Over The Wall residential camps offer adaptable, fully individualised care packages for children and young aged people aged 8 – 17 living with serious health challenges. From the outset we aim to de-medicalise camp, through deliberately designed informality within our clinical rooms (the Beach Hut) which also extends to our clinical teams (Beach Patrol) who join in the fun with our campers.
Set in high-quality accommodation at several sites around the UK, we offer 2-5-night stays in comfortable rooms with 24-hour medical care available on site. With activities including climbing, zip wire, archery, kayaking, arts & crafts, drama and more, our bespoke experiences offer a much-needed break for children and young people, and quality time for their families.
Before attending camp, each camper’s application and medical form is reviewed by a member of our Nursing Team to ensure that the camper meets our eligibility criteria and that their needs can be met by the team at camp. Care plans are formulated ahead of time and the child’s medical history and psychosocial wellbeing are carefully taken into consideration to ensure a made-to-measure camp experience. Our campers’ wellbeing is incredibly important to us and our dedicated Camper Wellbeing Team aims to reduce incidences of psychosocial issues in young people with serious health challenges. Where necessary, we seek advice from external organisations to complete our care plans. Our fully vetted and trained volunteers are integral to this support process.
The children and young people we support are often:
- receiving hospital treatment to the extent that their day-to-day lives are impacted, and/or
- feeling isolated or impacted socially as a result of their or their sibling’s health challenge
At camp, children enjoy a variety of fun activities built around the Therapeutic Recreation model which encourages campers to take steps to challenge themselves, feel successful, reflect on their success and discover new possibilities. Our activities include a mix of high and low energy activities to ensure that all campers can get involved.
Our camps are available for children and young people from throughout the UK, and our Camper Recruitment team and Nursing team work closely with a variety of third parties including potential referrers, hospitals, support groups, health care professionals and health-specific charities.
Our skilled teams offer the following tailored packages of care for campers:
- Family camps (2-night residential activity camps for the whole family)
- Health Challenge camps (5-night residential activity camps for children ages 8-17)
- Siblings camps (4/5-night residential activity camps for children aged 8-17 who have a brother or sister currently receiving treatment or experiencing a health challenge)
- Partner camps (where we partner with a fellow charity to deliver camps on their behalf for children and young people with health-specific conditions)
