The Stakes Are Higher Than You Think
When a parent hands over their child for a day at holiday camp, they are also handing over responsibility for that child's medical and dietary needs. For most children, this is straightforward. But in any group of 50 or more, you will almost certainly have children with asthma, anaphylaxis, diabetes, epilepsy, food allergies, or other conditions that require active management throughout the day.
Getting this wrong is not a minor administrative failure. A child having an anaphylactic reaction because a staff member did not know about their nut allergy is a life-threatening emergency. The law, parents, and Ofsted all expect you to have robust systems in place, and rightly so.
This guide covers the practical steps you need to take to collect, store, communicate, and act on medical and dietary information across your camp.
Collecting Medical Information at Booking
Your booking form is the first line of defence. It must capture medical and dietary information in a structured way that makes it easy to review, flag high-risk conditions, and distribute to the right staff.
Essential Fields
At a minimum, your booking form should collect:
- Known medical conditions: Asthma, allergies (food and non-food), epilepsy, diabetes, heart conditions, joint or mobility issues.
- Current medications: Name, dosage, frequency, and whether the medication needs to be administered during camp hours.
- Allergy severity: Whether the child carries an EpiPen or antihistamine, and whether their allergy is contact-level, ingestion-level, or airborne.
- Dietary requirements: Allergies (coeliac, dairy-free, nut-free), religious dietary requirements (halal, kosher), and lifestyle choices (vegetarian, vegan).
- Emergency contacts: At least two contacts with mobile numbers, plus the child's GP surgery name and phone number.
- Consent for emergency treatment: A clear statement that the parent consents to emergency medical treatment if they cannot be reached.
Free-text fields are useful for additional detail, but do not rely on them alone. Structured dropdowns and checkboxes ensure consistency and make it possible to generate summary reports across all attendees.
Updating Information Before Each Camp
A booking made in March for a summer camp in August may contain outdated information. Best practice is to send a confirmation email two weeks before camp that asks parents to review and update their child's medical and dietary details. Some operators use an online portal where parents can update details at any time, which reduces the admin burden and improves accuracy.
EpiPen Training and Anaphylaxis Protocols
Any child carrying an EpiPen represents a potential life-threatening emergency. Your team must be prepared, and preparation means training, not just awareness.
Who Needs Training
Every member of staff who supervises children should be trained to recognise the signs of anaphylaxis and administer an EpiPen. This is not optional. Under the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017, organisations providing activities for children in the UK can purchase and hold spare adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) for emergency use, provided staff are trained.
Training should cover:
- Recognising the signs of a severe allergic reaction (swelling, difficulty breathing, hives, collapse).
- When and how to administer an EpiPen (outer thigh, through clothing if necessary).
- Calling 999 immediately after administering the EpiPen.
- Positioning the child (sitting upright if breathing is difficult, recovery position if unconscious).
- The location of spare AAIs on site.
Training should be refreshed annually, and new staff should complete it before their first day on site. Many local councils and first aid providers offer anaphylaxis-specific courses, and organisations like Allergy UK provide free resources for group training.
EpiPen Storage and Accessibility
Children's personal EpiPens must be stored in a known, accessible location, not locked in an office cupboard. Many camps use a clearly labelled medical bag that travels with each group, containing the EpiPens and medication for all children in that group. The group leader must know which children carry EpiPens and where they are stored.
An EpiPen locked in an office 200 metres from the playing field is useless in an emergency. Medication must travel with the child, and every staff member must know where it is.
Medication Logging and Administration
Some children will need medication administered during camp hours. This includes inhalers, antihistamines, insulin, and epilepsy medication. You need a clear, auditable process for receiving, storing, administering, and returning medication.
Receiving Medication
Medication should only be accepted in its original packaging with the pharmacy label attached, showing the child's name, dosage, and prescribing doctor. Parents should complete a medication consent form that specifies the dosage, timing, and any special instructions. Never accept unlabelled medication or verbal instructions alone.
Administration and Recording
Every dose administered must be logged with the child's name, the medication, the dose, the time, and the name of the staff member who administered it. A second staff member should witness the administration wherever possible. This log is a legal record and must be kept for at least three years.
At the end of each day, unused medication is returned to the parent or carer at collection. If medication is not collected, it must be stored securely and returned the following day.
Food Allergen Separation and Kitchen Safety
If your camp provides food, whether that is a cooked lunch, snacks, or just a tuck shop, you are subject to food allergen legislation. The Food Information Regulations 2014 require you to provide allergen information for all food served, and Natasha's Law (2021) extended this to food that is pre-packaged for direct sale.
Practical Kitchen Controls
- Allergen matrix: Every meal and snack should have a written allergen matrix listing which of the 14 major allergens are present.
- Colour-coded preparation: Use separate chopping boards, utensils, and preparation areas for allergen-free food. Many camps use colour-coded wristbands for children with allergies so kitchen and serving staff can identify them instantly.
- Packed lunch policies: If children bring their own food, your policy should address nut-free requirements. Many camps are entirely nut-free, which means checking packed lunches at drop-off. This is time-consuming but necessary if you have children with severe nut allergies on site.
- Snack provision: Mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks are common at holiday camps. Ensure snack options are clearly labelled and that allergen-free alternatives are always available.
Emergency Protocols
Your emergency protocol should be a single-page document displayed in every activity area and known to every member of staff. It should cover anaphylaxis, asthma attacks, seizures, diabetic emergencies, head injuries, and fractures. For each scenario, it should state the immediate first aid response, when to call 999, and who to notify internally.
Run a tabletop exercise before each camp season. Walk your team through two or three scenarios and test whether they know what to do, where the medical bags are, and who calls the ambulance. The five minutes you spend on this could save a child's life.
Key Takeaways
- Collect structured medical and dietary information at booking and prompt parents to update it before each camp.
- Train all staff in EpiPen administration and anaphylaxis recognition annually, and ensure EpiPens travel with the child's group rather than being locked in an office.
- Log every medication administration with the child's name, dose, time, and two staff members wherever possible.
- Apply food allergen legislation rigorously, with allergen matrices for every meal and colour-coded preparation areas in the kitchen.
- Display emergency protocols in every activity area and rehearse them with staff before camp starts.
