Action Adventure Holidays Ltd undertakes CRB checks on its entire staff, and rechecks any staff that falls within the guidelines as outlined by the DfES and the CRB.

• Checked for criminal background via the CRB Enhanced Disclosure system or provide overseas criminal clearance where relevant.
• Checked against two most recent independent confidential references Interviewed face to face by qualified personnelHealth declaration
• Identity checked

Action Adventure Holidays Ltd has a dedicated team that ensures that all the relevant background checks are obtained and are satisfactory. Only once this has been established and correctly entered onto the system, can a member of staff be assigned "active" status and offered a zero hour contract.

All Team Leader applicants must provide proof that they hold a recognised NVQ in childcare or Student teacher registration or a teaching qualification and support staff must hold relevant qualifications to their role. As part of the registration process we require sight of original certificates. In the absence of original certificates, we gain a letter confirming qualifications from the relevant qualification body or the individual’s training provider.

We take a minimum of two references on each new applicant. References must be from the most recent employers from within the last six years.

Referees must be in a position to comment directly on the applicants performance and references are sought only from the employers or other qualified management position.
References are not accepted from staffroom colleagues of the applicant. References must be written, but in the case of verbal references, a contemporaneous record must be made of the name and status of the referee, the date and the name of the employee taking the reference. Verbal references are substantiated by a request for a written reference within 24 hours.

Open references are not accepted.

Every effort is made to authenticate the status of the referee i.e. a call is made to the school to verify that the named referee is on the staff and in a position of authority.

Sight of an original passport, photo ID (e.g. Photo Driving Licence) or birth certificate is required. In addition, an original utility bill or bank statement showing the applicant’s name and address is required.

The Recruitment Process
Vacancies occur throughout the year and it is always worth checking our website to view these. Our main recruitment season when most posts are advertised starts in early spring for posts starting at Easter and August summer weeks. Our website contains up to date and fully comprehensive information about current vacancies and how to apply for them. Alternatively, you can contact us by email or telephone us. Please note that information on the website concerning posts, terms & conditions of service and job descriptions is as accurate as possible, but may be subject to change at short notice.

If you would like to apply, you can review our current list of vacancies online and submit your application. Alternatively, you can write to us by e-mail saying which jobs you are interested in and we will send you an application form and full vacancy details. OR you can download the application form from the website and post directly to us.

To make sure our recruitment process is fair and transparent we ask all candidates to complete an application form. CVs or résumés will not be accepted independently, but ok as an attachment. So by contacting us will not negate the need to complete this form.  Additionally all applicants will be requested to complete a CRB clearance check which is mandatory

As soon as possible after the closing date for applications, a shortlist is drawn up. If you are not short listed for your first preference, you may be invited to interview for one or more of your other choices, given availability. We will make contact with all applicants individually. If you have not heard from us within six weeks of a deadline please don’t assume your application was unsuccessful, contact us further as this will not be our normal practice. If you would like more information about your application at any stage of the process, please contact us.  

We hold all applications for twelve months. If we have your application and you wish to apply for advertised vacancies during this period, you can simply contact us to request more information and complete a statement page on how you meet the essential competencies.

The application form
The application form will ask you for contact details, education and qualifications, employment history, references and evidence of competencies.  Each vacancy will have essential and desirable competencies. These may be skills, knowledge, experience and behaviors that are needed to do the job. It is important to outline how your qualifications and experience match the competencies for that particular job as the recruitment panel will examine this evidence in the short listing process.

References
References should only be used to confirm factual information such as the applicant’s employment history, experience and an assessment of the candidate’s suitability for the post in question.

• Length of employment
• Job title
• Brief details of responsibilities
• Any reasons for leaving

References may also be used to check factual evidence of such factors such as relationships with children and peers, general performance in the post and personal development.

Requesting References
At least two references must be obtained for applicants.  References should be from current/most recent employers rather than character references.

Action Adventure Holidays Ltd advises that references are only taken up for short listed candidates and it is normal practice that these should not be read by the interviewers until after the candidates have been seen.  This will avoid the panel being influenced by the references and will avoid panel members disclosing information given in them during the course of the interviews.  The Chair of the panel or the HR representative should hold the references until they are required.

It is important to note that panel members should not breach the confidentiality of referees by revealing the content of references to candidates.

