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Before your child travels

Personal Details
We must be advised in advance if your child is currently or has recently experienced any major illness, disabilities, behavioural or social problems that may affect him/her or our other guests. At VSF we are continually working to enable as many children as possible to enjoy our Program. To help us achieve this, please provide full details at the time of booking or in a covering letter addressed to our Program Director, Ms. Valérie Levent.

That is also one of the reason we request written confirmation from your child’s French teacher confirming the suitability of this program for him/her. We will naturally treat any personal information sensitively and respect confidentiality. Very rarely we may not be able to provide the service required and will refund any deposit paid.

Medical & Emergency Details
We need to know in advance about any congenital complaint and/or standard child illness, e.g. asthma, allergies, epilepsy, and whether the child has been in hospital for any reason within the 6 months prior to booking. Please provide full details on your child’s Health Form.

You will also be asked to complete a Medical and Emergency Contact Form which will be sent with your Admission Pack, including a telephone number where we can always contact you in the event of an emergency during camp. This form will be handed by our staff on arrival at the centre or to the travel courier and given to the Camp Director . Where appropriate, please provide all relevant information concerning medical conditions and any medication or drugs currently being administered. Any pills or medication must be handed in upon arrival, together with details of daily dosage and administration.

Of course, children can sometimes feel unwell while they are on holiday and accidents can occasionally happen – but because of our safety precautions they are no more prevalent than with any children at play, probably less.

We have staff with first aid qualifications and have pre-established contact with local doctors, dentists and hospitals in case of need. On every centre, in case of minor accidents, each activity base is equipped with a first-aid kit. Full records of treatment are kept and parents are always alerted in a real emergency. For some small accidents, e.g. bumps, scratches, grazes, we will not normally contact parents unless deemed necessary.

Swimming
Please clearly indicate swimming ability on the Swimming Certificate. Lifejackets or buoyancy aids are always worn for watersports, except for body-boarding, surfing and snorkelling sessions.

Alternative activities are arranged for non-swimmers at most centres. Participants must be able to swim 25 metres to participate in Kayaking on the River; surfing and wave skiing on the sea, power boating, wave-skiing and any Watersports on the Sea. Water confidence is adequate for all other camps offering watersport activities.

What to bring
All essential activity and safety equipment is provided, but your child will need personal clothing, footwear and washing kit. If the holiday involves watersports, or the centre has a swimming pool, you should also pack a swimsuit and extra towels. Brand new or expensive clothes should be left at home! Remember that insurance does not cover replacement value.

Bearing this in mind and the outdoor, active nature of most of our holidays, old, casual and easily-washable clothes are strongly recommended and they must be clearly name-tagged to avoid loss. A Detailed list of clothing for each program is sent to parents in their child’s PRE-TRIP / PRE-CAMP Package in June. We will send you a detailed list of what to bring!

What not to bring
Mobile phones should not be brought to camp! At some centres it is possible for children to send e-mails home (a small charge may apply), however, we do not currently have the facilities for guests to receive e-mails.

Correspondence between parents and children usually happens via fax machine. Please leave valuable watches, jewellery, Ipod’s and personal stereos at home! Pocket money, travel tickets and passports may be handed in to VSF staff or the camp staff on arrival at the centre and all property must be clearly named.

Lost items
Help us to help you! VSF and Camp Staff will do their best to return named lost property to owners, however, if lost clothing is not clearly marked, it is unlikely that we will be able to trace it. We strongly recommend woven-type name tapes which should be firmly stitched into an obvious place in each garment. We reserve the right to charge postage and packing for those items returned.

Pocket Money
All VSF programs in FRANCE are fully inclusive and there is little need to bring large sums of money. However, there are sometimes excursion days and all centres feature a tuck-shop selling sweets and small souvenirs.

Some centres for older children also have a pool table in the chill out room at a cost of around 50p per game and 13-16 year olds may have the opportunity to take part in evening activities off site such as bowling or a trip to the cinema. A small charge will be made for these to cover transport and entrance fees. There is no obligation for any guest to take part in these optional extras and a free alternative activity will always be available on site at the camp.

The amount of pocket money required obviously varies with the age of the child. We recommend not more than 100 € pocket money. Each Camp operates a secure system for holding and issuing pocket money.

VSF E-Pals
Many of our campers travel on their own, however if you feel that it would reassure your child to correspond with another single child signed up in the same camp session, what about our VSF E-Pals Service? Just give our staff your e-mail address at the time of booking and we will try to arrange an e-pal introduction.
We will try to match you with another camper or family. Once a match has been made we will forward the email address to each family advising them accordingly. Please bear in mind that it takes us time to build up a ‘pool’ of names before we’re able to contact you with an e-pal. We can only make one introduction per person and ages will never be more than 2 years apart. If we cannot find a pal for you, we’ll contact you in due course to advise, but don’t worry, 60% of our campers arrive on their own and they all leave with lots of new friends!

Visiting the Camps
If you would like the opportunity to visit the camp location please let us know in advance, we will be happy to help.
Birthdays

If your child has a birthday during their trip to France with VSF, please advise us prior to travel and we will endeavour to make their day one to remember! In France this may include a birthday cake with our compliments to share with their friends…or a special party if possible.

Passports and Documentation
For overseas trips, please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that your child has his/her own passport and (if necessary) visa documentation. Holders of non European passports should check with their embassy whether a visa will be required., please allow plenty of time for the application process as campers are unable to travel without a valid passport.