We believe that children function best in an environment which has clearly-set boundaries and guidelines to follow. These boundaries and guidelines are explained to the children at the beginning of camp during the Welcome Talk. We stress the importance of these guidelines, why they are there and what happens if they are not adhered to. For example, if you run on the concrete and fall over you will hurt yourself, or if you run around the horses you might scare them and they may kick out. This means the campers know why a particular behaviour is not acceptable and will begin to think before they act, alter their behaviour and ultimately develop self-discipline.
Children are encouraged to follow expectations through positive reinforcement and redirection and staff are required to role model ideal behaviour at all times. Staff members are instructed to be firm but fair in their redirection, encouraging children to take responsibility for their own actions and the subsequent consequences.
We have a zero tolerance on bullying, swearing and refusing to following instruction. If a child presents with these behaviours, they will be brought into a meeting to investigate the reason for their behaviour and given a reminder that this particular behaviour is not acceptable. If it is something serious Kiah Park management will immediately contact the child’s parent/carer and ask them to communicate with the child to encourage them to correct their behaviour. If we do not see an improvement in the behaviour, the child will again be called into a meeting and told that if they do not comply they will be sent home. Thereafter if there is no improvement, the child’s parent/carer will be called to pick their child up.