Policies & Procedures

Use of our premises, services, website or facilities is conditional upon adherence to our policies and procedures. These policies and procedures are in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff and customers whilst ensuring compliance with legislative requirements.

“Clart About Sensory Café is for everybody” – ACCESS AND INCLUSION POLICY

Clart About Sensory café is open to every family who have, or care for, children, whatever their gender, ethnic origin, culture or ability.

  • All the sessions within Clart About Sensory café are built around local needs. Your thoughts and comments are very welcome.
  • Up to date information regarding sessions for Clart About Sensory Café is available on request.
  • We will make reasonable adjustments, where possible, in support of this access and inclusion policy.

“Keeping it safe for parents whatever we do” – BEHAVIOUR POLICY

By positively promoting good behaviour, valuing co-operation and a caring attitude, Clart About Sensory Café supports all children in developing as responsible members of society, and all adults in acting as positive role models. We also aim to ensure that all adults and children treat each other with respect, dignity, equality and fairness and encourage self-discipline and consideration for each other, local surroundings and property.

  • The staff member running the session is responsible for ensuring the smooth delivery of the session including overseeing the behaviour management of everybody present, both children and adults.
  • By praising children and adults and acknowledging their positive actions and attitudes, you will ensure that children see that we value and respect them.
  • If a child displays inappropriate behaviour, staff will ensure that the parent/carer are supported to deal appropriately with the incident. How a particular type of behaviour is handled will depend on the child, their stage of development and the circumstances.
  • In extreme cases the child or adult might be asked to leave the room until he or she has calmed down and had time to reflect on his or her behaviour. Physical punishment by staff will not be considered acceptable under any circumstances and may result in management action.
  • All adults, including staff, parents and carers are expected to act as positive role models. Discriminatory language and behaviour will not be accepted and will be challenged. Bullying and swearing are also unacceptable and adults who continue with anti-social or abusive behaviour will be requested to stop such actions. If they persist, the management or member of staff in charge of the session reserves the right to ask them to leave the cafe.
  • Any incidents of unacceptable behaviour either by a child or adult will be recorded. Information will include the child/adult’s name; the time and location of the incident; the nature of the incident; who was involved; name(s) of witnesses; signed by member of staff, witnesses or management.

“Supporting mums and babies” – BREASTFEEDING POLICY

Clart About Sensory Café will support those mothers who chose to breastfeed to ensure that it is a positive experience for both mother and child and to enable them to enjoy the proven health benefits. The staff at Clart About Sensory Café are aware of the potential problems some mothers face in breastfeeding their children. We aim to provide an environment where all mothers feel comfortable and supported when breastfeeding their children.

  • Any mother is welcome to feed their baby in any cafe.
  • We believe that with the right information and good support, most mothers will be able to breastfeed comfortably and will produce all the milk her baby needs.
  • Clart About ltd staff will not discriminate against any woman in her chosen method of infant feeding and will fully support her when she has made that choice.
  • This support is advertised to both parents and professionals for more information about breastfeeding see www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk or http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk

Clart About Ltd is registered as a Breastfeeding friendly café.

“Will it cost anything?” – CHARGING POLICY

It is the aim of Clart About Ltd to make sure that their services are open to everybody. However, some services will incur a charge in order to ensure that they continue. The Management will ensure that the services are available to all members of the community and have the right to waive the charge if necessary.

  • Admission charges into Clart About Sensory Café will be inclusive of sessions/playgroups and classes.
  • The current charges for all services will be clearly displayed in the relevant publicity.
  • Any free sessions will be advertised in the relevant publicity.
  • Refunds for cafe bookings are discretional, with a minimum cancellation period of 24 hours required for refund. Refunds subject to a 50p per booked unit charge.

“Have Your Say About Clart About” – COMPLIMENTS AND COMPLAINTS POLICY

Clart About Ltd welcomes feedback from the users of the Sensory café to ensure that the needs of the local community are being met.

Compliments:

  • We hope that your experience of the café has been a good one. We welcome feedback about our services and members of staff. If you want to compliment staff you can let us know. We will ensure your comments are passed on to individual members of staff.
  • You may wish to feedback or comment on the services you have received. We welcome any suggestions for improvements. We have feedback forms available at all our sessions, or you can speak to a member of staff.

