Information for Parents / Guardians       The information on this page is intended for Parents and Guardians of current members as well as those who are considering joining the 1st Madeley Boys' Brigade Company. Note: On this page the term "parent" will be used to refer to both "Parents and Legal Guardians", this has been done in order to make the information easier to read. Our NO 1 Priority       Our highest priority is and always will be the protection and safety of your child while they are having fun and adventures at Boys' Brigade Leaders       All of our Leaders are CRB (Criminal Record Bureau) Checked and have a considerable wealth of experience in youth work and Boys' Brigade in general. See our Leaders section to read about each of our Leaders, their experience in Boys' Brigade and their Qualifications and BB Training. Saftey & First Aid       Your child's safety is of paramount importance to us and every necessary measure is taken to ensure this. Every Leader has a basic understanding of First Aid with many officers having taken an official training course at some point in the last few years. Some always have a current First Aid Certificate because this is a legal requirement of their respective professional careers. We have a well stocked First Aid kit at the Church as well as the meeting hall and will always have at least one First Aid kit with us when we are away from the Church. Mobile phones are always available for emergencies. Insurance Policy       Whilst we take every precaution to keep your child safe, accidents can happen. To offer peace of mind to parents the Boys' Brigade have an Insurance Policy which fully covers every member while they are attending Boys Brigade. For more information about our Insurance Policy please contact us either by use of the contact link on this site or in person at any of the meetings Consent Form       In order for the Insurance Policy to be legally binding we require a Parental Consent Form to be filled out and signed on an Annual basis. This form will be given to the boys at the start of the Winter Session in September and must be filled out, signed and returned as soon as possible. If the form has not been returned this may lead to a situation where the member will not be allowed to join in any sporting activity until we have received the completed and signed Consent Form. Activities       A Programme of Activities at the start of each session and Parents can request to see this when you drop off your child - in this way you will be aware of the activities that your child will be participating in. If we are leaving the usual meeting place you will know where we are going and what we will be doing. Occasionally we will organise outside activities and trips away which may require an additional consent form specifically to cover that activity. We will notify parents by letter for any such activity and without the completed and signed consent form the member will not be able to attend.       Anchor and Junior Section members do not require a Programme of activities because all our usual fun takes place on site at the usual meeting places - however, in the case of the Junior Section a programme is usually avaliable and can be seen on request as mentioned above. Behaviour / Conduct Policy       Our leaders are experienced and prepared to deal with many challenging behaviours from children and teenagers, however, there are some forms of behaviour that we will not tolerate from our members. This includes Bullying, Violent and Aggressive behaviour, Excessive bad language and disrespect and backchat to Leaders and other Members. Punishments for bad behaviour range from a simple verbal warning through to being told to sit out of an activity or not being allowed to buy sweets from the tuck shop for minor transgressions, to phone calls home to parents for more serious offences. We may ask a parent to pick up their child early or give a suspension for a week or two weeks if we feel their behaviour is serious enough to merit it. In extreme circumstances we will ask a member to leave and not come back - however this will option will only be used where no other solution can be found. Parents will be informed of the reasons and will have a chance to talk to leaders about any such situation that occurs. Uniform       We are a uniformed organisation and we do expect our members to wear their clean uniform every week. The uniform costs are detailed on the pages for each of the sections, (Anchors, Juniors and Company).       In addition members are required to wear dark trousers (school trousers are ideal), dark coloured socks and black shoes or trainers (no white socks or white trainers please). Please see the relevant page for the age group of your child for further information about uniform and badges. Weekly Subs & other costs       We charge a weekly subs fee of £1 for all sections which goes towards covering the cost of heating, lighting and resources, we can assure you none of it goes to the leaders - in fact some of the leaders often make donations to company funds in some way. When a new member first joins that first week is FREE.       Some Activities and trips away may incur an additional cost to cover transport, accommodation, food and / or other expenses. We endeavour to keep the costs as low as possible subsidising some of the cost from our Fund Raising activities. Parents will be notified well in advance of these events and may pay in installments if they wish. Other arrangements can be made for families with low incomes or if you have two or more members in Boys' Brigade. Please speak to one of the leaders to make alternative arrangements or discuss any concerns or problems you may have. Church Parade       We are a Christian organisation and we expect our members to attend Church Parade wearing full clean uniform. We currently hold about four Sunday Church Parades a year and members will be notified well in advance of when they will be. Fund Raising Activities       We are a charity organisation and need to raise funds to pay our expenses.       Help is greatly appreciated from our members and any other intrested parties at any fund raising events and we will let parents know well in advance when we are holding them. Parental Assistance and Involvement       We would appreciate any assistance from Parents at Fund Raising events, Church Parades or any other activity we are running. At many times in the past the involvement of Parents has been a big help to our company. If any Parent wants to become involved with helping to run Boys' Brigade they would be most welcome. There are opportunities for Parents to join 1st Madeley as a Leader themselves. Please speak to any of our Leaders and ask what you can do to help. Advice for Parents       The best advice we can give to parents is to talk to your children and find out what they have been doing at Boys' Brigade, make sure they are enjoying it and not having problems with anything. Sometimes a member would be willing to tell you about something they are not comfortable talking to the leaders about and if this is the case we urge parents to get in contact with the leaders and talk to us about anything that may be concerning you, as well as comments regarding anything we can do better or any problems that need addressing. We are always willing to take your worries seriously and answer any questions you may have.       We hope this has answered some of the questions you may have about us. If there is anything else you would like to know or anything you would like a further explanation about then please don't hesitate to Contact Us with your questions or comments.