National Citizen Service
Aylesbury College Autumn 2017
Residential- Monday 16th – Thursday 19thOctober 2017 @
Marwell Activity Centre, Hurst Lane, Winchester, SO21 1EZ
Departure: Monday 16th October, Aylesbury College bus bay @ 9:00am
Return: Thursday 19th October depart @ 3:00pm (expected return 5:00pm at Aylesbury College)
When you arrive please make yourself known to a member of the NCS staff team (they will be wearing purple T-shirts) so that they can register you. Please do NOT bring more than one large case or holdall; you are only there for 4 days! The coach will leave promptly at 9:15am and will not be able to wait so please be on time.
Money –you may bring a small amount of money in case you want anything from the shops. You must be responsible for your own money and we CANNOT look after it for you.
Valuables –all valuables (mobile phones, iPadsetc.) are brought at your own risk. Rooms are not lockable and staff will NOT be able to look after items for you.
Activities –the timetable for week 1 is action packed with a number of outdoor activities ranging from Jacobs ladder to raft building. You will not be forced to do any activities that you don’t want to do, although we will encourage you to give everything a try!
Catering – all meals are provided and they can cater for all dietary requirements. You are welcome to bring some of your own food and snacks but all young people will be expected to be present at meal times.
Accommodation- You will be sleeping in the Safari Tented Village on bunk beds so you will need to bring a sleeping bag and pillow. Girls and boys will be in separate safari tents; but you are free to choose a few friends who you would like to share with.
Skills Days- Friday 20th and Saturday 21st October @ Aylesbury College
You will need to meet at Aylesbury College on both days. Sessions will run from 10am-4pm on Friday and 10am-2:30pm on Saturday. You will have a variety of sessions from external organisations and guest speakers. ‘Normal’ clothes can be worn. You will need to provide your own lunch.
Social Action Project- Monday 30th, Tuesday 31st OctoberWednesday 1st, Thursday 2nd, Friday 3rd November
Social Action is where your group will work in partnership with a local charity to fundraise and do some volunteering with them. These days can be used for your college Work Placement.
You will spend 5 daysundertaking your groups chosen social action project with your charity partner; this will start with a visit to the organisation and will be followed by a dragons den style presentation where the group will present their project and bid for up to £50 per team. . The location of this week will be dependent on the project you choose but will be in the Aylesbury Vale area. As with the skills days you will be expected to provide your own transport and food.
Cost
You are only required to make a contribution of £30 to cover the whole programme. This includes food, accommodation, activities and transport to the residential. Payment can be made over the phone via Credit/Debit Card please call 0300 003 2334, via cheque made payable to “Action4Youth”or through our website; Please DO NOT hand any payments for NCS to your College.
Graduation Event - Date: To Be Confirmed
At the end of the programme students and their family will be invited to a Graduation Event where you will be presented with your Certificates and family will be able to celebrate your achievements during the course. After the formal part of the evening there will be light refreshments and a chance to sign up for the NCS Graduate scheme.
Code of Conduct
It is our aim to run a socially mixed programme which is both safe and accessible for all
young people.
Safety
We are committed to ensuring the safety of participants, staff, volunteers and partners during the programme. We work with highly experienced partners, employ fully trained staff and comply with all relevant legislation. We also require participants to follow a simple code of conduct.
Highly experienced partners
Our NCS programme is delivered with the support of a group of organisations which together have significant experience of working with young people. This includes Aylesbury Youth Action, Bucks County Council and Wendover Youth Club. We operate with the support of local councils and schools.
Trained staff
During all activities, young people are accompanied by vetted instructors and leaders, and the minimum staff to young person ratio will be 2:15. All outdoor activities at the activity centre are led by fully qualified instructors. Each team is led by a consistent Leader and Assistant Leader for the duration of the programme. All staff are carefully selected, vetted and trained in all activities that they deliver. Everyone employed by Action4Youth is required to have an enhanced DBS check (previously known as CRB).
Compliance with all relevant legislation
We comply fully with all relevant legislation and, where appropriate, our outdoor activity partners are licensed under the Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations 2004. We (or our partners) produce detailed risk assessments for all activities. All staff are trained to identify, recognise and mitigate any risks that arise during the programme.
Participants’ responsibilities
NCS is all about challenging and pushing yourself. We expect commitment, dedication and enthusiasm. Participants are responsible for following our simple code of conduct during the programme. If a participant seriously or persistently broke this code of conduct, then we would have to ask them to leave the programme. In this case, the young person would have to return home.
Participant Code of Conduct
1. Follow safety rules and the law
2. Only leave the site with a Mentor
3. No going in other people’s rooms or flats
4. Be in your room after 11pm
5. No alcohol, illegal drugs or penknives
6. Respect and include other people
7. Challenge yourself (in other words, take part)
We operate a strict zero tolerance policy on illegal drugs and alcohol and any participants found in possession of either of these will be removed from the programme immediately. Transport will not be provided and they are expected to be collected by their parent/ guardian.
This programme is delivered in partnership with Aylesbury College and any breach of the behaviour code of conduct will be reported to Aylesbury College and students will be subject to their disciplinary procedure.
Kit List for Residential
Please check the weather before you finish packing. Due to the time of year, it is likely that it is going to be cold, wet and muddy so please be prepared!!
Please do not bring expensive clothing as it may get ruined!
During your Sessions
•Good footwear - Old trainers that can get wet and muddy. At least two pairs so you are not wearing wet shoes.
•Tracksuit bottoms or trousers -ideally no jeans, especially on the water sport sessions.
•T-shirts, some long sleeves
•Jumpers
•Waterproof Jacket
•Thick winter coat or body warmer
•Swimwear to wear during water sessions under wetsuit if you wish
•Hat, scarf, gloves
•Thermals or base layers if you have them
Other clothing
•Underwear/ Socks
•Pyjamas/ something suitable to sleep in – The temperature will drop in the evening so you may need to wear an extra layer during the night.
•‘Normal clothing’ for the evenings and when eating
•Two towels and toiletries
Other items you need to bring
•Sleeping Bag, Pillow and blanket (or two sleeping bags)
•Small rucksack
•Torch
•Water bottle
A couple of large bin liners are ideal for carrying wet dirty kit and to assist packing on the return journey.
Please do not bring electronic goods or valuables. We cannot be responsible for them and we will not take care of your phones, iPads etc. when you are on sessions. If you do choose to bring them, then you do so at your own risk.