Although when we were at school, it seemed like there were years between holidays, as an adult it appears as if your children are at home more than they are in the classroom. Especially if you are trying to get some work done at the same time.
Whether you go out to work and have no one to watch the kids or you work from home and need to concentrate for more than ten minutes without having to answer another question from a small human, holiday childcare is the way forward.
But what should you look for when booking your kids into clubs and camps? We’ve put together a list of essentials to keep them happy.
Holiday childcare checklist
1. Range of activities
We all know how easy it is for children to get bored with, well, pretty much anything. This means that the holiday childcare that you choose needs to have enough variety to keep it interesting for them, no matter how many days they go.
Look for something that offers plenty of different opportunities. You could select a number of different clubs over the week, but that becomes an admin nightmare. If you can find the selection you need in one solution, it is much more straightforward, and your kids can enjoy the consistency that comes with that.
2. Long hours
Some holiday childcare is great, but they only offer a few hours’ respite from the kids. This means that you feel like you are going to pick them up almost as soon as you have sat down after dropping them off.
Parents don’t tend to only work 9am till 3pm, so look for a solution that offers long hours and you can get more done.
3. Ofsted rating
When you hand over your children to someone else to look after, you need to make sure that they are trustworthy. That is why you should check that whoever you choose for holiday childcare is Ofsted rated. This allows you to see that they have been inspected and that they meet the requirements to provide quality and safe sessions for your kids.
4. Good facilities
It is all very well having the right ideas, but if your childcare provider doesn’t have the facilities to back them up, your children won’t enjoy the best experience during the school holidays.
Make sure you check out what the holiday childcare has to offer in terms of the infrastructure, as that will dictate how enjoyable it is for the attendees.
5. Good reviews
One of the positives of the internet is that we can now get first-hand reviews from real people before we book activities such as holiday childcare. Make sure you look up the provider on TrustPilot and other sites to see what other parents have reported. This will help you work out whether it is worth pursuing.
Barracudas Activity Day Camps
Barracudas activity day camps run from 8:30am till 5:30pm with early and late clubs (8am till 6pm) providing extra flexibility if you need it. Your children can take part in 80 activities, with many of the 50 different camps offering swimming.
The camps are Ofsted rated and have received great reviews on Trustpilot too.
Visit the Barracudas website to find your closest camp and what it has to offer to provide your children with a fun and fulfilling holiday childcare experience. Use code: DADS23 for an extra £20 off your booking.*
*Expires 14th July 2023
