The Complete Guide to Running Holiday Camps

Why Holiday Camps Are Worth the Complexity

During school holidays, your regular term-time classes stop. Your venue costs continue. Your fixed-cost staff still need paying. Holiday camps turn this dead period into your most profitable weeks of the year.

A well-run camp also feeds your term-time business. Families who attend camps during the holidays often sign up for weekly classes. Children who try a new activity at camp discover a passion they want to pursue. Camps are a marketing channel disguised as revenue.

But they are operationally demanding. You are responsible for children for entire days, not just one-hour slots. The regulatory requirements are different. The logistics of food, staffing, and security add layers of complexity that term-time classes do not have.

Ofsted Registration: When You Need It

In England, if you provide childcare for children under eight for more than two hours in any day, and you do so for more than 14 days per year, you must register with Ofsted. This applies to holiday camps.

The Two Registration Options

• Compulsory Childcare Register: Required if you care for children aged 0 to 7 for more than two hours. You will be inspected by Ofsted and must meet the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) welfare requirements for under-fives, or the Childcare Register requirements for five to seven year olds.
• Voluntary Childcare Register: For children aged 8 and over. Registration is voluntary but allows parents to use childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare to pay for your camp, which is a significant selling point.

Registration involves a DBS check for the registered person, an application fee (currently around £220), and meeting a set of requirements around policies, qualifications, premises, and safeguarding. The process takes six to twelve weeks, so plan well ahead of your first camp.

If you only run camps for children aged eight and over, or if your sessions are under two hours, or if you run fewer than 15 days per year, you may not need Ofsted registration. Check the most current guidance on the Ofsted website or call their helpline to confirm your specific situation.

Exemptions

Some activities have specific exemptions. Sport coaching sessions where the activity is the primary purpose (rather than childcare) may be exempt, but this is a grey area. If a parent drops off a child at 9am and collects at 3pm, it looks like childcare regardless of how much football you play. Take legal advice if you are unsure.

Venue Requirements and Risk Assessments

Your camp venue needs to be suitable for all-day occupation, not just a one-hour class. That means different considerations from your usual sessions.

Essential Venue Features

• Adequate space: Both active and quiet areas. Children need somewhere to rest, eat, and decompress, not just a sports hall.
• Toilet facilities: Accessible, clean, and sufficient for the number of children. Separate provision for different genders for older children.
• Kitchen or food preparation area: Even if children bring packed lunches, you need somewhere hygienic to store food and prepare snacks.
• Outdoor access: Ideally, some outdoor space for breaks and activities. If your venue is entirely indoors, plan active outdoor trips.
• Secure entry and exit: You must be able to control who comes in and out. This is not optional.
• First aid facilities: A designated area with appropriate supplies and at least one paediatric first aider on site at all times.

Risk Assessment

Your camp risk assessment is a living document. It should cover the venue, every activity you plan to run, food handling, outdoor areas, transport (if applicable), and off-site visits. Review it before every camp and update it whenever circumstances change. Ofsted inspectors will ask to see it.

Programming: Themed Weeks and Multi-Activity Rotations

The difference between a camp that children beg to return to and one that drags is the programming. An unstructured day of "free play and some activities" is not a camp. It is expensive childcare.

Themed Weeks

Themes give your camp an identity and make marketing easier. Examples: Space Week, Under the Sea, Superhero Academy, Olympics, Around the World, Jungle Adventure. Every activity, game, decoration, and even snack ties into the theme. Children remember the theme long after they forget the individual activities.

Daily Structure

A typical camp day might look like this:

• 08:30 - 09:00: Drop-off and free play / settling activity
• 09:00 - 09:15: Welcome circle, plan for the day, team assignments
• 09:15 - 10:30: Activity session 1 (main sport or activity)
• 10:30 - 11:00: Snack and break
• 11:00 - 12:15: Activity session 2 (craft, team challenge, or different sport)
• 12:15 - 13:00: Lunch and rest time
• 13:00 - 14:15: Activity session 3 (games, swimming, outdoor activity)
• 14:15 - 14:30: Snack and break
• 14:30 - 15:30: Activity session 4 (theme-related project or tournament)
• 15:30 - 16:00: Cool-down, review of the day, preparation for pick-up

Build in flexibility. A rigid timetable that ignores children's energy levels will not work. If the group is flagging after lunch, extend quiet time. If energy is high, extend the active session.

