In a UK first, the Children’s Activities Association is set up by industry experts to fill the gap parents can’t believe exists! Activities, classes and clubs are a valued and much-loved part of most children’s pre-school and extracurricular leisure and learning time, but until now, there has been no formal guidelines to assist parents in choosing how to invest their time and money in popular pastimes such as swimming, singing, signing and gym to name just a few! But now, the UK’s parents and carers have a new bench-mark to assist them when choosing the best classes and clubs for their children - thanks to the newly formed community interest company, the Children’s Activity Association (CAA) who announces the launch of a Code of Practice offering parents peace of mind for the first time! Some of the UK’s best known names in the kids’ activities sector have come together including Water Babies, Baby Sensory, diddi dance and Tumble Tots. The CAA also has the backing and support of Dr Amanda Gummer, a well-known industry figure and research psychologist specialising in play and development, Morton Michel and the lovely Sid as seen on CBeebies! But why do we need the Children’s Activities Association? A recent survey revealed that four out of five parents and carers of young children agreed it would be helpful if a Code of Practice was in place to support them make choices and decisions about their classes and activities. The survey also found that nearly 1 in 4 had attended a class or activity that did not meet their expectations – and that two thirds of these said the experience had either put them off future activities or made them more likely to seek greater reassurance about classes in future. Parents were keen to rate things that were important when looking into activities with ‘Clean and Safe Premises’ and ‘Safe and Age Appropriate Activities’ scoring most highly by over three quarters of respondents - ahead of being local to home and affordable and competitively priced. One of the most shocking findings however was the number of parents who had assumed (incorrectly) that such a Code of Practice already existed - so did not realise that adequate child safeguarding, Health and Safety and insurance may not have been in place at the activity of their choice.
My child was "lost" by activity organisers on the way from a session to the parent pick up point (he was 5 years old and taking part in a holiday football club at leisure centre with some other friends). The Supervisor hadn't even noticed that my child was missing until I pointed it out. It took an hour to find him, luckily he was safe, although very upset. Anonymous respondent
The findings also revealed that only 2 in 10 of the parents surveyed said they felt information regarding issues such as Health and Safety and staff qualification was easy to find. The majority (75%) admitted they had to research extensively AND ask the right questions to find out or had simply been unable to confirm what they needed to know. Dr Amanda Gummer commented: "The explosion of activities for children means that parents can be bombarded with information and not know where to turn. To have an independent accreditation system with the aim of promoting accessibility and awareness of great children's activities will be hugely beneficial for families across the country". Parents should start to look out for the official logo on the websites and literature of all those businesses who have pledged to meet the CAA’s robust guidelines for best practice from the end of May. As well as helping to raise the standard of children's activities by establishing and improving standards & accreditation, the CAA will also aim to help more families get greater access to a wide range of activities, award funding, commission research, campaign for improvements and promote all the benefits of children's activities. Sam Willoughby Founder & Managing Director of CAA founding member What’s On 4 added: “Highlighting those providers who excel at what they do is vital and now the ‘not-for-profit’ CAA offers this. We know how important good clubs and classes are to parents – how a positive experience can actually change the lives of children and young families – and even save lives - so anything which makes the decision making process simpler and offers peace of mind is a very good thing!” The CAA looks forward to the Code of Practice being widely welcomed therefore - offering benefits to parents, children and activity operators alike. For more information, visit the www.childrensactivitiesassociation.org -Ends-
Notes to editors The CAA is a Community Interest Company with no shareholders where all profits must be used to benefit the mission. The Founding Team is led by Sam Willoughby, Managing Director of What's On 4 the multi-award winner provider of online guides of children's activities in the UK and worldwide since 2006. Joining What's On 4 are leading providers of children's activities as well as other professionals and experts who work within the industry too. VIDEO - Watch a short video introducing the CAA HERE
Website - Visit the CAA website HERE The founding team are all passionate about providing the best organised children's activities in the world and are dedicated to making the CAA a success. THE CAA CODE OF PRACTICE - The 8 page document that operators and providers pledge to adhere to when they join can be viewed HERE THE CAA STEERING COMMITTEE - Details of those involved can be found HERE THE SURVEY - The Survey attracted *431 unique responses from parents and carers of children aged 5 and under, across a three week period in March 2015 The term ‘parents’ as used in the above release when mentioning the survey relates to both parents and carers For More information To arrange an interview with the CAA or its members, or for further information and anecdotal evidence/case studies from parents supporting the need for the Code of Practice, please contact Caroline Fosbury at the CAA Press Office on 07973 318973 or email caroline@fosburypr.com