At the Young Film Academy (YFA), we are dedicated to ensuring that every participant in our programmes receives exceptional care and has the most enriching and enjoyable experience possible. Our commitment to quality service extends to all attendees, and we strive to foster open and transparent communication with parents throughout the entirety of the programme. This dialogue is essential to keep everyone informed about the services we can provide, as well as those we may be unable to accommodate regarding access needs.
If your child has specific requirements related to special educational needs and disabilities, we encourage you to discuss these with us prior to making a booking. This proactive approach allows us to assess your child’s needs thoroughly and ensures that we can implement the necessary support systems effectively.
At YFA, we are committed to making reasonable adjustments wherever possible, given our available resources, to address the physical, behavioural, and learning needs of your child. It is important to note that we can only assume responsibility for arrangements that have been previously discussed and agreed upon with us.
Our communication with parents begins with the completion of our booking form. The information provided during this process is crucial for us to evaluate your child’s needs and our ability to meet them, so we kindly ask that you provide as much detail and honesty as possible.
1. Booking Form: You will be required to provide details regarding your child’s medical history and any special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) in the booking form.
2. SEND Questionnaire: Following your submission, we will send you a questionnaire to gather additional insights into your child’s needs.
3. Call/Meeting with Programme Manager: If necessary, we will arrange a call or an in-person meeting with our Programme Manager to discuss further details.
4. Internal Review: The information collected from the previous steps will be reviewed internally by the Programme Manager to assess how we can best support your child.
5. Confirmation of Booking: Once we are confident in our ability to fully support your child, we will confirm your booking.
Should any adjustments or accommodations be agreed upon, YFA will retain this information for one calendar year from the start of the course. After this period, it will be securely destroyed. If your child enrols in another course, we will revisit the conversation and update the necessary adjustments as required.
When considering a programme at YFA, it is important to evaluate several key access points, including staffing ratios, code of conduct adherence, independent pastoral and personal care provisions, access to facilities, and opportunities for safe and enjoyable participation in the course activities.
The YFA programme offers a diverse range of courses across various locations, schedules, activities, staff, and equipment. Our team is more than happy to engage in detailed discussions to address any specific concerns you may have. Below, we’ve outlined initial considerations for our Day Courses and Residential Summer Camp.
YFA’s day courses, such as the Four Day Film School and Make a film in a day are primarily hosted at Chelsea Academy in London SW10. If required, we will provide details about the facilities at Chelsea Academy. If our day courses are hosted at a different location, we will also share information about that facility’s features.
Typically, our day courses run from 10 AM to 5 PM, with a lunch break from 1 PM to 1:30 PM. We maintain a staffing ratio of 1:8, supplemented by additional support from administrative assistants and work experience students.
The activities offered during YFA’s day courses encompass a variety of creative disciplines, including screenwriting, screen acting, equipment tutorials, filming, editing, and fight choreography, among others. We encourage you to inquire about specific course details during the application process.
Our day courses employ a range of equipment, including laptops, monitors, speakers, projectors, cameras, tripods, lighting, and sound recording devices.
YFA’s residential Summer Camp takes place at Culford School in Suffolk, IP28 6TX. During their stay, your child will reside in on-site accommodation, typically sharing a dormitory with other participants of the same gender. They will have access to communal bathroom facilities as well as dining, teaching, and recreational areas. YFA also provides a designated quiet area for students to unwind when needed.
The Culford School site is expansive, featuring multiple multi-storied buildings that are quite spread out, with some cobblestone pathways. Due to the historical significance of many of the buildings, accessibility features such as ramps and lifts are limited. If your child has a physical disability, we encourage you to request detailed information about the facilities at Culford School before completing your booking.
The Summer Camp runs from Monday to Sunday for either one week or two weeks, depending on attendance. A comprehensive sample schedule can be provided upon request. Our camp typically operates with a staffing ratio of 1:10, along with a Designated Safeguarding Lead available for students who may require pastoral support.
In addition to film-related activities like screenwriting, screen acting, equipment tutorials, filming, editing, and fight choreography, the Summer Camp also includes a variety of recreational activities such as swimming, dancing, yoga, ping pong, and arts and crafts. Detailed information about the full range of activities can be discussed with the YFA team at the time of booking.
YFA’s Residential Summer Camp is equipped with the same range of technology and equipment as our day courses, along with additional resources related to sporting and recreational activities.
When considering the suitability of a Young Film Academy programme for your child, please note that YFA cannot provide staffing levels above our standard supervision ratios of 1:8 for Day Courses and 1:10 for the Summer Camp. Therefore, we do not recommend our courses for children who require additional care or supervision that exceeds these ratios.
While YFA staff receive in-house training to manage a broad spectrum of behaviours, they are not specialists in specific conditions such as ADHD, ADD, or Autism. If you believe that a programme requiring more specialised support or higher staffing ratios would be more appropriate for your child, we recommend exploring options available through the British Activity Provider Association (BAPA) at www.thebapa.co.uk.
In order to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all participants, it is crucial that children adhere to the rules and procedures set forth by YFA during their activities. Their behaviour must not compromise the health, safety, or enjoyment of themselves or others, including fellow participants and our staff.
YFA recognises the diverse range of behavioural traits among children, most of which do not interfere with their participation. However, to maintain a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone, we require all participants to comply with our Student Code of Conduct. Failure to adhere to this code can result in your child being sent home, as outlined in the following clauses from YFA’s Terms and Conditions:
4.3. Any failure by the student to comply with the Student Code of Conduct may lead to immediate termination of their participation in the camp without a refund, and the student may be sent home at their own expense.
4.4. In addition to paragraph 4.3, YFA reserves the right to withdraw the student from any activity at any time for reasons of safety or unsuitability, or to dismiss the student from the camp without a refund and at their own expense on any grounds deemed appropriate by YFA, including the provision of inaccurate or misleading information at the time of registration or booking.
We therefore request that both you and your child read and agree to our complete Code of Conduct, as detailed in our Terms and Conditions, prior to finalising your booking. Please note that no refunds will be issued for participants sent home due to violations of the Code of Conduct.
We hope that the information provided above serves as a helpful starting point for discussing your child’s specific needs and requirements. We look forward to continuing this conversation with you, should you wish to do so.
If you have any questions or require further clarification regarding any of the information outlined above, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact us via telephone at +44 (0) 20 7387 4341 or via email at courses@youngfilmacademy.co.uk. We are here to assist you in any way we can. If you wish to speak with the Designated Safeguarding Lead, please request contact details via the administration team.
