Dear Parents/Guardians,
GREENHILLS SUMMER CAMP 2021 – COVID 19 Guidelines
- Guidelines: We will be following ALL guidelines advised by NPHET and published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) and the HSE that are in place when the camp starts.
- Programme Changes: To comply with Health & Safety guidelines. Our Physical Education teacher is currently designing a NEW programme of activities to allow for social distancing. This programme will be a very different programme of activities from previous years, but it will be, educational, challenging and fun. Unfortunately, Greenhills Summer Camp will not be able to offer inflatable games this year, as inflatables are too hard to clean down after each group. We AIM to CLEAN, CLEAN, & CLEAN to provide a safe environment for your child/ren. Most of the activities will happen outdoors this year.
- Covid Compliance Officer: Greenhills Summer Camp has a designated COVID Compliance Officer this year, Colm. He will ensure that all necessary hygiene and other guidelines are adhered to concerning Covid-19. If any staff member or child at camp is displaying symptoms, Colm will follow our procedure to ensure the safe isolation of the individual until it is possible for them to go home. A mask will be provided on-site for any person who is displaying symptoms. Those potentially affected will be advised to phone their GP and follow their GP’s medical guidance. Greenhills Summer Camp will complete an incident report and comply with any HSE contact tracing requests.
- Outdoors & Activities: GREENHILLS SUMMER CAMP has a completely new program for 2020. However, a lot of extra equipment was purchased this year Orbit Balls for rugby, soccer and GAA football, Footgolf Course, Roller Racers & our BRAND NEW Crazy Golf course (see images/video’s below). We will also have the very popular KMX Karts & Go-Karts back again plus most of our activities in previous years. Our daily schedule has been adapted to ensure distancing and hygiene guidelines.
- POD System and Greenhills Capacity: The number of children permitted in each group will be reduced to achieve the best social distancing practices amid the Covid-19 pandemic. There will be 14 children in a Group/POD and one teacher. We are running with just over 1/3 of our normal capacity in Greenhills to ensure that each group / POD is extremely well managed.
- Grouping Children: Children will be allocated their group the week before camp. The camp leaders will call parents on the Thursday or Friday before camp starts. Please state your child/rens friends that you know of attending the camp as we will group them. ALL children will remain with their group for the duration of camp with the same camp teacher. Groups will not inter-mix with other groups. No exceptions and change of groups are permitted.
- Hand Hygiene and Sanitisation: We will provide a hand sanitizing station which children/staff will have easy access to. ALL children will sanitise their hands before and after each activity. The leaders of the camp will then clean down all equipment that was used. We will request that everyone also bring their supply of hygiene products including hand sanitiser for their personal use. Children will be supervised on toilet breaks to ensure that proper hand hygiene is being followed. Toilets and other hot spots such as door handles will be cleaned and sanitised throughout the day.
- Contactless drop off/collection: We will implement a staggered drop off and collection. We aim for this to be carried out in a contactless format. Drop off times – TBC Collection times – TBC. This is to protect parents, children and staff. You must stick to your allocated arrival time. Parents will be notified by email the week before the camp with their drop off time. We will have an area for your child/ren to go to if you have more than once child in different groups. Children and teachers will have their temperature checked every morning by the COVID Compliance Officer. Staff will complete the ‘COVID-19 Return to Work Form’ every Sunday night. Parents will complete their child/rens ‘COVID 19 Google Form’ online before camp commencement on Monday morning. This ‘COVID 19 Google Form’ is a requirement and needs to be completed online to avoid the touching of pens and equipment.
- Parental Access: Parents/guardians are not permitted to enter the camp venue unannounced at any time during the camp day. If they must return to the camp venue during the day, they must first phone our office to arrange this or email us the night before.
- Personal Belongings: We will require all personal belongings to be labelled, including water bottles, lunch boxes and bags. Children cannot share water bottles!
Any parent, child or staff member who is displaying symptoms of Covid-19 prior to camp or outside of camp hours should not attend Greenhills Summer Camp.
- Finally, we are fully aware that this has been a challenging and strange period for everyone. We understand that getting life back to some form of normality is of huge benefit to the children. Greenhills Summer Camp can play a strong role in returning children to some kind of normality.
- We hope you understand that extra practices for health and safety are now necessary to keep us all safe and well and to protect our families/communities. We aim to integrate safe practices into the exciting, engaging and fun experience that we will continue to deliver in Greenhills.
We would like to thank you in advance for your understanding.
Greenhills Summer Camp Team