Kid's Clubs whilst on holiday

[Max's Mum]

Hi

 

I wonder if anybody has any experience of this. We are considering going abroad for the first time next year and are looking at Thomson family holidays which have kids clubs. I am not the kind of parent to leave a child in a kids club for the whole holiday but it would be nice for a couple of hours break once or twice during the week.

 

My DS, will be 5 then and has Autism. He is pretty high-functioning and attends mainstream school with support. He has been in nurseries since he was 2 (and happily attends before/after school clubs etc) and is fine about being left in situations like this so I don't have any problem with letting him go, but I was wondering more of how the holiday company would approach it?

 

Do they need to be fully inclusive of children with special needs? I have a funny feeling that they will say that he is more than welcome to attend but that a carer must be with him, in which case it kinda defeats the object of it!

 

Does anybody have any experience?

 

Many thanks

 

 

[baddad]

Dunno about holiday camps, but my son regularly does holiday stuff at nearby activity centres. Usually they just have a bit on the form asking for medical conditions/background, but that's about all. They've got phone numbers and stuff for all the kids, so unless there's specific medical or behavioural needs they can't meet (access, toileting, medication, aggression etc) that should be all they need.

I let them know when I'm booking stuff, and I usually go along to help with 'introductions' and to chat briefly with the staff on the day, but apart from that it's his time, and he probably wouldn't want me there in the first place!

He's done watersports, high ropes, archery, orienteering, climbing, 'bushcraft', drama workshops, sports - all kinds of stuff - and there's never been an issue. The hardest thing for me is that he struggles with a lot of the physical challenges (dyspraxia) and you always get a couple of smart alec kids who snigger about that. He just ignores them, and for the most part the rest of the kids, with appropriate role modelling from the staff, are as supportive and encouraging as they are to each other.

 

Hope that's helpful

 

L&P

 

BD

 

Oh - just noticed your son is five. That may be problematic if that is the 'entry level' age, iyswim. A group staffed and geared towards a 3 - 5 yr age group wouldn't be an issue, but one that went 5 - 8 might be, because the staffing ratios would differ. Under those circumstances having an adult stay on hand might be a reasonable adjustment.

[Max's Mum]

Thanks so much for your reply, that is really helpful.

 

The groups are 3-5 and 6-8 and initially I was thinking that it would be unfortunate that he wouldn't be in a group with his sister (as she'd be 7) but on hindsignt, being with younger children (he'd be a few months short of 6) would probably be of great benefit to him and the nursery nurses would probably be much more suited to him than children's reps for older children.

 

Thanks again

 

x

 

[baranigirl]

I do summer holiday clubs and we have a fully inclusive policy, but that is with a one on one worker IF it is requested. IF one os not requested the remaining staff just work with the child as part of the group. The only time it doesn't work is when a parent has not requested one on one when their child really needs the support.

 

With the classes I teach term time we as coaches are not even given anything from the admin staff from the medical information, shocking as recently one parent told me their child had absence epilepsy! Therefore the child has to fit in with the class as we do not get additional support for additional needs (something I am not happy about)

 

 

[Samsam]

We travel with Thomson/First Choice (same company now) every year, we have always used their kids clubs, it is important that you tell them as much information about your child before you go. We usually write a plan laid out a little like this.

 

Likes: - (your answers here)

 

Dislikes : - (again your answers here)

 

Medical needs : - (here I will include things such as allergies, anything he can't eat/drink)

 

Development : - (anything they would expect another child of his age to do that he can't)

 

Emotional : - (for us this is textures, noises and that if he says he doesn't want to do something what they should do)

 

When to contact us : - ....

 

We keep it to one word answers as much as possible so it's not like an essay and then we laminate it and take it with us to each session. As he is 5 he should be ok in his own age group session but for us our son is 10 so he usually goes into the same session as his brother which I think is up to 7 or 8 years old because it is more developmentally appropriate for him and they are usually fine with that as the older children usually go climbing or have loud discos which he wouldn't do (although he always has the choice to go to either). Also we ask if we can take him for the first time 10 mins before the session starts so he can get familiar with the room before all the other kids arrive.

 

We have never had any issues with any of the staff - they are usually fantastic, welcoming and very inclusive and they always inform us of the activities they will be doing that day so we can make sure our son is ok with them.

 

Hope that helps x

 

[Max's Mum]

Thank you all so much for your replies, they are extremely helpful and have put my mind at rest for the timebeing. Am sure I will stress out about something else before too long!

 

x

[Max's Mum]

I just wanted to add that I contacted Thomson via their website to get their stance on this and received this reply, which I found very encouraging .

 

"Thank you for your email regarding our kids club. Please accept my apologies for the delayed response.

 

I can confirm that your child would be welcomed into our kids club. You will have the opportunity to discuss your child's needs with the Children's Reps at the Welcome Meeting, and provide practical guidance. Once you have confirmed your booking, please let us know by replying to this email and I will ensure our resort team are aware in advance.

 

In closing I would like to thank you for taking the time to write to us. I trust the above clarifies your query however if we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us via email or on the telephone number below."

 

Hope this helps someone else