Complaints:

  • If you are unhappy with any of the the services you receive through the café you have the right to complain.
  • If you have a concern about anything we do you can tell us by telephone, in person or in writing. Most concerns or complaints will be sorted quickly by the member of staff involved who will either deal with your issue or pass you onto someone else who is more able to help.
  • You will have the right to know what use will be made of personal information, and accordingly, personal information will only be shared between staff on a ‘need to know’ basis.
  • The café has a complaints procedure and this will be followed if a complaint has been made. Please follow the below guidelines to ensure your complaint is dealt with smoothly.

Stage 1 – “Informal” complaint to a member of Clart About Ltd team at the first point of contact. The member of staff will endeavour to resolve the complaint in a professional manner, but if it cannot be resolved then a formal complaint should be made (in writing if possible) as outlined in Stage 2.

Stage 2 – Formal complaint to the Directors, for investigation and response to the complainant. Once we receive your complaint, we will investigate and within ten working days send you a full written reply, or let you know if our reply will take longer, explaining the reason for the delay. If we do not hear from you within ten working days of our final reply, we will close the complaint.

“What do we need to know?” –  CONFIDENTIALITY AND INFORMATION SHARING POLICY

 Statement:

Clart About Ltd will ensure that all information held on its staff and users will be kept confidential and will only be shared with other agencies as outlined below.

Aim:

Confidentiality

That staff and users understand the importance of maintaining confidentiality at all times.

Information Sharing

That staff and users understand how and when information may be shared.

Method:

Confidentiality

Staff and users will be encouraged to maintain an ethos of confidentiality and respect for one another’s privacy. Staff will maintain strict confidentiality at all times and will only share information about families as listed below.

Privacy Notice

Clart About Ltd will hold personal data about the families and children that access its services and is a ‘data controller’ in respect of the Data Protection Act 1998. They will process the data for the following reasons:

  • To ensure that Children’s Centre services meet local need
  • To monitor and evaluate the impact of the café/centre and the services we offer.
  • To provide anonymised statistical data.
  • To ensure that users’ strengths & needs are adequately supported through using the services we offer.

Information Sharing

Information may be shared between professionals providing services through the centre when this will be of benefit to the users and informed consent to do so has been obtained. We will make every effort to ensure that we have explained why we want to share information, with whom and for what purpose when we ask your informed consent to share information. Information may also be shared between staff and their line management in a supervision setting where this is required to ensure adequate support for staff. (examples of this may include promotional activities in line with funding applications and advertising)

The following exceptions will apply

  • If information needs to be shared without consent i.e. in the event of a Child Protection concern; to access emergency medical treatment; if there is suspicion of criminal activity or a crime has been committed; if a Court orders information has to be shared.

Information will be kept in a secure place. In the case of paper documentation this will be held in lockable storage. Electronic information will be held on password protected computers/servers. Users will have access to the information held about them as per the Data Protection Act. They will not have access to information about any other users of the café. Consent to share information can be withdrawn at any time, but this may limit the support that can be offered.

“Keeping in touch” – CONTACT DETAILS POLICY

This will be in line with current Data Protection legislation.

Newsletters All information will be held in line with data protection laws.

Registers You will be asked to ‘sign in’ when you attend any session run by the Clart About Ltd within the café.

Visitors All external visitors will be asked to sign in on arrival at the centre and sign out when they leave.

“Your Data” – DATA MANAGEMENT POLICY

This will be in line with current Data Protection legislation.

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
As of 25th May 2018, new regulations come into force which govern how your personal data can be collected, stored and handled.

As a business which operates online, collection of some data is essential to operation of our business. This policy details how your data is handled, stored and deleted.

No data is collected by Clart About Ltd unless you purchase an item, either a Cafe Booking, a term of play sessions or send us a message through our “Contact Us” facility. By taking one of these actions you are consenting to the information you provide being shared with Clart About Ltd.

All data is retained on a secure server by our webhost, which is subject to regular penetration testing to ensure it remains secure.

