Most people book this because they're working. That is what it's for, and nobody here thinks less of you for it.

Because school holidays are longer than annual leave — Which is a scheduling problem rather than a parenting one, and it is the reason for roughly four bookings in five here
Because six weeks at home is a long time — For everybody in the house. A child who has somewhere to go three days a week is usually easier on the other four, and so is the adult
Because a friend is coming — Perfectly good reason. Say so at booking and they'll be in the same group, which we do quietly and without making anything of it
Because they asked to — Rarer than camp pages imply, and lovely when it happens
What we won't tell you — That a week here changes anybody. It's a good week, run by people who like children, and that's the honest size of the claim
What we'd rather you didn't do — Book five weeks in one go because it's cheaper. Book one, see how it goes, and add more later — the discount is still there and it will still be there in July

Nobody is asked to pick a partner — Not on day one, not ever. Groups and pairs are made by us, which means a child who came alone is never the one standing there while everybody else pairs up
Groups are named on the way in — Read out at the gate, so nobody has to work out where to stand. It costs four minutes and it is the single most useful thing on this list
The first activity is a team one — Deliberately something nobody is good at yet. Being equally bad at something together is how eight-year-olds actually become friends
We know who came alone — It's on the register, and the leaders check on them at lunch — which is the moment it gets hard, not the activities
Lunch has a table for anybody — Staffed, ordinary, and not labelled as anything. Children sit there for all sorts of reasons and nobody is asked why
What we can't promise — That they'll come home with a best friend. Some weeks that happens and some weeks a child has a good time alongside people rather than with them, and that is a fine week too

8:00 to 9:15 — early drop-off — Included, not extra. Toast, quiet games and nobody being organised. It exists because trains do
9:30 — groups and the morning thing — One activity, ninety minutes, outdoors unless it's dangerous rather than unless it's raining
12:00 — lunch — Forty-five minutes, sitting down, at tables. Not eaten standing up in a queue
13:00 — the afternoon thing — Different from the morning, and children can swap groups at this point if the morning wasn't for them
15:00 — free time — An hour of nothing scheduled, which is the part most of them name as their favourite and the part camp brochures never show
16:00 to 18:00 — late collection — Included. Films, board games, and no rush at your end. Nobody is the last child in an empty hall being looked at
Food — Hot lunch or bring your own, both fine and neither cheaper. There's toast at any point for a child who eats three things, and no comment is made about it
A wet week — The programme changes rather than stops. Indoor space for everybody at once is the thing to ask any camp about, and ours is on the map below

You get a call, not a text — From the person who is with them, saying what's actually happening rather than "they're a bit upset". You decide what happens next, not us
Nobody is talked out of it — A child who wants to go home is not a discipline problem. Sometimes twenty minutes and a drink fixes it and sometimes it doesn't, and we'll tell you honestly which one it looks like
A refund for the days not used — Where a week ends early, whatever the reason. No forms and no discussion about whether it was our fault
Coming for half days first — Available at half the price and a genuinely good idea for a first-timer or a worried child. Ask rather than book a full week and hope
The morning drop-off — Long goodbyes make it worse and everybody knows it and nobody can do it. Hand over at the gate and go — somebody will text you within twenty minutes to say how it went
What we'd rather you didn't say — "I'll come and get you if you don't like it" as you leave. It's kindly meant and it gives a wobbly morning somewhere to go. Tell us instead and we'll watch for it

The ratio, by age — One to eight for under-eights, one to twelve above. Say yours, and say whether that includes the person running the activity or only the group leaders — those are different numbers and providers quote whichever flatters
Background checks on everybody — Name the check your country actually uses and who holds the certificates. Include the kitchen and the person on the gate, not only the leaders
First aid on site all day — How many people, what level of qualification, and where the nearest hospital is. A first-aider at lunchtime only is not first aid on site
What a background check does not do — It shows what is on record. It is a floor rather than a guarantee, which is why the ratios, the open doors and the two-adult rule matter more than the certificate does
Nobody is ever alone with one child — Including in the first-aid room, where the door stays open. It's the rule that does the most work and it's the easiest one to check when you visit
Come and look, unannounced — Any day we're running, without ringing first. A camp that needs notice before you visit is telling you something and it isn't about safeguarding

Funded and free places — There are some every week. Ask by email in one line — no form, no evidence, no means test, and the answer comes from one person who won't mention it again
Siblings — Ten per cent off the second and third child, applied automatically rather than on request. You shouldn't have to know to ask
What isn't included — A packed lunch if you'd rather send one, and sun cream, which we'd rather you applied at home and sent in labelled. Everything else on this page is in the price
Childcare schemes and vouchers — Say which ones you accept and what the reference is. Half the families who could use one don't know they qualify