The safety and wellbeing of our students is our main priority. We provide an excellent level of welfare provision for all our students, group leaders and staff. Visiting another country can be daunting, so we will do everything we can to make our student’s visit a stress-free, enjoyable experience

We always request any special requirements students may have, eg. allergies, dietary requirements or medical conditions, to ensure we can meet their needs.. This information is then passed on confidentially to the relevant staff at the Elac centre.

The induction of our students and leaders includes everything they need to know about their stay, including: • An introduction to the centre, classrooms and facilities; • The different staff members and their roles; • The signing of a Student Code of Conduct so everyone knows what is expected of them.

All staff have a current DBS certificate (criminal record check) and we follow safer recruitment guidelines. Senior staff are given safeguarding training so they understand our child protection policies. A designated welfare officer (usually the Assistant Centre Manager) is available to talk to if our students have any problems, and they work closely with group leaders to ensure everyone is cared for. We listen to our students and treat their problems sensitively and fairly. We also provide specialist staff for certain activities, eg. swimming.

Students are supervised at all times on site, to ensure their safety. During activities, the ratio is 1:25 (Elac Activity Leaders/students) for 12-18 year olds and 1:15 for students from 7-11. On excursions, the ratio is 1:15 (Elac Leaders and Group Leaders/students) with the higher age group and 1:10 with the younger group. There may be the opportunity to have some free time during an excursion for shopping etc, but our students always remain in small groups. All students are given an emergency contact card in case they get lost. For homestay students, transport on private Elac buses to and from the centres is supervised by Elac Activity staff. However, transport on public buses and to and from home and bus stops is unsupervised.

The welfare staff are first aid-trained and a first aid kit is always available. We can also arrange visits to local doctors, dentists, etc, and in a medical emergency students are taken to the local Accident and Emergency Department. Specific medical equipment, eg. fridges to store medication, can be provided on request.

All hosts are visited every two years, and have the necessary welfare checks (including a DBS). They are carefully matched with students’ needs and preferences. If there is a problem, then our homestay co-ordinator, together with the Assistant Centre Manager and group leader, will do everything they can to ensure that this is resolved.

Our Child Safeguarding Policy is regularly reviewed and updated. We regularly check all our centres, excursions and activities to ensure that all risks have been identified and made as safe as possible.

If students are not part of a group, they are looked after by the Assistant Centre Manager.