WE'RE ON PAUSE

Our plan to continue with existing customers’ parties but halt everything else has changed over the weekend. We’ve seen 1st hand and in the media how different people are responding to social distancing (or not). The National Trust have decided to stop visits to their parks and gardens due to the general public not practicing social distancing. This uncertain element of how self disciplined people will be means we don’t think the 2m social distancing will be enforced by all the adults attending the parties we had booked.

For that reason, as well as cancelling previous events, school trips, nurseries we’ve now decided to now also stop our existing commitments to families that had booked and paid deposits for a forest party. Families have either arranged another date, decided to postpone indefinately, claim a refund on their deposit or wait and see as we near the time of their party.

We think restrictions are likely to become more draconian anyway in the coming days/weeks so don’t think we’ll be running parties at least until the end of May and probably not June. We’ll be contacting customers soon to make sure they get this message to see what they’d like to do.

We’re still taking deposits for parties but would recommend families have a date for late Summer or Autumn in mind. You can book here http://www.fairyforestschool.com/contact#parties

We’ll be taking this time to support our staff, gets some odd jobs done and publish on-line ideas for home schooling primarily through our facebook page.

On behalf of everyone at Fairy Forest School I wish everyone a safe 2-3 months and our best wishes.

Covid 19 Update

Our business is going on pause during the crisis but we will see how we can support existing party bookings. We’re in a reasonably healthy place financially as most of our costs are linked to when we run and the government support in wages means we can buffer the storm. You can help us get through by booking a party for when the crisis is over. See our book now page if you’d like to prebook.

After discussions with our Woodland Trust Site Manager we’re not at the stage of cancelling parties/events but at some point in the future this might be imposed on us. For existing party bookings we think the following advice is sensible. We’ve based this advice on a hierarchical hazard reduction method - the hazard here being people and specifically close interaction balanced against the benefits of being outside.

1) Postpone/Refund

Go for a belated birthday party. We can move your party booking further on in the diary. Our planned small price hike of £15 for the new financial year to cover wage increases has been placed on the deposit button which you’ve already paid. That means your belated party will be at the 2019/20 price. As per our updated related T&Cs if you need that £50 deposit refunded we can refund it easily. However if you cancel and decide to rebook at a later date it’ll be at the current price. Just let us know your preference. This is our preferred option as its the safest.

2) Reduce the size

If you really need the party to go ahead at this stage we can as long as people adhere to all our safety measures. We want to discourage social mixing. We definately don’t want sick people and people who wouldn’t normally be socially mixing. Going for a smaller party could be the answer as those safety measures such as 2m social distancing will be easier to maintain. We are likely to have less staff attending as some staff live with vulnerable family members so a smaller party would be apprecited. Smaller parties cost less too.

3) Isolate

We only want healthy people attending. The following also should not attend:

• Someone that has a persitant cough or high temperature.

• Someone that lives or has regular contact with somebody else displaying a persitant cough or high temperature.

• People identified as high risk. See NHS - namely over 70’s, pregnant women, immunosurpressed people and other high risk groups.

• Someone that lives or has regular contact with somebody who is at the most risk.

4) Extra Control Measures

These measures are everyone’s responsibility and will require self discipline and gently reminded each other. Please do this in a thoughtful and helpful way.

Social distancing. Curently this is recommended at 2m between people outside to slow the rate of infection. However families that live together are likely to regularly be contravening this. Therefore we think its sensible that the 2m rule is applied to different family/household groups. Actvities should be carried out between families 2m apart e.g. one family builds a den whilst another family builds a den at least 2m away. This will be quite challenging to maintain especilly with children that havn’t seen each other for a while so we request all adults gently remind children and enforce this.

Hygiene. We have various handwashing stations of soapy water. Please wash your hands regularly - before the session and before you leave. Feel free to bring your own personal gel, hand wipes and any antiseptic wipes. Blowing candles out on a shared cake is sadly a no-no (individul cup cake?).