The Human Resources Manager is responsible for taking up references however references will not be taken up without first ensuring that the applicant has consented to referees being approached, particularly in respect of the current or most recent employment.

There are occasions when a candidate would not wish his/her current employer to be approached until an offer of appointment has been made.  In such circumstances it must be made clear that an offer of appointment must be made subject to the receipt of references that are satisfactory to the Company. 

Training
All Action Adventure Holidays Ltd staff must attend an initial mandatory unpaid induction training day. This training day is site-specific training set up at the site you have been offered employment at (this is usually on the Saturday or Sunday prior to the camp starting).

If you attend one of the Easter training dates, you will not be required to attend another prior to the summer, although you will still be required to attend the site-specific training and set up day. It is a compulsory requirement that every staff member should attend the induction training every year (plus all relevant site-specific training and set up days). This must be before your first day of work in that year i.e. you cannot leave your training until the summer dates if you are also working at Easter.

All central training is held at Bramcote Lorne School, Gamston, Retford, Nottinghamshire. There is ample car parking space should you choose to drive. The school is also a convenient taxi ride from Retford railway station. Each individual is responsible for any costs they incur, including transport to and from the venue.

For everyone, all training and set-up days are not paid work days as they are part of the compulsory Health and Safety training which you must undertake before work can commence. However established core staff and new inductee Staff (may be paid) but must attend site-specific training and a set up day for every camp they work throughout the year e.g. if you work at Easter and Summer you will need to attend 1 induction training day and 2 site-specific set up part days (even if you are working at the same site both times). You may be advised to bring a packed lunch with you to all site-specific training days as the site does not have shops close by and the school restaurant may be closed.  Failure to attend training prior to the beginning of camp will result in Action Adventure Holidays Ltd withdrawing any offer of work.

Equal opportunities
Our policy for fair recruitment and the culture inside our organisation

Action and Adventure Holidays is committed to equal opportunities and believes the values deriving from different backgrounds should be recognised and respected. We aim to provide an environment from which all children can benefit.

We are committed to equality of opportunity and positive action to promote equality of opportunity. We believe that an Equal Opportunities Policy helps to ensure that there is no unjustified discrimination in the recruitment, retention, training and development of staff on the basis of gender, martial status, sexual identity, religious belief, political opinion, race, work pattern, age, disability, socio-economic background, or on the basis of having or not having dependents.

Strategy
Action and Adventure Holidays will endeavour to encourage:

All children to have equal access to all activities.

• Positive images of people from different races and cultures are provided through books, resources used, and leaders employed.
• Children with special needs are welcome. All leaders are made aware of their particular need and each child has one particular leader to oversee their provision. Social Services and the Care and Education Partnership support may be called upon in certain cases.
• Action and Adventure Holidays is committed to challenging racist, sexist and all other discriminatory behaviour in both children and leaders.
• Action and Adventure Holidays are staffed with regard to the provision of positive role models for all children attending them.
• Action and Adventure Holidays is committed to providing training and qualifications for leaders, and as a group of leaders will reflect on issues relating to race, disability or gender, to ensure that leaders are aware of their own attitudes and expectations towards all children.
• We also believe that an Equal Opportunities Policy benefits employees and potential employees and helps achieve dignity at work and contributes to providing the best possible services to parents and children.

Minimum educational requirements
The minimum requirements you will need to meet to work as a Leader, Assistant or Support staff for us

Action Adventure Holidays Ltd aim to provide the best and most qualified Team Leadership available for its OFSTED registered Day Camps. This is no small challenge, and to achieve this in Team Leadership or Assistant positions, unlike many National Day camp Companies; we must have the best teachers, student teachers or vocational childcare practitioners.
For this reason we look for:
 

• an NVQ certificate level 1/2 in Childcare or equivalent
• education degree or equivalent qualification in Teaching
• PGCE in Education QTS or similar
• Proven Student Teacher registration year 2 or 3 preferred
• native English speaker or equivalent ability
• Young at heart with the ability to positively communicate and motivate children

This could be the first time you have allowed your child on a summer holiday camp and we see it as our objective to ensure it is a memorable holiday - giving you the parents, 'peace of mind' knowing that they are safe, growing as individuals and enjoying themselves. Your child's holiday with Action & Adventure Holidays Ltd at Bramcote Lorne, Gamston will be a gigantic stride in their development.