Covid 19 Policy

We at The Strings Club Head Office are working hard to ensure thousands of children have the opportunity to enjoy our Ofsted-registered Holiday Camps.

This document is to remain under constant review due to the fast-changing nature of the Department for Education (DfE)/government guidance in response to the challenges posed by coronavirus (COVID-19).

We have created this policy taking into account various articles created by Public Health England and the Department for Education. Please find handy links below.

• Protective measures for holiday or after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings for children during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
• Public Health England
• Track and Trace Guidance
• Coronavirus: Implementing Protective Measures in Education and Childcare Settings
• Actions for Education and Childcare Settings to Prepare for Wider Opening

How are we at The Strings Club putting protective measures in place?

Before the Holiday Camp:

• Parents will receive an “Essential Info” email one week before with full information on their booking. We ask that it is vital that everyone reads our COVID-19 policy that is updated on a regular basis. 
• Our Head Office will be open 8am- 6pm every day should parents have any questions ‍

During the Holiday Camp:

• We ask that only one parent/carer (key person) drops off/ picks up their child and arrives on time.
• All children and team members attending are required to have their temperature checked before they enter the building.
• No parents will be allowed into the building during drop off and pick up.
• Our Holiday Camp Manager will sign your child in and out.  
• Additional cleaning measures will be implemented throughout the day to ensure the highest standards of hygiene are maintained at all times.
• Golden rules will be discussed during our morning warmup games that will remind children of the use of our “Sanitation Stations” available in every room. We will discuss the importance of use of hand gel and soap, alongside the using and disposing of tissues. 
• Social distancing measures will also be a rule set in line for when children are sitting and playing - during either child-initiated and adult-led activities plus lunchtime and break time.
• Children will be able to take an instrument home and we ask only your child plays the instrument and that it is returned each day to our Holiday Camp. ‍

‍Team Members working for The Strings Club‍

• Team Members have access to on-site Lateral Flow Testing on a daily basis and are required to carry out regular tests.
• All team members will receive face to face training before working at our Holiday Camps. This will include recognising signs of COVID-19 and what to do should a child or another team member show such symptoms.

‍After our Holiday Camps (Daily)

 We ask that children:

• Do not wear the same clothes every day to ensure any cross-contamination. 
• Have a thorough wash upon getting home from our Holiday Camps

We ask that parents:

• Check our daily newsletter at 6pm for our latest updates including what your child has been up to, pictures (if photo consent agreed) and what we will be doing tomorrow alongside our downloadable weekly timetable.

 Use of PPE

• PPE will be available for team members to wear if they choose to. 
• Children are also welcome to wear gloves or face masks if they wish to. 

What will we do if someone develops/shows symptoms at our Holiday Camp?

If a child becomes unwell or develops any symptoms of COVID-19 during the day, they will be taken to a separate room and will remain there with a team member until a parent/carer can pick them up. They will be advised to follow the staying at home guidance. Ideally, a window will be opened for ventilation. 

The team member supervising the child will wear PPE and the area will be deep cleaned once the child has been collected. 

We ask that the parent/carer of the child showing symptoms takes a test and does not return to our Holiday Camp until they have been tested and the result is negative. Our Head Office will ask for evidence of this via an email from the NHS. We will inform parents of the situation immediately. 

If a child is tested as positive, we will inform all parents via email and text immediately. 

If a team member has helped someone who has been taken unwell with COVID-19 symptoms, they do not need to go home unless they develop symptoms themselves. They should wash their hands thoroughly for a minimum of 60 seconds after any contact with someone who is unwell and remove and dispose of their PPE.

What if your child is in self-isolation because they have been in contact with someone with COVID-19?

We strictly follow the above guidelines and take keeping all children, parents and team members safe very seriously. According to the Track and Trace guidance, children who test negative shouldn’t go back to school before the end of their 10 day isolation. According to the guidance, “this is because you may have the virus, but it cannot yet be detected by a test, so you could unknowingly spread the virus if you leave the house.” 

We would also report any suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) to the local Public Health England (PHE) Health Protection team on 0300 303 8162 (press Option 1, Option 1).