Data you share including your name, address, email address, telephone number, allergy information and any supplmentary information entered by you is retained only as necessary for us to provide the service to you that you have requested.

Data is routinely removed from our systems 1 month after the event you have purchased, in the case of play terms this will be 1 month following the last session of the term.

When paying online your card data is classed as sensitive data. To ensure the upmost security we handle all payments “off-site”, that is you are re-directed to a secure hosted payment system provided by First Data UK Ltd. Clart About Ltd receives no confidential information relating to your card and your details are secured by First Data.

You have a right to request your personal data is deleted from our systems at any time. You may do this by emailing Clart About Ltd.

GDPR requires that you positively confirm that you are willing for your data to be shared with Clart About Ltd for the purposes of delivering you the services or products you request. By submitting an order you are providing that consent.

“A friendly welcome for everyone” – EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY POLICY

Clart About Ltd are committed to providing equality of opportunity for all children and families. Anti-discriminatory practice will be followed by all staff. The café is open to all members of the community caring for a child. To ensure that as many people as possible use the services of the café.

  • The services are advertised widely through public media, community groups and venues and professionals working with families and carers.
  • Publicity and promotional materials will reflect the diversity of the local community.
  • Information will be presented in clear, concise language.
  • Make children and adults feel valued and good about themselves, and enable carers to do the same.
  • Ensure all children and adults have equality of access to the facilities and activities.
  • Reflect the widest possible range of backgrounds in the choice of resources.
  • Avoid stereotypical or insulting images in displays, resources or materials.
  • Create an environment of mutual respect and tolerance.
  • Accept no discriminatory behaviour or remarks from any users of the café/centre (see Behaviour Policy).
  • Support children, families and carers who have English as an additional language where possible.
  • Provide non gender specific facilities.
  • Ensure children, families and carers who have additional needs and or disabilities are catered for within any planned events or sessions.

There will be on-going monitoring and evaluation of café/centre activities and those families who access them to ensure that the needs of the local community are met and that users of the centres reflect their local communities. To ensure that equality of opportunity is applied to recruitment of staff, Clart About Ltd recruitment process and Equal Opportunities Policy are adhered to.

“Safe and sound” – HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY

Clart About Ltd will take all reasonable steps to create a safe working environment and ensure safe working practices. Parents/carers are responsible for their children at all times when attending the café and its services unless the children are in a crèche provided by the centre. Children will then be cared for by suitable staff. Users and staff will be kept safe through the following methods:

Environment

  • All toys and equipment will be clean and safe, complying with the appropriate British or EU standard.
  • Craft materials must be age appropriate. Small or sharp objects that could be swallowed will be avoided where babies or toddlers are present.
  • Staff and users should not cause hazards e.g. do not leave cupboards or doors open, litter on the floor, trailing leads etc.
  • Floors will be kept clean and all spillages will be wiped up immediately.
  • All exits will be securely closed during sessions.
  • Parents/carers and children will be encouraged to be aware of safe behaviour. Notices will be displayed during sessions to remind adults of their responsibilities regarding the supervision of their children, hot drinks etc.
  • Barriers will be in place as necessary to prevent access to unsafe areas and will be securely fixed and properly used.
  • All cleaning materials will be stored in a lockable cupboard. If you notice anything in the centre that might be a hazard, please tell a member of staff.

 Health and Hygiene

  • Smoking is not permitted in the café or within the grounds of the café.
  • Parents/carers are requested not to bring children into the café if they are unwell. (See Sickness Policy)
  • Toilets and washbasins will be cleaned daily and more frequently if required.
  • If nappy disposal facilities are not provided, parents will be requested to take dirty nappies home for disposal.

Recording of Accidents, Incidents and Violence

  • All accidents/incidents will be recorded in the Accident Book which is held in the kitchen.

First Aid

  • The First Aid box will be easily accessible but not within children’s reach. Notices stating the location of the First Aid box and the names of staff competent to act as first aiders; will be clearly displayed within the café.
  • First Aid boxes are taken to outreach venues.

