About Residential Camp
Nothing – Over The Wall camps are totally free of charge for every child and family.
Over The Wall is a registered charity and we fundraise to cover the costs of all the camps.
Camps take place in various high-quality venues across England and Scotland. Our residential camps run during school holidays and weekends from April to September. Check out the Camp Calendar to find your ideal camp.
Over The Wall encourages campers to become the hero of their own stories and our Therapeutic Recreation programme helps them do this.
To find out who can come to camp and what the various criteria are for each of our camps visit our Criteria page.
Unfortunately we are unable to provide planned overnight care, such as BG checks, for any campers (see our essential requirements here). Whilst children with Diabetes are very welcome to apply for Family Camps, we are not accepting applications to Health Challenges camp.
There are NO tents!
Accommodation is provided in buildings with bedrooms, bathrooms, electricity and even a plug socket for your hairdryer! Accommodation varies from site to site, but for a Family Camp you will be provided with a family room (or more than 1 depending on your size of family), many of which have en-suite bathrooms. For a Health Challenge Camp and Sibling Camp, many of the rooms are multi-bedded and shared with other children and young people from the team, often with en-suite bathrooms. Some of our camps in Scotland may have single rooms with shared bathrooms.
Our staff and volunteers are also residents and so stay on the same corridors as the children, ready to assist if necessary. All bedding is provided, but you will need to bring your own toiletries and towels.
Yes! We accept children who have allergies and require carrying an auto-adrenaline injector (EpiPen/Jext). This is reviewed yearly by the Nursing Team and the Clinical Advisory Board.
Please note:
- South Camp has limited allergy places,
- Midlands Camps can only peanut allergies unless an allergy-specific family camp,
- Scotland Camp has unlimited allergy places
There is always a varied menu with plenty of choices, and health-related dietary requirements can be catered for as long as we know in advance. We do not allow any child or family to bring their own food to camp (unless by prior arrangement for special dietary requirements).
For those applying for our allergy camp, we create a bespoke menu that is safe for everyone attending camp.
We are part of SeriousFun Children’s Network – a network of health challenge camps that operate throughout the world. It was set up by the late Hollywood actor, Paul Newman.
Applying for camp
You can apply for a family camp and one of the week-long camps. However, we prioritise those who have not been to camp before. You can apply for our virtual Camp in the Cloud as well.
Yes, but you will be responsible for getting your child or family to and from camp. If your child becomes unwell at camp you must be able to travel to collect them from camp.
We have limited residential camps and camper places available, and so we can not guarantee a place for any camper. Each application will be assessed on its own merits and we prioritise campers who have not been residentially before and those in most need and who would gain the most out of the experience. We will run an active waitlist for each residential camp.
We assess every application on an individual basis, both for the child’s safety and to ensure we can meet their individual needs. All applications are assessed by our Nursing and Wellbeing team to make sure they meet our criteria to ensure camper safety and ensure the medical team can work to the best of their ability. We prioritise children and families who have not been to one of our camps before.
Yes, but we do prioritise children and families who are first-time applicants to our camps, so you may initially be placed on our waitlist to see where we have availability when applications have closed.
No problem, on the login page put in your email address and click underneath for help with your password, and follow the instructions.
If this does not work for you, please contact out office on 02392 477110 or email campers@otw.org.uk
Once we’ve received your application and any supporting information, the Nursing and Wellbeing team will assess your application. A member of the team may contact you if they have any further questions regarding your child and their health condition, or any wellbeing support needs. Please do respond to these quickly to avoid delaying your application as we cannot progress your application until we have received all medical/supporting information.