Avoid touching your face.

Final thoughts

Please note that our preferred option is no.1 but we appreciate families have to balance managing children over what could a long period of isolation. It might well be you examine the safety measures and think they will detract too much with the flow of the party so go for a postponement. Its also worth talking to other parents that are thinking of attending and get a feel for what they think.

Its likely that enforcement of more draconian rules will come into effect which might means us being forced with option no.1 so putting the party further back in the diary seems prudent. We don’t know if thats days or weeks away but we think its coming.

Thanks for taking the time to read. Go outside, get exercise and have fun but stay away from other people. Take care!

Corona Virus

For now we’ve decided to cancel our open to all events but continue with birthday parties and private functions such as school trips, private group bookings e.g community groups or groups of friends.

We’ve made this decision for a number of reasons:

As a precautionery measure to prevent the spread of the virus. At our open to all events lots of different families come together from all over. We want to protect our staff and our customers.

Uncertainty - our open to all events are planned a month or 2 in advance. Fear of the spread of the virus is likely to reduce our sales and have a financial impact even if we don’t reach a situation similar to Italy (where the government has closed all schools to reduce the risk of spreading the virus). In essence we’ll put a lot of effort, time, cost and resources over the next few weeks that will go to naught especially if we have to cancel because the local consequences of corona virus speading gets worse. Regardless we’d rather let our customers know early so they can make alternative arrangements for the easter weekend rather than be forced to cancel just before with less notice.

Forest parties and private group bookings are still on!!

We think its sensible to continue with forest parties and private bookings because these are groups of people that regularly interact so the risk of different groups of people coming together at our events is dramatically reduced.

Congregating outside we believe is far safer than indoors. Maybe this is the time to go for a forest party or group get together!

Term and conditions Update

As always for birthday parties we charge based on the number of children attending. If you get some cancellations because people are ill or self isolate or decide to opt out just in case then you only pay for the number of children attending (please let us know 48 hours before so we don’t over order on food).

If you have to cancel a party last minute because you’re ill we’ll refund you your deposit. Please let us know if this is likely ASAP so we can let staff know.

If you’re a school or private group and you have to cancel just let us know ASAP too. There’s no charge.

We’ll fully refund anyone that has prebooked for our Easter events soon.

What have we done to prevent the spread of corona virus

We’ve introduced more wipes and handwashing facilities at our base camp and inlcuded handwashing at our prebrief. Please feel free to bring your own hand sanitizer. We’ve also published advice on our facebook page. This states . . .

Wash your hands frequently – Regularly and thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water or with an alcohol-based hand rub that contains at least 65% alcohol.
We have soapy water and wipes at our events please be sure to use them. Feel free to bring your own hand rub.

Maintain social distancing – Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
We're in the open air which helps but please isolate yourself if you're sneezing coughing away from everyone else. Just move away.

Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth – hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses.

Practice respiratory hygiene – Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately in a general waste bin and then wash your hands straight away.

Our bin bag is by the table. We also have a small plastic bag near the loo.

If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing seek medical care early – Stay at home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance, follow the directions of your local health authority.

We’ll keep an eye on the Corona Virus situation and let you know when we’re back to normal. Please keep following us on facebook and twitter

Parents/tots Forest School Update!

Book a forest school programme for you, your friends and their children

We’ve run a lot of parents and tots forest school programmes. This is where a program of sessions lead into the next as opposed to our one off taster session events and birthday parties. We’ve sadly found in recent times that despite advertising, these sessions rarely get the uptake required to break even. We receive a huge amount of interest but there are regular clashes with other local parents and tots sessions such as messy play, cheap soft play offers and so on.

From our experience and from other forest school providers it takes a good 2 years to build up a regular slot and a community to reach a point where it pays for itself. To bypass this we think there’s a market for existing parents and tots communities to buy an off the shelf programme at a time that suits them. This has a number of advantages over ‘drop-in’ style parents and tots sessions:-

• Toddler’s already know the other children and adults.

