Who Can Come to Camp?
Read the criteria below to establish if your child is eligible for an Over The Wall Camp.
Residential Camps
Health Challenge Camps
We invite applications from children and young people aged 8 to 17 years, living in the UK, who are currently experiencing health challenges or have finished treatment in the last 3 years.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- Blood disorders (e.g. Sickle Cell Disease, Haemophilia, Thalassemia)
- Gastrointestinal disorders (e.g. Inflammatory Bowel Disease, TPN dependent)
- Cancer and Leukaemia
- Rheumatological conditions (e.g. Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus)
- Immunological disorders (e.g. HIV, Primary Immune Deficiency)
- Respiratory disorders (e.g. Severe Asthma)
- Skin conditions (e.g. Severe Eczema, Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB))
- Severe allergies
- Heart conditions (e.g. Congenital Heart Disease)
- Kidney disease (e.g. Polycystic Kidney Disease, Renal Failure)
- Liver diseases
- Neurological disorders (e.g. Epilepsy, Spina Bifida)
- Neuromuscular disorders (e.g. Muscular Dystrophy)
- Organ transplant
- Endocrine disorders (e.g. Growth Hormone Deficiency, Type 1 Diabetes*)
- Orthopaedic (e.g. Limb loss, Limb difference)
- Rare Disease/Disorder (e.g. Inherited Metabolic Disorders)
All our places for campers with Type 1 Diabetes are on our Family Camps.
Children and young people with neurodiversity (Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, etc.) as a standalone condition do not meet our criteria
Essential criteria for all Residential Campers
To ensure the camper can benefit fully from all our camp programmes, they must:
- Have the physical ability to participate in an action-packed activity programme with a range of high and low energy activities. (Please discuss with us if your child needs adaptations.)
- Have the social and emotional ability to participate in a group setting and team activities with children of their own age
- Be able to verbally communicate their needs independently
- Be able to transfer between floor, bed and chair without assistance if they use a wheelchair
- Be able to attend to their own personal care
We cannot accept campers who:
- Require significant assistance with toileting/bathing
- Require frequent rest periods/naps during the day, resulting in missing a significant amount of the scheduled activities
- Have learning, behavioural or social communication needs that would prevent them from participating in age-appropriate group activities
- Are more than 3 years off treatment if they do not have any ongoing health challenges
- Need planned overnight care/intervention/monitoring, or health care needs that require constant one-to-one support
- Have Cystic Fibrosis or Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (due to risk of cross-infection) **
- Are on a ketogenic diet or a specific medical diet, such as a low protein diet **
- Are currently experiencing suicidal thoughts or self-harming
** Visit our website to see if we may have a virtual Camp in the Cloud for this specific illness group coming up.
Our Nursing Team reviews each application and the accompanying medical information to confirm eligibility and ensure that the camper’s needs can be safely met at camp. We also consider the camper’s ability to participate in the programme, their psychosocial well-being, and the opportunities available. Applications are reviewed individually.
Keeping Everyone Safe: Measles/MMR Requirement
As part of our commitment to protecting the health and safety of immunocompromised and medically vulnerable children and young people, we require all camp attendees to provide evidence of a full course of measles/MMR vaccination (up to date for their age) or evidence of medical exemption as part of their camp application.
Sibling Camp
- We invite applications for children and young people aged 8 to 17 years who have a sibling (0 – 17 years) currently experiencing health challenges or who have finished treatment in the last 3 years
- Siblings of children whose sole/primary diagnosis is of neurodiversity (e.g. Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD) do not meet our criteria
Family Camp
- We invite applications from families who have a child or young person aged from birth to 17 years who is currently experiencing health challenges or has finished treatment in the last 3 years
- One child in the family must be aged between 8–17
- Babies must be a minimum of 6 months old at the time of camp
- Note: Partnership camps may have additional specific criteria. Check the details for each camp
Returning Campers
- We welcome applications from returning campers who continue to meet our essential criteria
- To allow new children and young people to experience camp, returning campers may be placed on the waitlist
Camp in the Cloud Criteria
To learn more about our virtual camp, Camp in the Cloud and its criteria, please click here.
Get in touch
Fill out the form or use the details below to get in touch.
campers@otw.org.uk
01332 977589