Working together at Maison Claire Fontaine

It is important that we always work together as a team to achieve a happy, friendly and ultimately safe environment for both our pupils and ourselves.

Communications

Throughout the week it is important that we can all communicate with each other at any time. If you have any concerns or need to clarify anything about your stay it is important that you speak to us and vice versa. There will always be a member of the centre staff on site and one of the centre directors or site managers will speak to you every morning to discuss the programme for the day. The centre staff may need to modify the activities and timings as circumstances dictate, such as adverse weather conditions or changes made by external providers.

These changes will always be discussed and agreed with you.

Overall responsibilities

It is our responsibility to deliver a high quality and fun educational experience for our schools in a secure and safe environment. We will always have at least one member of our staff on site or with the group for excursions and activities at all times (apart from the restaurant meal). However, we consider ‘loco parentis’ to be the responsibility of the accompanying staff and we ask that there is at least one member of the school team available for us to contact easily at any time should the need arise.

All accompanying staff are always very welcome to join in with activities and lessons and we encourage you to do so if you are able to. Pupils enjoy working with their own school teachers and this always helps to create a happy and productive atmosphere.   

In general MCF staff will supervise pupils from 8.30am (breakfast time) through to 9.00pm (end of evening activities), apart from break times. During breaks, supervision of pupils is the responsibility of the visiting staff and we recommend that this involves activities outside if at all possible. We would prefer pupils not to stay in dormitories unless an accompanying adult is present.

Evening activities commence at 8.00pm and finish at 9.00pm. At 9.00 pm centre staff are ‘off duty’ although some do remain on site in case of an emergency. Bedtime supervision is the responsibility of visiting staff.

After physical activities e.g. kayaking or hiking, visiting teachers are responsible for their pupils should they need to change.This allows our staff to change and then return to the group.

Activities on site

All the activities on site will be led by MCF staff. It can be both helpful and fun if visiting staff join in, but we ask at a minimum that at least one member of the school teaching team is on site with us and that we know where to contact them in case of an emergency. This is particularly important for the slightly larger Lac Sauvin site.

Activities and excursions off site

For activities and excursions based off site that involve the whole group we expect that all accompanying staff join us, unless circumstances require additional adult supervision at the centre for pupils that are unable to travel or take part. For activities or excursions off site that involve only part of the group, we expect a minimum of 1 member of the visiting school staff to accompany them.

Although MCF staff coordinate external activities and excursions, you will be accompanying your group and as a result it is for all of us as a team to be responsible for the safety, security and behaviour of pupils. We will communicate with you continuously to create the safest and most enjoyable experience possible for all the children.

First Aid and Emergency Procedures

There is always a fully qualified first aider available for consultation, however, it is important that at least one member of the accompanying staff is also fully qualified and takes responsibility for any medical decisions. 

We have first aid kits easily to hand in teaching and activity rooms. The main first aid box, emergency numbers and record sheets are kept in the corridor outside the canteen at the Meluzien centre. At Lac Sauvin all first aid equipment is kept in the resources room.

All MCF staff carry first aid kits when travelling offsite. There is also a first aid kit on every coach and the coach drivers are also first aid trained.

In the unlikely event of an accident, emergency services respond quicker than normal due to the fact children are present on site. The emergency department at Avallon hospital is only 5 minutes drive from Meluzien and 20 minutes from Lac Sauvin. We have a good relationship with local amenities such as doctors and dentists.

Fire Drill

On the evening of your arrival we will have a full fire drill and the correct evacuation procedures will be explained to pupils and staff. It is the visiting teachers responsibility to clear and search the dormitories if the alarm goes off over night, making sure the pupils line up (in quiet, straight lines) at the meeting point.

Journals

If you would like your pupils to complete a daily journal during their stay, there is plenty of time to do this during breaks throughout the day. Many schools choose to do this in the time after supper before evening activities begin or after the evening activities. At these times we ask that it is supervised by visiting school staff.

Alternatively, if you would prefer for MCF teachers to run these sessions we can include journal writing within lessons or as an activity option.

In addition we do have a blog facility as part of this website. Please do let us know if you would like pupils to write contributions and we can add them to the site for parents to read. This is an ideal creative writing activity for bilingual pupils.       

Discipline

All MCF staff are very happy to deal with minor disciplinary problems. However, should we perceive the problem to be rather more serious in nature we will refer it straight to visiting school staff.

Medical Issues

It is important that all MCF staff are aware of any unusual or serious medical conditions whilst they are supervising pupils. For this reason we ask that you complete important details on our information spreadsheet before your visit so that we can discuss these with our teachers before you arrive. Copies of complete medical forms should also be handed to the site manager on your arrival.

Visiting teachers are responsible for supervising and administering any medications.

Keeping Tidy

It would be a great help to us if all teachers can encourage pupils to keep dormitories, bathrooms, classrooms and grounds clean and tidy. We are very happy to work with you and award prizes to the best groups, individuals or rooms at the end of the week.

Daily timetable

A daily timetable and an outline of the schedule of supervision of pupils can be viewed using the link below: