Account: Wild Nature School (via Hnry) 12-3192-0919284-37
  • I understand that refunds will not be given for any absences. 

Data collection

  • Wild Nature School will often use Signal to communicate and send photos to parents/families.
  • Wild Nature School reserves the right to gather data, take photos and keep case studies; and to use this material in any publications and/or marketing purposes. 
  • No names of children will be used in any public forums.  
  • Wild Nature School reserves the right to take photos and/or video of activities for documentation, data collection, promotional and publicity purposes. 
  • By enrolling at Wild Nature School  you give consent for photos and/or video to be taken of your child unless otherwise instructed in writing on the registration/waiver form.

Privacy act statement 1993

  • The information that you have supplied will only be used for the safe and effective operation and management of our programme.  
  • The information will not be passed on to any third parties. 
  • You are welcome to review the information pertaining to your child’s enrollment at any time.

Disclaimer 

  • By completing the enrolment you consent for your child to participate in the programme’s activities. 
  • You understand that there are risks associated with your child participating, and accept that, to the extent permitted by law, the programme management and staff will not be liable for accidental injuries (and any associated losses) which may occur. 
  • To minimise the risk of accidents, the programme has safety procedures, including rules and boundaries for behaviour, that will be consistently applied.

Complaints 

  • Wild Nature School will respectfully handle any complaints.
  • Our intention is to create an atmosphere where children, parents, caregivers and whanau feel comfortable to express concerns about the programme.
  • Complaints may be addressed by talking to facilitators in the first instance, where the issue may be dealt with.
  • Then in writing or via email.
  • Where possible, a mutually agreeable outcome will be sought and this will be confirmed and revisited when appropriate. 
  •  
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