Fishkeeper Fry Terms and Conditions

  1. Fishkeeper Fry and all associated equipment and livestock is offered in good faith and completely free of charge by Maidenhead Aquatics, supported by Aquadistri, to provide a low risk route for young people to immerse themselves in the ethical care and maintenance of fish and experience the wonderful world of fishkeeping. As such, places are limited by available equipment and we request that if you are unable to fulfil any of the following requirements below that you do not apply for the programme.

  2. We reserve the right to invoice in full for all equipment supplied, any schools who are accepted to the programme but who do not fully comply with the requirements detailed below at any stage in the process.

  3. Fishkeeper Fry has been designed specifically for UK school children aged 7-8 years to teach them about responsible fishkeeping. It is offered completely free of charge to UK state schools selected by Maidenhead Aquatics to participate. Places are limited and schools will be selected on a first-come first-served basis.

  4. The programme can be used to support National Curriculum science lessons as well as being applicable to the wider cross-curriculum primary school timetable. Schools may decide to include as an integral learning opportunity to timetabled lessons or may look to start a lunchtime/afterschool fishkeeping club. Films and learning resources are provided on a weekly basis online and it is the school’s responsibility to follow the lessons sequentially and raise any questions or concerns as they arise.

  5. Whilst the programme has been designed for Year 3 UK state schools, applications are welcomed from private primary schools and home education venues but these will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and there will be a charge to cover the cost of the equipment for these schools of around £250 per school for those that are successful. Please contact us at [email protected] if you are not a UK state primary school but would still like to participate.

  6. Applications are also invited from state funded special schools for older children with learning difficulties accessing the curriculum at approximately a Year 3 level. Please email us at [email protected] with details about your school and location and we will review applications on a case-by-case basis.

  7. Schools who are selected to take part in the programme will be allocated a local Maidenhead Aquatics store to provide support and advice about their fish and aquarium free of charge throughout the aquarium. We will endeavour to allocate each school the store that is closest geographically to the location of the school but reserve the right to offer alternative stores where there are multiple schools taken part in your locality.

  8. A representative from each school chosen to participate in the programme will be required to collect the aquarium and related equipment from a local Maidenhead Aquatics store allocated to them as the start of the programme, and then once a week, on the day of the lesson to collect the relevant equipment needed for the lesson and the five types of fish which are included in the programme at various specified times during the 8-week programme. Please do not apply for the programme if you are unable to commit to this requirement as we are unable to deliver any part of the assets required to participate to schools.

  9. If you decide to return the equipment at the end of the programme, a representative from your school will also need to be available to bring this back to your allocated store. You agree that somebody from your school will be available and willing to travel to and from the allocated Maidenhead Aquatics store from the outset of the programme. Maidenhead Aquatics is not responsible or liable for any travel or transport costs incurred in these journeys. Should a representative fail to visit your allocated store on a weekly basis, an invoice for the equipment and the cost of the programme will be raised.

  10. The core content of Fishkeeper Fry is delivered in the form of online films for which teachers will need to ensure there is weekly availability of PC, laptop, tablet or classroom smartboard along with internet access to be able to access the lessons. Worksheets and activities also run alongside the programme to enhance the learning experience for the students and these will be accessible online. These will need to be printed and supplied to students. This is the responsibility of the teacher and Maidenhead Aquatics accept no cost of printing or resources used.

  11. The weekly commitment from participating schools is approximately 30-60 minutes per week to deliver the core educational content provided within the programme as well as the daily care of the fish during the programme. There will also be a range of extension activities that teachers can access on our website and take advantage of to help support wider learning cross-curriculum objectives.

  12. If participating schools opt to keep their aquarium at the end of the programme, it is expected that best practice care of the fish and upkeep of the aquarium continue indefinitely.

  13. In addition to the aquarium equipment we supply, you will need to make photocopies of the weekly task sheets - enough for one per child. You are therefore required to use your facilities to produce these additional materials as required at your cost. The completion certificate will be sent across as a PDF which again will be a cost for the school and not Maidenhead Aquatics.

  14. Classes will need to allocate an area of approx. 1 metre (please note this is not the size of the aquarium) of space and will require a suitable sturdy surface to accommodate the fish tank in a classroom which is away from direct sunlight and draft and unlikely to be damaged during the course of the school day.