- South Health Challenge and Siblings Camp – Tuesday 21st January 2025
- Midlands Family Camp 1- Tuesday 21st January 2025
- Anthony Nolan Family Camp -Tuesday 21st January 2025
- Midlands Family Camp 2- Wednesday 26th February 2025
- Scotland Family Camp -Wednesday 2nd April 2025
- Scotland Health Challenge and Siblings – Wednesday 2nd April 2025
- Midlands 1 Health Challenge and Siblings – Wednesday 2nd April 2025
- Midlands 2 Health Challenge and Siblings- Wednesday 2nd April 2025
- DRWF Family Camp – Wednesday 2nd April 2025
- Allergy Family Camp – Wednesday 21st May 2025
- Midlands Family Camp 3 – Wednesday 21st May 2025
While at camp
We consider each child’s needs on an individual basis, but some of the most common aspects our team deal with are:
- Give medication
- Oral chemotherapy
- PEG, NG and NJ feeds
- TPN
- Central lines and portacaths
- Dressings
- Non-invasive ventilation
- Subcutaneous injections and infusions
- IV factor
- Stoma and catheter care
- Bowel washouts
At Health Challenge camps and Siblings camps, we provide a team of volunteer qualified doctors, paramedics and nurses. They provide all necessary care, giving medication, feeds, changing dressings, personal care, as well as monitoring their health over the duration of the camp. A doctor, paramedic or nurse is on call for overnight emergencies. The team is led by a nursing coordinator who is a member of staff.
At Family Camp, we have a much smaller medical team as parents and carers are responsible for their child’s care, but our medical team is always present to offer support.
Our camps run with the help of a team of volunteers who are fully DBS checked along with staff who are also DBS (PVG in Scotland) checked.
Over The Wall provides a variety of activities and each activity is targeted to the age group at camp. Examples of activities include climbing wall, zip wire, arts and crafts, kayaking, archery, board games and music – to name a few. Activities change depending on the venue.
We understand that parents and carers may want to know how their camper is getting on at camp. If you have a question, please call our main office, and they can provide answers or get you in touch with our team at camp. If it is after office hours, please follow the prompts to be put in touch with our emergency phone.
We’ve been offered a place at camp
You just need to let us know as soon as possible, so the place/s can be offered to someone on the waitlist. This will not stop you from re-applying again in the future.
Please ensure you pack enough clothing to last for the duration of camp. Some activities at camp can get messy, so please don’t bring your best clothes. There are a range of indoor and outdoor activities, so expect to pack for all weathers. Campers will be provided with an Over The Wall lanyard, t-shirt and water bottle on arrival at camp.
Essential Items:
- T-shirts
- Long trousers or joggers
- Sweater, hoodie or fleece
- Sensible shorts (weather dependent)
- Underwear
- Socks
- Pyjamas
- Waterproof jacket
- Towels (for swimming and day to day use)
- Closed-toed shoes
- Soap/shower gel
- Shampoo
- Deodorant
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Plastic bag for dirty laundry
- Any medications
Optional Items:
- Hat
- Wellies or old trainers
- Sunglasses
- Teddy or other bedtime items
- Low-energy activities for periods like Rest Hour (e.g. age-appropriate books, comics)
Items to leave at home:
- Mobile phones and any other valuables (iPods, iPads, etc.). Please note, mobile phones will be removed and kept safe during camp.
- Food or drink of any kind (unless agreed in advance with our Nursing Team)
- Money
We are sorry if you have been disappointed on this occasion, places at our camps are limited and applications are assessed on an individual basis to ensure the safety of our campers and the abilities of our medical team, and to ensure that as many new children and families as possible get to experience camp. We will prioritise applications from those children and families who have not previously attended camp. If you are on the waitlist, this means a place may become available at any time up until the day camp starts.
Being on the waitlist means we received more applications than available places for camp. We actively manage the waitlist and will contact you by phone and email if a place opens up for your child, which can happen as late as the day before camp begins.
Please note that there are no fixed positions on the waitlist, as various factors determine which child is offered a place when one becomes available.
Camp in the Cloud
The following FAQs address aspects of our online camps
Camp in the Cloud
Camp in the Cloud is a virtual environment containing lots of activities, games and challenges – lots of the things you would see at a residential Over The Wall camp, but taking place in your own home. The resources you’ll need to complete activities will be in the Camp in the Cloud activity box.