• Parents can agree a theme for the programme - we love fairies but maybe a different theme (bush craft, wildlife, a particular story) is more what you and your friends are about.

• Parents can tweak a session theme or activity (e.g. more fairy stories , less games, can we have more fire time etc.)

• Parents can tweak the programme length 1 session taster, programme of 6, continuous, in holidays?

• Parents can choose a good time, day and venue (see our forest schools) rather than try to fit in. That might include making a day of it or stretching to 3 hours. You can have a programme at one wood or try a selection if you’re willing to travel.

• We can upgrade the usual just a snack to full on campfire food. Every week or final session feast? See our food here!

• The price per child rate means parents can invite other families as and when. This usually happens when parents start to make friends from other meet-ups.

• Parents can swap childcare and mix and match to fit in with their needs. We’ve all been there when you need to be somewhere else and as you all know each other you might arrange for a trusted mum of another child to take over. btw we require parental supervision so its important you entrust care to a friend or relative rather than just drop your child off.

For us it means we’re not second guessing what else is on locally, we’re naturally avoiding competition with other small businesses and charities, and we have a core group of children and families that lets the tots sessions fly.

So how much?

We think we can deliver a session term time week day session for just £8 a child (parents free of course) but we need a minimum of 8 children. We can go for smaller groups but the price may have to creep up to cover our costs. That includes:

2 hours play - usually an hour and then fire time

base camp activities - hammocks, stream (lumb brook), bounce net (not lumb brook)

A snack - let us know if you want a campfire meal and we can agree a price (usually up to £12 per child)

Hot drinks - tea, fresh coffee, hot chocolate in Winter and cold drinks -water/cordial in Summer

How do we book?

We recommend you moot the idea to friends and family and have a day/time in mind. If your friends aren’t sure why not book one taster session to give it a try to win over anyone who’s maybe a bit worried about being outdoors.

Get in touch rawdon@fairforestschool.com with your proposed dates and we’ll check the diary and come back with options. If you need more info or wan’t to discuss possibilities then just give us a call at 07799 321 849 or message us Fairy Forest School on facebook.

Autumn Apples

If your school has apples trees with all those apples going to waste then why not get in touch at www.fairyforestschool.com .

We can make apple juice with the kids using our apple press.

Tastes great and fits nicely into topics relating to foraging, seasons, turning forces and lots more.

The press in action

We're hiring

We’re looking for an apprentice!

We have a vacancy for a Forest School Activity Leader Apprentice. Great for a young person looking to start a career in events, outdoor education or forest school.

Your role includes set up, assisting and eventually running events under supervision such as our popular forest birthday parties, family events and forest school. You’ll be working closely with a Forest School Leader and the Company Director to ensure that everything runs smoothly both at our home base, in woods, schools and nurseries.

This is a great opportunity that wants to get into event management, education, childcare or youth work. Or someone that wants a long term future delivering events and forest school with us.

Don’t worry if you feel you don’t have all the skills - we want someone with passion, drive, loyalty and who is keen to learn.

Starting pay £120 per week. 30 hours per week

More details at . . .

https://www.babcockavol.co.uk/BabcockAvol/Application.aspx?empid=18355&jvid=17307

Contact Pauline McFarlane on 0800 731 8199 or email pauline.mcfarlane@babcockinternational.com

Food for thought

We're always being asked on specifics for dietary advice and what extras we do. So here's our summary of what to expect for food at our event. Note this depends on availability so in the unlikely event (its not happened yet) we can't get a product we'll replace them with something similar.

Basic package birthday parties - 1st course marshmallows in chocolate/caramel biscuits, followed by sausages in buns (for kids) and bacon in bread (adults). Then we finish on popcorn cooked in salted butter. We cater based on the no. of children that have booked so if you think extra siblings may turn up we advise booking for them too so there's enough food. Any extra we hand out to parents so its not wasted.