Fire Safety and Emergency Procedure

  • Fire and Emergency evacuation drills must be carried out at least once a month and will be supervised and monitored by directors. Fire notices with concise details of emergency procedures will be prominently displayed. Emergency evacuation procedures will be explained to all users of the centre and to every new member of staff as part of their induction.
  • All fire equipment is checked annually by a competent contractor.

“Food for thought” – HEALTHY EATING POLICY

Clart About Sensory café wishes to promote healthy lifestyles for children and adults through the provision of appropriate snacks and light meals.

  • Offering food that is inclusive of allergies and take guidance from customers on ideas and suggestions to changes.
  • Offer a wide range of healthy foods within the café.
  • Cook and prepare offering healthier alternatives examples of this include salad garnish instead of crisps.

“Baby changing” – INTIMATE AND PERSONAL CARE POLICY

Intimate care is any care which involves washing, touching or carrying out a procedure (such as cleaning up after a child who has soiled or wet themselves) to intimate personal areas. This also includes taking a child to the toilet. Clart About Ltd staff would not normally be required to undertake such tasks as parents are responsible for their children whilst visiting the centre. However, if a parent has more than one child with them and one needs intimate personal care or needs to use the toilet, Clart About Ltd staff may offer support to the parent. In this case the parent or carer should take responsibility for the intimate care or toileting and staff should supervise the other child/children. All Clart About Ltd staff will have enhanced DBS (CRB) checks.

Loyalty Card Programme

These terms and conditions (including our Data Protection and Privacy Policy) govern the collection and use of points and set out the terms of contract between Clart About Ltd and you, the customer, relating to the Loyalty Card Programme.

1. You can join the Loyalty Card Programme by requesting a loyalty card in in the sensory cafe. You will be issued a Card which can be used to earn stamps for each paid visitor to the sensory cafe.

2. Your Loyalty card is issued to you but remains the property of Clart About Ltd. You must return your card to us on request or destroy it if we so reasonably request. You are responsible for the security of your Card and lost or damaged cards cannot be replaced.

3. Points are personal to you and cannot be transferred to anybody else. They may only be redeemed and earned in accordance with these terms.

4. The Loyalty card Programme is only for consumer use. The Card cannot be used for any transaction where the beneficiary is a business entity or for any other commercial purposes.

5. In addition to the above, Clart About Ltd reserves the right to (i) stop issuing Cards at any time if we decide to terminate the Loyalty Programme; (ii) to alter or amend the terms and conditions of operation of the Card and/or the Loyalty Card Programme by publishing notices on our website www.clartabout.co.uk; and/or (iii) withdraw or cancel the Card and/or the points (including but not limited to the redemption and issue of such) with reasonable notice to you by letter, email or publishing such notice on our website at www.clartabout.co.uk.

6. Our Data Protection and Privacy Policy relating to this programme are governed by our overall policies detailed in this webpage and sets out the information that we will collect about you, how we use the information and whom it may be shared with including, but not limited to, details of the promotional information that we hope to provide.

    How to collect stamps

7. To collect points for a visit, you must present your Card at the till at the time of attending the session. We regret we are unable to provide retrospective confirmation of visits.

8. 1 stamp will be awarded per paying child, per visit. Complimentary visits are not eligible for rewards stamps.

9. Clart About Ltd reserves the right to offer bonus stamps as selected by us, from time to time, and in our sole discretion.

10. The stamps have no monetary value and are not exchangeable for cash or part payment. We reserve the right to vary the redemption value at any time.

    How to redeem stamps

11. On achieving 5 stamps on the loyalty card, the holder is entitled to a single child entry to the sensory cafe.

12. The complimentary child booking, must be arranged in advance by contacting the Sensory Cafe via Facebook, email or telephone.

13. Clart About Ltd will endeavour to meet your preferred session request however is not obliged to do so.

14. Where the complimentary booking is to be completed alongside a booking for additional children, a coupon will be provided to allow 1 child space to be discounted from your booking basket.

15. The completed loyalty card must be surrendered at the time of completing the complimentary visit. Failure to surrender the card will result in the space being charged.

“Everyone working together” – PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS POLICY

Clart About Ltd believes that children thrive and achieve their potential when all partners (parents and professionals) work together. We believe parental involvement leads to better outcomes for children and young people.