Staffing Ratios and Qualifications

Ratios depend on the age of children and the activity being performed.

• Under 5s: 1 adult to 4 children (1:4)
• 5 to 7 year olds: 1 adult to 6 children (1:6)
• 8 to 12 year olds: 1 adult to 8 children (1:8)
• Over 12s: 1 adult to 10 children (1:10)

These are minimum ratios. For higher-risk activities (swimming, climbing, water sports), your governing body will specify tighter ratios. Staff must have appropriate qualifications for the activities they are leading, a current enhanced DBS check, and paediatric first aid training (at least one first aider per 20 children, always available).

Plan for absence. If you are running at minimum ratios and an instructor calls in sick, you have an immediate compliance problem. Build in a buffer or maintain a reliable bank of cover staff.

Pricing: Getting It Right

Camp pricing is different from class pricing. You are competing with other holiday childcare options, and parents are price-sensitive because they may need multiple weeks of cover across the summer.

Pricing Structures

• Daily rate: The simplest approach. Typically £25 to £45 per day depending on your area, the activities offered, and hours of care.
• Weekly rate: Offer a discount for booking a full week (usually 10 to 15% off the daily rate). This incentivises commitment and helps your planning.
• Sibling discounts: Typically 10 to 15% off for second and subsequent children. This is expected by parents and the marginal cost of additional siblings is low.
• Early bird pricing: Offer a discount for bookings made more than six weeks before camp starts. This improves your cash flow and gives you planning certainty.
• Extended hours: If your standard camp runs 9am to 3pm, offer early drop-off (from 8am) and late pick-up (until 5:30pm) for an additional fee. Many working parents need this, and it is almost pure profit.

AMES handles complex camp booking with multi-day packages, sibling discounts, early bird pricing, and extended hours add-ons, all in a single booking flow that parents find simple to use.

Food and Allergies Management

Food at camps is a safeguarding issue, not just a catering one. Allergies can be life-threatening. Your processes must be rigorous.

• Collect allergy information at booking: Make it mandatory, not optional. Ask about allergies, intolerances, dietary requirements (religious, ethical, medical), and whether the child carries an EpiPen or other medication.
• Share allergy information with all staff: Every member of staff on site must know which children have allergies and what to do in an emergency. Use wristbands, lanyards, or photo boards as visual reminders.
• Manage snack provision carefully: If you provide snacks, ensure they are safe for all children present. Nut-free is standard practice. Check ingredients every time, even for products you have used before, as recipes change.
• Packed lunch policies: If children bring their own food, consider a nut-free policy to protect allergic children. Communicate this clearly and repeatedly to parents. Store food in a cool, hygienic area.
• Food hygiene certification: If you prepare food on site, at least one member of staff should hold a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate. Your local authority can provide details.

Drop-Off and Pick-Up Procedures

Security at drop-off and pick-up is non-negotiable. You are responsible for every child from the moment they arrive until the moment they are collected by an authorised person.

Drop-Off

• Designated drop-off area with staff present
• Sign-in sheet or digital check-in (AMES supports digital attendance marking)
• Note who has dropped the child off and any messages for the day (for instance, "Grandma is collecting today")
• Confirm any changes to medical information or emergency contacts

Pick-Up

• Authorised collection list: Collected at enrolment and updated as needed. Only people on this list can collect a child.
• Photo ID check: For anyone the staff do not recognise, check photo ID against the authorised collection list.
• Password system: Some providers use a password system for additional security. The parent provides a password at booking, and anyone collecting the child must know it.
• Late collection procedure: Have a written policy for what happens when a child is not collected on time. Attempt to contact the parent, then the emergency contacts. Never leave a child with fewer than two members of staff. Document everything.
• Sign-out sheet: Record who collected each child and at what time. This is your audit trail.

Actionable Takeaways

• Check your Ofsted status: If you are not sure whether your camp needs registration, check now. The process takes months, not weeks.
• Plan your programming: Choose your themes for the next holiday period and build your activity plans around them. Themed camps sell significantly better than generic ones.
• Audit your food processes: Review how you collect, store, and share allergy information. A single missed allergy could have devastating consequences.
• Test your pick-up security: Could an unauthorised person collect a child from your camp? If your honest answer is "maybe," fix it before your next camp.