  15. If for any reason your school decides to drop out of the programme and not continue with the lessons to the end of the 8 weeks, Maidenhead Aquatics reserves the right to invoice your school for the full cost of the equipment and fish supplied up to the time of termination of your involvement. Due to limited places if you are unable to accept your place on the programme or have accepted or have to withdraw before starting the programme we ask that you inform us as a matter of urgency.

  16. The aquarium and all associated equipment must stay in the school for all 8 weeks of the programme. You will be asked to inform Maidenhead Aquatics if you will be keeping the equipment by week 6 of the programme or returning it to your local store. Failure to do so will result in a charge for the full cost of the equipment. Maidenhead Aquatics reserves the right to check the option and details you provide us. If misinformation has been supplied and the option taken is different to the one you supplied us with further action may be taken. At the end of the programme, you can choose one of the 3 following options:
  • Keep the aquarium and all fish in your school at no charge
  • Return all equipment and fish to your assigned store
  • If a member of staff or a parent wishes to take the aquarium away, they can do so at a cost – please email us for further information
  1. In the event that you should experience any problems with your fish or aquarium equipment, you should refer the issue as soon as possible to your local allocated store who will be able to support and advise and keep you on track during the programme. There will also be additional resources available to you online to help you troubleshoot common fishkeeping problems.

  2. Whilst participation in the programme is free, we want to see how you and your class are getting on with their fishkeeping journey. As part of the terms of participation in Fishkeeper Fry we expect participating schools to keep in touch with us weekly by sharing photos of your class engaging in the programme, classwork based on the lesson material provided, any additional activities you have undertaken as a class around your aquarium and updates as to how your class is getting on with the programme.  This is an important part of the programme and helps demonstrate to us and our supporters that your class is following the programme as it has been designed.  This feedback might include photos of your class engaging in the tasks (subject to the signing of the relevant parental consent forms), completed task sheets and activities to include the following:

    Fishkeeper of the Week – Each week we need classes to appoint a Fishkeeper of the Week. This might be the child who has shown the most commitment to the project and looking after their aquarium that week or a child who has completed some outstanding work as a result of that week’s lesson. We will feature a photograph on our Fishkeeper Fry Instagram page from a participating school each week from the submissions sent to us.

    Drawing/Worksheet of the Week
    – We encourage you to get the children to record their learning experiences in the form of a drawing and will be selecting a Drawing of the Week each week which will be posted on our Fishkeeper Fry Instagram so you can view what other schools involved are producing.

    Aquarium of the Week
    – We will feature an aquarium each week from the photos we receive on our website. Please provide us with information alongside the pictures to help us choose which school will be showcased each week.

    Please note for all of the above, if the images you send to us include children, it is your responsibility to ensure that the correct consent forms have been filled out allowing us to use the images on our website and social medias. Maidenhead Aquatics will not accept responsibility if incorrect consent has been obtained.

  1. At the end of the programme, a ‘School of the Year’ will be selected from all participating schools based on the quality and amount of feedback that we receive from them with respect to completed task sheets, extra tasks completed from our sample lesson plan and any additional projects that teachers have incorporated into their teaching as part of the wider cross curriculum opportunity. The winning school will receive a trophy presented by 'Tappers' (Paul Tapley who presents the series) where 'Tappers' and  members of the team behind Fishkeeper Fry will come into the school to talk to the children about their project and offer a final opportunity for the children and teachers to ask questions about their fish and aquarium. You agree to this visit and any associated photography to be used in future promotion of the programme (subject to relevant parental consent forms).

  2. During the course of the programme, Maidenhead Aquatics reserves the right to request school visits, with prior arrangement with the school, to see first-hand how the programme is going and speak to participating teachers about what they are doing and understand ways in which we can continue to improve the programme and see how it is delivered in the classroom.

For delivery before Christmas, orders must be placed on or before 3pm on Wednesday 20th December. We cannot guarantee delivery of these orders pre-Christmas as we are reliant on our couriers, but will use our best endeavours to get orders placed on this date out to you before Christmas. For full details of our festive delivery and opening times click here

Please note: online orders placed after 3pm on Friday 22nd December will not be dispatched until the New Year. For full details of our festive delivery and opening times click here