  • Information for parents/carers about the activities available within the café will be available in a range of different formats and be accessible to all. Staff will take responsibility for ensuring alternative methods of communication are available to support parents who may not understand the written format.
  • Parents/carers will be supported in addressing any issues that they might have and be signposted to other professionals where appropriate.
  • Regular consultation events and the recording of informal feedback will inform the development of new services and the evaluation and review of existing ones.
  • Parents will be supported if they wish to volunteer and opportunities for further training are available as a volunteer.
  • Details of the café Compliments and Complaints Procedure are available on request.
  • Full policies and procedures are available in the café and each user of the café is given the opportunity to access these if they wish to view them.

“Smile!” – PHOTOGRAPHY AND USE OF IMAGES POLICY

Clart About Ltd believes that parents/carers have the right to choose whether photographs are taken of their child/ren when they are attending any of the sessions. We aim to safeguard all children and adults who attend the cafe and will ensure that no photographs are taken or used at a later date without the consent of the parent/carer.

  • All parents/carers will be asked to sign a photography permission statement which will state the purpose of the photographs and their storage and use. Parents/carers have the right to withdraw that permission at any time.
  • Parents will be asked not to take photographs of other children.
  • Official photographers who attend café representing the press will be required to gain permission from the responsible adult before taking a photograph.
  • If it is known in advance that an official photographer will be present at a session, parents/carers will be notified.
  • Photographs taken with parental permission might be used to publicise centre and published in a variety of media including flyers/posters; website; Facebook/Twitter pages etc. Specific agreement and consent will be gained from parents for this use.
  • Details of the café compliments and complaints procedure are available in each centre and at outreach sessions and parents/carers can use this process to make a complaint about the inappropriate taking of photographs.

“Take care of me!” – PROCEDURE FOR LOST OR ABANDONED CHILDREN

Clart About Ltd will take all reasonable steps to ensure that children are kept safe and will ensure that all parents are aware of their responsibilities to their children when attending the café Parents/Carers are responsible for their children at all times. If a child is abandoned at a session i.e. the parent/carer leaves the premises, the following procedure will be followed:

  • An immediate search will be made by staff whilst maintaining a staff presence with the other families to provide reassurance.

In the case of a missing child/adult.

  • The Police and Local Authority will be informed.
  • Guidance will be taken from the Police once they have attended the incident.

To prevent children leaving the café accidentally, an access control system is maintained. This system requires a manual intervention to release the door lock. Café users are requested to maintain vigilance in ensuring that children, other than their own, do not leave unaccompanied.

“Keeping safe” – SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN POLICY

All organisations that work with children share a responsibility for the safeguarding of children and young people.

The relevant procedures according to County Durham Child Protection Procedures will be followed if any form of abuse is suspected but you should talk to the Centre Management if you have any concerns and they will support you in taking the appropriate action.

Referrals must always be made to Children’s Social Care if there are signs that a child under the age of 18 years, or an unborn baby:

  • Is suffering or has suffered abuse and/or neglect
  • Is likely to suffer abuse and/or neglect
  • If bruising is observed on an immobile baby
  • (With agreement of a person with parental responsibility) would be likely to benefit from family support services.

The following principles are key for all staff and parents:

  • The interests of the child are more important than anything else.
  • In cases of suspected child abuse all staff have a responsibility to take action in the ways set out in the agreed procedures.
  • Immediate action, to refer or consult, is required where there is suspicion of abuse.
  • Investigation is the responsibility of the relevant Children’s Social Care Department and the Police. These agencies have to balance the necessity for action to protect the child with the potential difficult effects of an investigation on the family and/or others.
  • Record keeping is essential at each stage and all documents will be kept to the standards outlined in the agency’s recording procedures.
  • This procedure also covers disclosures made in electronic communications such as emails or text message services.