Vegetarian advice: We can swap out marshmallows for malt loaf. Sausages for kids and bacon for adults is replaced by Quorn hot dog sausages.

Vegan: We use Aldi malt loaf which vegans are telling us is suitable (unlike Soreen). Instead of Quorn we'll do Linday McCartney (soy) sausages.

Nut allergy: None have nuts in but chocolate biscuits may contain traces so go for extra marshmallows.

Wheat/gluten: Avoid biscuit smoors and go for extra marshmallows. Don't try malt loaf as it has wheat in.  Sausages contains breadcrumbs with wheat. Obviously bread does too. So go for some bacon on a stick (feel free to bring your own gluten free bread that you find works for you). Let us know if you'd like a quorn sausage on a stick (NB Linda McCartney sausages have wheat flour in so avoid them).

Dairy: Avoid biscuit smoors and go for extra marshmallows. We cook our popcorn in butter (mainly because it pops well) but we can do some over the fire in sieves which is additive free and quite interesting to watch - just let us know.

Pork free: Our marshmallows specify gelatin but not pork or beef. Halal families have told us they've checked and its OK but we can't verify that - failing that try the malt loaf toasted instead which is nice. Go for a veggie sausage instead of pork sausage or bacon.

Extras or special events.

From time to time we do special events with these items or birthday parties book extra for a small charge.

Chirizo on a stick - Spicy Pork Sausage toasted on the fire like a marshmallow. Intended for attending adults but kids can try.

Banana chocolate fondue - Steamed chocolate sauce melted over the fire. Dip in banana halves or any left over marshmallows. Sickly, sweet and messy. May contain  nut traces. Contains milk. Let us know if you prefer Nutella - which obviously contains nuts.

Toasted chocolate brioche fingers - cooked on a long stick over the fire. (contains wheat, milk and potential for nut traces).

If you'd like to book extras or you have a specific allergy or dietary requirement just get in touch.

This information is correct at the time of publishing so contact us if you think information might have changed or you have any concerns. Thanks!

VACANCY Forest School Leader

We're looking to recruit a forest school leader to supervise our forest school taster events, birthday parties and undertake work in schools and nurseries.

Our order book has grown but is still pretty variable so flexibility is key. We're after someone with our values that we can trust to professionally lead sessions. Most of our work is at weekends but their are potential opportunities to work in the week.

The initial time in this role will involve shadowing the director to observe and replicate current practice, learn policies and procedures to the point when you can lead a fairy forest school event to the same standard our customers have experienced. This process will be dependant on the candidate and would be great for an experienced forest school leader, a newly qualified leader or even someone currently completing their portfolio to achieve their FS3 qualification.

Our order book is growing as we gain more customers and retain our old ones. Currently the job is available as a 0 hours contract but there may well be scope to extend this to part time or more as our business grows more.

Pay will be determined by experience and qualifications at the time or employment and re-assessed once the candidate is able to step in and assume leadership responsibility for sessions.

Job Profile

Role Title: Forest School Leader

Role and responsibilities

You will be responsible a forest school session – its set up and dismantling, its operation and running, customers and supervision of assisting staff

Supervising set up and packing away requires a significant but manageable amount of lifting and carrying. You will supervise set up and operation of a fire area, tarpaulins, toilet, hammocks and other play equipment or activities.

During the session you will lead interaction with children, parents and members of staff. You will manage groups around the fire and ensure food is cooked safely.

You will ensure sessions comply with policies and procedures, licence agreements and insurance criteria, risk and environmental impact assessments so that Fairy Forest School’s legal duty of care is met.