Your schedule will be sent in your Seriously Fun Box and a full schedule of events will be visible to you when you login to your homepage. There will be a registration period so that you have time to log on to ensure you have no issues accessing the platform, to have a look around (remember lots of the activities won’t be available yet!), and make your profile to tell the other campers in your team who you are. To be fair to everyone, the live activities will start on time, so if you are late you are very welcome to join in, but we cannot wait to start activities. In between these times there are lots of other activities and games to explore too at your own pace.
Camp in the Cloud offers an exciting and tailored mixture of activities which bring the magic of camp directly to your home. Many of our Camp in the Cloud activities are facilitated in real-time, and the platform also has elements such as a message board and camp gallery, allowing for plenty of interaction with other campers and/or families. Activities include arts and crafts, mindfulness and wellbeing, active challenges, problem solving and a whole bunch of extra games and resources. You’ll be able to join fun and interactive video calls with other families attending the session.
You’ll receive a box in the post approximately one to two weeks before camp, containing all the resources you’ll need to participate in the online activities. The resources are organised into coloured envelopes by activity…don’t open them until the day! There will be video or written instructions on Camp in the Cloud to help you complete the activities. There will also be written instructions in the envelopes.
You’ll need a device that can connect to the internet; this can be a PC, laptop, tablet or phone or a combination of these. Ideally your device will have a camera/webcam as when you’ve completed your activities and projects, we’d love you to take a snap of them and upload them to the camp gallery so we can see what you and the rest of your team have been up to. Some activities will also be via Zoom video conferencing. If you need assistance with a suitable device, then just let us know in your application form. You’ll also need your Serious Fun Box which contains the physical resources needed to participate.
You will be online with other families just like yours. And of course, we will also be on the platform with you, ready to help whenever needed.
Camp in the Cloud will be supervised by Over The Wall staff. At camp, we have a 2 to 1 policy, whereby no adult is alone with a child; this policy will also apply to Camp in the Cloud.
We take camper safety very seriously. Access to the platform is password protected and campers and families are asked, for the safety of all children participating, that passwords are never shared. The initial password you will receive is automatically generated and is long for security purposes. You can copy and paste this when logging in to Camp in the Cloud for the first time, where you will then be prompted to change your password.
Camp in the Cloud will be supervised by Over The Wall staff; all have enhanced DBS and reference checks and safeguarding children training. Camper message boards will be moderated by our staff to ensure content is appropriate, and staff will be present for all calls. Over The Wall Camp has zero tolerance for bullying and/or harassment – on and off the platform.
If you have any questions or concerns before Camp in the Cloud, email campers@otw.org.uk. If you’re worried about something during Camp in the Cloud, please click on the ‘Need Help’ button to connect you to a member of Over The Wall staff. You can also email cloud@otw.org.uk
For all our camps, whether they’re in person or online, we expect everyone (campers, families, staff and volunteers) to sign up to our charter.
This was written by our campers:
1. Be Respectful and Responsible
2. Celebrate Differences
3. Include and Accept Others
4. Always Appropriate
5. Ask for Help
In order that everyone feels safe, valued and respected on Camp in the Cloud, we may need to revoke access to Camp in the Cloud for anyone who is unable to meet the expectations of the Charter.
In addition to our Charter, we ask you to keep Camp in the Cloud a safe and respectful environment by: Never sharing your password or log in with others Never sharing personal information (such as your address, full name or phone number) Thinking before you post – don’t upload anything inappropriate or hurtful If you’re sharing photos or videos, making sure these don’t contain personal information If you’re joining video calls, not wearing clothing that reveals where you live (such as school uniform or local sports team strips) Speaking to a member of staff or your parents or carers if anything or anyone upsets you or makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe Keeping your device secure – ask a parent or carer to help with this, there are lots of great tips in the video below.
Over The Wall have a limited number of devices with data to lend to those who may not have a device accessible to the internet. Please answer the question in the application form to indicate if you need one, or if you have already applied and did not request one, email camper@otw.org.uk.
Get in touch
Can’t see your question answered?
Fill out the form or use the details below to get in touch.
campers@otw.org.uk
02392 477110