What to do if a child tells you or somebody else that they are being abused:

If a child tells you or a member of staff that they or somebody they know is being abused, you should:

  • Believe what the child is saying and take it seriously.
  • Reassure them that they have done the right thing.
  • Give the child time to talk and not ask any further questions about what has happened. This will be done by a Social Worker or Policeman.
  • Do not promise to keep secrets. All allegations of harm or potential harm must be acted upon.
  • Explain to the child that you will share this information with a senior member of staff who will ensure the appropriate procedures will be followed.
  • Record the event as soon as you can by writing down everything you can remember exactly as it happened.
  • If you cannot talk to a member of staff, you should contact Children’s Social Care (03000 267 979) as soon as possible to ask advice or make a referral.

What to do if you are concerned about an adult’s behaviour:

If an adult (staff or user of a centre) has any concerns about the behaviour of another adult towards children or young people, the following procedures will apply:

  • You should not ignore the situation.
  • Talk to the Centre Management about your concerns.
  • If you don’t feel able to discuss the matter with the Centre Management, please phone Children’s Social Care (03000 267 979)
  • Action will be taken according to County Durham Child Protection procedures.

Allegations against any employee or volunteer:

If an allegation is made, or a concern arises, about a member of staff or volunteer, actions will be taken following the detailed guidance in County Durham Child Protection procedures.

What to do if an adult tells you that they are involved in the abuse of a child or young person:

If someone not employed by the café/centre discloses that they are involved in the abuse of a child or young person, YOU MUST TAKE ACTION:

  • Believe what they are saying and take the allegation seriously.
  • Record details of what you have been told as soon as possible.
  • Tell a senior member of the children’s centre staff
  • If for any reason you cannot do this, then you must directly contact either Children’s Social Care or the Police.

Staff Conduct

Staff will act as role models at all times and maintain appropriate professional relationships with a child or vulnerable adult.

Training

All staff and volunteers will ensure that they attend child protection training in accordance with the requirements and standards of their agency.

Recruitment and Selection of staff and volunteers

Advertisement of posts and application packs will make reference to the commitment of the organisation to Safeguarding, including the intention to seek enhanced DBS (CRB) disclosures.

E-Safety

Children and young people can be vulnerable to exploitation or abuse through the medium of the internet. Staff will support parents/carers in accessing relevant information to enable them to protect their children appropriately.

“Not feeling very well?” – SICKNESS POLICY

Clart About Sensory Café will promote good practices to minimise any potential spread of infection amongst users and staff of the centre.

  • Should a child appear to be unwell, the manager will have to consider the needs of other users of the centre and may request the parent/carer to care for their child at home.
  • Staff will support parents/carers and children who become ill whilst attending the centre and will respond appropriately to the individual circumstances.
  • Emergency contact details for staff/volunteers of the café will be kept up to date in case a member of staff is taken ill during work hours (see also Contact Details Policy).
  • Relevant posters will be displayed in the centre.
  • There will always be a qualified First Aider present in the café at all times.

“Keeping healthy and safe” – SMOKING, DRUGS AND ALCOHOL POLICY

Clart About Ltd are committed to promoting a healthy lifestyle and environment for all children and families and will support parents/carers who wish to give up smoking, alcohol or drugs by signposting them to the appropriate services.

Smoking

Clart About Sensory Café and associated outreach sessions are no smoking environments and signs are displayed to this effect. Any adults (including staff) who wish to smoke must leave the premises, and in the case of café, the grounds of the full premises. Parents who leave the premises in order to smoke must ensure that their child/ren are safe and secure in the charge of another adult and understand that staff cannot be responsible for the child/ren’s care at this time. Anybody who attempts to smoke in the Café or outreach venue will be asked to leave the premises as it is illegal to smoke in an enclosed public area.

Alcohol

The consumption of alcohol is not permitted on site and associated outreach venues. Anyone found consuming alcohol will be asked to leave Clart About Sensory Café.

Drugs

The consumption of illegal drugs is not permitted on site and associated outreach venues at any time. Any parent/carer who appears to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be supported in caring for their child. However, if it is considered that the child/ren are at risk then safeguarding procedures will be followed and Children’s Social Care will be contacted. If a parent/carer chooses to drive whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs, staff will advise them that it is unwise to do so and that the Police will be contacted to ensure the safety of any children and other members of the public.

If any illegal drugs and/or drug taking equipment are found on the premises or outreach venues, the area will be made safe and the Police will be contacted.