Experience and qualifications

Experience of working with children - ESSENTIAL

Hold a Forest School Practioner Level 3 (18 credits or 14 credits with suitable CPD evidence) ESSENTIAL

Experience of forest school or outdoor education activities as part of an ongoing continuous personal professional development DESIRABLE

Outdoor paediatric first aid certificate DESIRABLE

Be physically fit/active and able to carry out lifting, transportation, set up and dismantling of equipment. ESSENTIAL

Management or supervisory experience demonstrating leadership of assisting staff ESSENTIAL

Current DBS certification DESIRABLE

Personal Attributes

Outgoing and confident and able to lead

Good communicator and able to use simple language

Friendly and approachable

Able to follow a method of work/risk assessment and other policies

Confident in questioning and challenging unsafe practice

Love of the outdoors in all weathers

Fit and active

Share our core values.

CLOSING DATE:28th Feb 2018

To apply: Send your CV / covering letter(or email) to rawdon@fairyforestschool.com

If you'd like to arrange visiting an event to discuss and see first hand what's involved with the role please get in touch.

VACANCY Forest School Assistant

We're looking to recruit a forest school assistant to help out with our forest school taster events and birthday parties. 

This is ideal for someone who has another job or wants to work on an ad-hoc basis. Our order book is variable so we need someone flexible who can work at weekends as required. This is great for someone who wants to get into Education, Youth Work, Outdoor Ed or Forest Schools.

Job Profile

Role Title: Forest School Assistant #1

Pay: £7.83/hr + annual leave casual 0 hours contract

Role and responsibilities

You will be responsible for helping a forest school leader set up, run and pack away a forest school session.

Set up and packing away requires a significant but manageable amount of lifting and carrying. You will set up a fire area, tarpaulins, toilet, hammocks and other play equipment or activities under supervision.

During the session you will interact with children, parents and members of staff. You will build and light a fire, manage groups around the fire and use it to cook on safely.

Expereince and qualifications

Experience of working with children - ESSENTIAL

Outdoor experience such as tool use (saws, loppers), use of tarps, building and maintaining fires safely or alternatively hold a current Forest School Qualification DESIRABLE

Be physically fit/active and able to carry out lifting, transportation, set up and dismantling of equipment. ESSENTIAL

Current DBS certification DESIRABLE

Suitable outdoor or biology qualification/experience such as A-C GCSE Biology (with suitable ecology modules) or higher. ESSENTIAL

Personal Attributes

Outgoing and confident

Good communicator and able to use simple language

Friendly and approachable

Able to follow a method of work/risk assessment

Confident in questioning and challenging unsafe practice

Love of the outdoors in all weathers

Fit and active.

CLOSING DATE:28th Feb 2018

To apply: Send your CV / covering letter(or email) to rawdon@fairyforestschool.com

If you'd like to arrange visiting an event to discuss and see first hand what's involved with the role please get in touch.

No bad weather just bad clothes?

Well apart from extreme weather such as dangerous wind of course.

We list our top tips on how to get the most from a fairy forest school event or outdoor party over Winter.

So you've got the invite to an outdoor forest party or you've just booked on to an event over winter such as our elf adventure. Hang on you tell yourself - isn't it going to be cold? What if its raining? 

Here's what you need to do to make the most of our events. You're here to have fun not get cold!

Know your site

When you book on or get an invite you'll know which wood you're going to be at. We operate in a range of woods some with hard wearing paths and others with pits of mud and even a stream.

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In the stream at Lumb Brook

Lumb Brook Valley aka the Dingle has some deep mud (i.e. welly sucking) and a stream. There are dry routes but to get involved you're likely to be in the stream and mud. The loo is also only accessible by crossing a stream.

Gorse Covert Mounds has good paths. After rain there's the odd puddle and near base camp there's a bit of a muddy patch which boots can easily cope with.

New Moss Wood has turf paths and some patches of mud that can lose a small welly. After rain it can get muddier here and there.

Snidley Moor has puddles and mud where we park on the farmers track but for the most part is pretty well drained and mud free. There's the odd patch though that boots can easily cope with.

You can find out more about our sites here or visit them yourself to check them out as they're open to the public.

Check you've got the right kit and is it OK?

