Safety management
Our top priority is always 'safety first'. We actively promote a culture of safety awareness in outdoor education, without losing the adventure.
Our Safety Management Systems and Policy have been independently inspected and verified. All centres comply with health and safety requirements and we hold copies of their Public Liability Insurances.
- Each JCA member of staff has a copy of the company’s health & safety policy in their training manual.
- Our Centre Managers have a full-size first aid kit and each of our Instructors carry a first aid kit on activity sessions.
- Daily safety and equipment checks are made and recorded at all of our centres. Any equipment showing signs of wear is immediately taken out of commission and replaced.
- JCA has carried out risk assessments for all activities at our centres.
- Any accidents or near misses are recorded and corrective action is taken to ensure that they are avoided in the future.
Copies of our generic risk assessments are available on request or you can download them from our website.
JCA staff
Many of our staff members return every season, a number of whom progress on to Senior Instructor or Centre Manager. New staff members are selected using a thorough interview process, which takes into account their enthusiasm, friendliness and suitability to work with children.
We are registered with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and also insist on two references for each employee. All candidates must be CRB checked and verified.
All staff members undertake a formal induction, training and assessment period before commencing employment, and they are subject to continual assessment by senior staff throughout their period of employment.
Instructor training
Successful interviewees complete our intensive three-week training course. This involves expertise from National Governing Body coaches as well as extensive in-house training by Managers and / or Senior Instructors.
Subjects covered include health & safety at work, child protection, and group management. As well as the three-week course, all senior staff members undergo a separate, advanced company training course.
Instruction and supervision
- We qualify our instructors in all of our activities (with the exception of watersports, where we employ specialist instructors). This means that a great rapport can be built between the instructor and group members, giving children the confidence to reach their full potential.
- Our instructor / pupil ratio is 1:12 for land activities, 1:6 for sailsports / paddlesports, and 1:10 for surf activities. These ratios comply with the rules of the appropriate governing bodies.
- Instructors take responsibility for their groups during activity sessions (although teachers are expected to accompany the children during the sessions).
Security
The accommodation styles at each of our centres might vary but the emphasis on safety does not.
Our operating systems at each centre ensure that we meet the highest standards of security.
Some of these measures include:
- Staff uniform and name badges with photograph
- Visitor badges for accompanying teachers
- CCTV and security barriers are provided at some centres
- Night security patrols are provided at some centres
- Duplicate accommodation keys for the Party Leader (where applicable)
- Duty Instructor on call 24 hours
As not all centres have the same type of accommodation some security aspects will differ, dependant on the location requirements.