Parents guide

+ Preparing For Camp

Before camp, you’ll need to have complete your Attendance Form. This will take place online when booking your child's place, and includes safety and welfare information, such as emergency contact and medical details.

Your child will need the following

• A packed lunch and a snack for break time

• A NAMED water bottle

• Suitable clothing for sports activities, such as T-shirt, tracksuit or shorts

• For venues without a pool, you’ll need to provide a change of clothes on Wednesday when we do water games!

• Trainers or shoes suitable for general sports – non-marking soles if possible.

• Sun cream and a hat if the weather is warm

Things your child won’t need

• Sports equipment – we’ve got plenty!

• Any money

• Cameras

• Mobile phones, computer games, MP3 players or other devices

• Valuable watches/jewellery

Our theme days

To ensure your kids have fun and look forward to every single minute at ACES Camps, we hold different theme days, as follows:

Monday: Moneyball Monday - Team building games so that children can get to know each another along with the coaches.

Tuesday: Individual Camp Theme – It’s a surprise!.

Wednesday: Wet Wednesday – outdoor water games (including venues without a pool). Remember to bring a dry change of clothes. *subject to weather

Thursday: Individual Camp Theme – It’s a surprise!

Friday: Finale Friday – come along and enjoy an exciting end to the week. You’ll find more details at camp.

Venue information

For directions, dates and times for all of our venues, as well as other practical information, go to our Upcoming Events page.

Weather conditions

When the weather is particularly warm the following precautions must be taken:

• If there is any possibility of sunburn or sunstroke, please ensure your children wear adequate protection i.e. a hat and high factor sun cream. Ideally, all day protection should be used on young children so there is less need for them to reapply during the day.

• Children must have enough to drink for the whole day. This problem is made more acute as they are participating in sport. Drinking water is available at every camp.

• When the weather is particularly cold or wet, children will remain in the indoor areas.

+ During Camp

Drop off

Please make sure you arrive before 10.00am on your first day so we can register your child.

Pick up

When you collect your child they must be signed out by an authorised person.

If your child is aged 11+ and allowed to travel to and from camp by themselves, we require written authorisation.

Please deliver and collect your children promptly.

Contacting your child during camp

If you need to contact your child during camp, you can call us on 01484522813 and we will contact the manager on your behalf.

We understand that in certain circumstances, you might want to contact your child by mobile phone. Due to the possibility that they might be lost, stolen or damaged, we prefer children to leave mobiles at home. If brought on to camp, we do ask that they are switched off except in emergencies.

Children carrying a mobile phone do so at their own risk and the manager of the camp should be informed that it is onsite.

Lost property

Due to the nature of our activities, we recommend that your children do not wear their best or most expensive clothing for camp. We can’t guarantee the return of lost property, but we endeavour to return items that are clearly labelled with your child’s full name. In most cases, lost property will be left at the venue for ease of collection.

Food storage

We are not able to provide refrigeration for food. Please ensure packed lunches and snacks are stored in an insulated container with a frozen pack or avoid high-risk foods such as meat or dairy products, rice and pulses. As cold air sinks, we recommend you place the frozen pack on top of the food where possible.

+ Quality, safety and child security

Your child’s welfare is our number one priority and we do everything possible to ensure their safety and security. We have an exemplary health and safety record and are registered with Ofsted and the Care and Social Services Inspectorate in Wales (CSSIW). We’ve also achieved a Gold Award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for the last six years.

ACES Camps works closely with Ofsted and the CSSIW to ensure we meet their supervision guidelines:

• The ratio for children under the age of 6 is strictly 1:8

• The ratio for children aged 6 – 7 is strictly 1:12

• The ratio for children aged 8+ is 1:16

• These ratios are increased further with the addition of the manager and other helpers

Children under five years

For legal reasons, our camps in England can only accept children of compulsory school age.

Experienced, qualified staff

Our amazing staff are qualified and experienced and love working with children. They receive comprehensive training that includes:

• Supervision of children

• Child protection

• First aid

• Equipment safety

Each camp manager is a qualified and experienced teacher or coach and is required to attend our Management Training and Development Programme.

Staff selection policy

All ACES Camp staff must:

• Be interviewed

• Provide professional and personal references

• Be registered/cleared with the Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) with an ENHANCED CHECK

+ Medical

All medical details must be provided by parents at the time of booking and on the Attendance Form, which is taken to camp on the first day. Any medication taken to camp MUST be clearly labelled with the child’s name.

Medical conditions

The site manager or activity manager must be informed of any medical conditions prior to the start of camp and details must be provided on the camp attendance form.All medical information is confidential and attention will not be drawn to the condition. Where necessary, details will be passed to the group coach for safety purposes.

Anaphylaxis (primarily nut allergy)

Any child who requires an EPI pen in case of emergency must bring this to camp in a clearly labelled box.

Sick child policy

Parents/carers are responsible for determining their child’s ability to actively participate in the daily activities. While we sympathise with the needs of each parent and their child, we must provide a healthy environment for everyone at the camp. A sick child often needs one-on-one attention and it is difficult for our coaches to take the necessary time away from activities.

We have instituted this policy based on the wishes and opinions of our parents, to avoid any confusion over the health and well being of your children.

+ Special needs

As an educational company we welcome children with special needs where we can offer appropriate care within our staffing ratio.

We are realistic about the limitations of a sports camp environment for children with special needs and attendance is considered on an individual basis. If there is a requirement for a higher level of supervision than normally offered and we feel that a child would benefit from our style of camps, we will consider meeting the supervision requirement with an extra member of staff, with the help of funding, or we welcome the attendance of parents/carers.

+ Uncollected/lost child

There are a number of reasons why a child may remain uncollected at the end of the day. Perhaps a parent is delayed or confused about who is attending or about the time of collection. Should this occur, the following action will be taken:

• We will attempt to contact you using the child details information

• At least two adults will remain with the child until collected

• We will not allow the child to return home alone or with another adult unless we have your permission

• Upon collection, we will politely ensure that the parent understands the procedures

• If this occurs more than once for the same child head office will be informed

• After two hours, if no one arrives and we have been unable to contact anyone by telephone, we will call the local social services department who will make arrangements for a social worker to collect the child.

+ Contacting parents or carers.

Parents will be contacted under the following circumstances

• Serious injury, such as a broken or suspected broken bone

• If the child is unable to participate due to serious illness or a toilet accident

• If a child is seriously upset about being on camp

• After a bang to the head that may result in concussion

• Any situation resulting in a hospital visit

• Serious behaviour problem

• If the child is found not to have food/drink

+ Booking refunds.

Cancellation charges

Any cancellations of camp places must be received in writing with supporting medical evidence if relevant.

Cancellations are subject to a 30% cancellation fee and the remainder will be refunded to you by the original payment method. Alternatively we can keep the full amount as credit for use in the future (upto 12 months).

At any point before the start of camp you can amend your dates free of charge (subject to availability – See below for more details).

+ Change your booking

We will change a booking like for like at any point (subject to availability). If you are changing your original package, this may incur a charge or a refund or credit note. We will always advise you of the most cost effective way to amend your booking.

Please note if you are wanting to change the package you have booked, this may incur additional fees.

PLEASE NOTE: WE CURRENTLY DO NOT ACCEPT CHILDCARE VOUCHERS AS PAYMENT FOR ACAMPS