“Safe Online” – WI-FI POLICY

Free to access WiFi is provided, on a best endeavours basis, to customers of the Clart About Sensory Café subject to the  fair use and the following conditions.

Prohibited Uses

This acceptable and fair use policy is additional to our terms and conditions of use and privacy policy. You may use our wifi service only for lawful purposes. You may not use it for the following purposes (this list is not exhaustive):

To do anything that includes storing, sending, distributing, uploading or downloading: · any content or material which is restricted, prohibited or otherwise unlawful under any applicable law (or which is likely to be), including material and/or content which defames, harasses, threatens, abuses, menaces, offends, violates the privacy of, or incites violence or hatred against, any person or class of persons, or which could give rise to civil or criminal proceedings (or encourages conduct that would be a criminal offence or give rise to civil liability);

  • confidential information, copyright material, trademarks, trade secrets or other content which is subject to third party intellectual property rights, unless you have a lawful right to do so, or that in any way breaches a third party agreement (including but not limited to a non-disclosure agreement) or obligation;
  • any content or material, which interferes with other users of our wifi service (or may do so) or restricts or hinders any person from accessing, using or enjoying the internet, our Services, our network or systems (or the networks or systems of our suppliers);

To:

  • do any other act or thing which is unlawful, illegal, fraudulent (or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect) or is otherwise prohibited under any applicable law or which is in breach of any code, standard or content requirement of any other competent authority;
  • access, monitor or use any data, systems or networks, including another person’s private information, without authority or attempt to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of any data, system or network or to violate the privacy, publicity or other personal rights of others or to impair the privacy of communications;
  • compromise the security, tamper with, hinder the operation of or make unauthorised modifications or integrity of any network or system including, but not limited to, our network or systems (or our suppliers’ network or systems) or to cause technical disturbances to our network or to our suppliers’ network);
  • knowingly transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware;
  • forge header information, email source address or other user information or use another person’s name, username or password for fraudulent purposes;
  • transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam), in breach of the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations 2003 or otherwise; To act in any way that:
  • degrades or interferes with other users’ use of any of our wifi service (or may do so) or disrupts or interferes with our network or wifi service or causes a host or the network to crash;
  • breaches any applicable local, national or international law, regulation or code of practice (including export control laws or regulations);
  • contravenes generally accepted standards of internet or other networks conduct and usage, including but not limited to denial of service attacks, web page defacement, port or network scanning and unauthorised access to systems;
  • harms or attempts to harm minors in any way;

To assist, encourage or permit any persons in engaging in any of the activities described in this section. If you become aware of any such activities, you must immediately notify us and take all other appropriate actions to cause such activities to cease.

Suspension and Termination

We will determine, in our sole discretion, whether there has been a breach of this Acceptable and Fair Use Policy through your use of our wifi service. When a breach of this Acceptable and Fair Use Policy has occurred, we may take such action as we reasonably deem appropriate. This action may include but is not limited to:

  • Issue of a warning to you
  • Immediate, temporary or permanent withdrawal of the Services
  • Legal proceedings against you for reimbursement of all costs on an indemnity basis (including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs) resulting from the breach
  • Disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities as we reasonably feel is necessary.

We exclude liability for actions taken in response to breaches of this Policy.

Fair Use

Our wifi service is intended for email, instant messaging, internet browsing and using apps, which we consider fair use. Transferring large amounts of data uses up bandwidth and may reduce the speed at which other users of the wifi service can access it. In particular, downloading very large files, streaming and using peer to peer and file sharing software require large amounts of bandwidth and data usage. If you do not restrict your usage to fair use, we reserve the right to issue a warning to you or to suspend or withdraw our wifi service from you immediately, temporarily or permanently; or we may manage your bandwidth so that it may result in reduced service speeds.

In addition, we may restrict the amount of bandwidth available to very heavy users during busy periods to maintain good access for our other users. Please ensure that your device or hardware is not infected with a virus that sends out data without your knowledge.

Changes To The Acceptable and Fair Use Policy

We may revise this Acceptable and Fair Use Policy at any time. You are expected to check this Policy from time to time to take notice of any changes we make, as they are legally binding.