FAQS

CSS is open to children 4 years and above (reception to year 6), we feel our provision is suitable for children up to 11 years old but are happy to look at this on a case by case basis. Unfortunately, due to our ofsted registration limitations and insurances we are unable to accept children under 4 years old at our Ardingly and Chichester locations. We run a bespoke Pre-School Provision at our Portsmouth location, CSS Mini Explorers, which is open to PHS Pre-School children only, aged 3-4 year olds.

All of them!

- February Half-Term

- Easter Holidays

- May Half-Term

- Summer Holidays (July & August)

- October Half Term

- Christmas!

We run in both Private School and State School holidays, following the Oakwood School calendar.

Ardingly College, Haywards Heath

Oakwood School, Chichester

Portsmouth High Prep & Pre-School GDST, Southsea

Please click here to read about a typical day with us!

Everyday runs from 08:30 - 16:00. We also offer early drop off 08:00 - 08:30 and late pick up 16:00 - 17:45.

Activities vary day by day with many hosted by external providers. Depening on location, these activities include swimming, forest school/bushcraft, archery, mountain biking, bounce fitness, sports & team games, arts & crafts, fun with food, yoga, music & movement, laser quest, climbing and much more! Regular free choice/play helps bring balance to the day.

CSS Mini Explorers is a bespoke Pre-School holiday provision for Portsmouth High School GDST children. CSS Activities is a primary age provision open to everyone, any school, any location. The two provisions will run alongside each other at PHS, sometimes sharing resources and activities.

We have up to eight groups of 16 children a day. Each group is led by a camp leader who stays with the children all day. When the children participate in activities the ratio drops from 1:16 to 1:8 as they’re joined by an activity specialist. We also have a team of camp runners offering extra support for those children who need a bit of one on one time.

We have a maximum ratio of 1:8 for our PHS Mini Explorers early years children.

Yes, 15% for 3rd sibling and 25% for 4th sibling.

- Please visit our discounts page to see all up to date offers & discounts.

Yes, all discounts can be used at the same time, as long as they’re applicable to your booking.

Head over to our booking website, create an account and follow the easy steps to confirm your booking!

At the end of the check out process you will be asked to choose a payment method. You can pay online with card/apple pay, tax free childcare or by childcare vouchers.

Yes we accept most childcare voucher schemes, including the government scheme. View our list here.

If you are booking a provision with more than four weeks notice, a 20% non-refundable deposit is required at the point of completing your booking, with the full balance due one calendar month before the provision begins. If you are booking a provision with less than four weeks notice, the full balance is due and is non-refundable.

Head over to our booking website, and then log in using the details you set up your account with.

We very much welcome single day bookings and enjoy the flexibility this offers both parents and children. However, should you wish to book a full week we offer a free day included as standard.

Yes, as part of the booking we ask for friendship requests in advance. However, we always recommend grouping by age. We may not be able to accommodate last minute friendship requests so please make sure this is accurate when booking.

Should you wish to amend your booking, we will do our best to accommodate your request as long as it falls within the same holiday period and subject to availability. We will charge a £10 administration fee for changes made with less than 7 days notice.

At CSS your child’s happiness, well-being and safety is our priority. Forming friendships is a central part of our day, and should there be any incidences of persistent unkindness we deal with these cases sensitively and effectively, in line with our anti-bullying policy.

No, children will need to bring a substantial nut free lunch and snacks. It is a very active day so the more food the merrier!

Comfy clothes and weather appropriate. The children WILL get dirty and things do get lost! So please don’t bring anything valuable.

We crack on! We LOVE spending time outdoors, and are out in most weathers, so please do bring the appropriate attire. If the weather really turns, or it becomes dangerous, we will adapt the timetable making the most of the wonderful indoor facilities Oakwood has to offer.

Yes! AND T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, water bottles! You can purchase these from Big Crocodiles website.

Lost Property items will be displayed at the Drop-off/Pick-up stations every day and any leftover Lost Property at the end of a holiday will be moved to the Swim School Lost Property Cupboard. You will have 2 weeks to collect any items before they go to charity. If you think a child has lost something, please speak to a member of staff and we will be happy to help. We always advise avoiding bringing expensive/valuable items and can’t be responsible for anything that goes missing.

Unfortunately not. Our activities are scaled to the attendance of that day, and therefore all bookings are non refundable.

CSS has an extensive First Aid provision, with a high ratio of First Aid qualified staff members. The wellbeing of your child is the absolute central priority of our offering, so you can be reassured that your child will be well looked after. Small bumps and grazes will be treated as the day progresses. Regarding anything more serious, including any head bumps (no matter how small), a parent/guardian will be phoned and a first aid form will be filled out and shared with parents/guardians, detailing how the incident happened, who was supervising and what sort of First Aid was administered. In an emergency situation, we will contact the emergency services immediately in line with our First Aid Policy and contact a parent/guardian as soon as possible.

One of the questions on our booking form covers this. Please provide as much detail as possible. Should medication need to be administered on site, please ensure this is handed over to a member of staff at drop off along with a CSS Medication Form.

We understand the stresses of balancing work/family life and try our best to accommodate and support parents in unsuspecting situations. We always have space in our late booking, so should you miss the normal pick-up time (15:45-16:00) we would just invoice you for the extra late booking (£10 per child, with collection up to 17:45). If you collect after 17:45, there is a fine of £10 for every 10 minutes, per child.

Absolutely! Please do speak to the Camp Leader dismissing your child, as it will either have been them or one other colleague who spent the day with your child. We feel this handover is incredibly important, so please do not hesitate to ask questions. If you have any questions once you get home, please email hello@cssactivities.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible once we have communicated with the relevant staff members.