Wellies that don't fit or have perished or split. Waterproof coats with broken zips. Jackets or trousers that don't fit anymore. Clothes don't need to be expensive but they need to do the job. Don't leave it til the morning of the party or event.

Layers

Get dressed in layers. Your base layer is something tight and stretchy like thermals that you're unlikely to need to take off. Then add more layers and leave something thick until last. Over the top its waterproofs - these keep out a cold wind and rain (or stream splashes). If you get too hot - take a layer off, if you get too cold put a layer on.

Get a hat

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Bring a hat!

If you want to get ahead - get a hat (and maybe a scarf too). Lots of body heat is lost through the head and neck. So if your hands and feet are cold, put your hat on.

Hands and feet

Gloves are a pain. They are hard to get on children with their tiny fingers. They can get wet (and are then useless). Some activities such as fairy house making are too fiddly for gloves. We advise mittens where fingers warm each other and if you do need to do something fiddly take them off then put them back on when you've finished. Of course on a really cold day you could do inner gloves and then mittens which are great for our hunts and less dexterous tasks.

Rubber wellies don't keep your feet that warm especially if you're wading in a stream or mud. Go for larger size wellies and pack them with layers of socks (or fleece welly liners if you have them).

TIP: Have emergency pairs of socks in your pockets in case of a wet welly or use them as an emergency mitten.

Bring more than you need

Put a back of extra clothes in the boot of the car for you and your family. This is handy over winter anyway in case you break down and why not put a blanket in there too. Chances are you won't need it but you'll be thankful if its there. You can dip into it if needed or do a complete change for the journey home.

Have breakfast, bring snacks.

A good breakfast being digested produces body heat and sets you up for the day. We have food at nearly all our events but bring snacks to top up tummies or have just in case.

Hot drinks

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Grab it whilst its hot!

We have hot water in flasks prepared for the start of every event. Help yourself to tea, instant, coffee or hot cordial. We've cold water too so you can get it to the temperature you like.

When our wood burning stove is up and running we serve hot chocolate and freshly percolated coffee too. This is usually at food time so about an hour in to the session.

Bring your own thermos as well if you like (even if you leave it in the car).

Pour it and nurse it if your hands are cold. A hot drink in a plastic cup is a nice hand warmer that you can sip.

Hot food

We prepare food on the fire and when its done its done. Don't hold back or start another activity - grab it whilst its hot.

TIP: We often cook extra food just in case so we often have left over sausages. If you're an adult you're welcome to make a play for any left overs before we start cooking the parents' food.

Get involved and keep active

We want parents to get involved and have as much as the kids. Moving about and having fun keeps you warmer than standing still and holding back.

Avoid the mud

We love wading through mud on our adventures and so do the kids and parents. But if you're cold and not dressed as well as you could be then maybe you should give it a miss or do it towards the end of the session. There's nothing that says you have to go in the mud. The same goes for the stream at Lumb Brook - although the loo involves a small stream crossing.

There is a dry path when we go exploring although we encourage you to do the wilder stuff but its down to you to decide how you manage risk - that's what forest school is all about.

Avoid the rain, hail, sleet, snow

Wear the right clothes and you're ready for all weathers. But if you've misjudged it then maybe now's the time to get under one of our overhead tarps and have a brew until the shower passes.

Play with the emergency kit

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Bivvy bags are fun and warm

On cold days we dust off our emergency kits and encourage people to use them. This includes plastic bivvy bags and a group mushroom shelter. It doesn't have to be an emergency to give them a go. They're great fun. Try them - you might want to get one for when you're out and about somewhere else like up a hill or on a day walk.

Bring a hot water bottle

Make sure it has a cover! The soft toy ones are quite good and you'll be really popular if you start handing this around on a cold day. When it starts to cool we can replenish it with hot water from our wood burner.

Get warm come back

OK so you've lost a welly to the mud and your little ones cold. There's no shame in nipping back to the car to get changed and get warm. Get comfy then come back replensihed for more fun.