Summary
Scotland Young Carers and Health Challenge Camp for children aged 8-17 is a therapeutic recreation camp in Perth tackling the isolation, drop in confidence and reduced self-esteem that often accompanies serious childhood illness. Alongside short-term respite from the daily challenges of managing a health condition or taking on a caring role within the home, camp provides long-term benefits including increased self-confidence & self-belief, new coping strategies and a network of peer support.
What Scotland Young Carers and Health Challenge Camp 2023 did
Between the 10th - 14th July 2023, we held our Scotland Young Carers and Health Challenge camp at Strathallan School, Perth. We welcomed 82 children from across Scotland living with serious health challenges and sibling young carers. Beneficiaries were referred to us through connections we hold with the Royal Hospital for Children & Young People Edinburgh and Glasgow, Rachel House Children's Hospice, Jak’s Den, Fife Young Carers, Kindred Scotland, Charlie House, Ninewells Hospital, Haemophilia Scotland and Young Lives vs Cancer. Each application went through stringent medical and wellbeing assessments to ensure that we could safely manage each child's needs. At camp, clinical volunteers and staff provided care for children who live with the following conditions: blood disorders, cancer, cardiac disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, immunologic disorders, kidney disease, neurological disorders, orthopaedic conditions and rheumatologic disorders. Campers took part in fully-accessible physical activities, such as climbing at an external climbing centre, swimming and archery, alongside fun creative sessions. Each activity was carefully planned so that each camper could take part. Adaptations to activities were made so that needs were addressed in a way that was not obvious. It is this attention to detail which means that no child felt singled out, no one felt different.
Once again, we had the support of a wonderful team of volunteers who gave their time freely. 62 volunteers were assessed, interviewed and trained before attending camp. Training included online leaning before attending, followed by an in-person training day before the campers arrived to ensure they could properly support campers' needs.
What Over The Wall has learned
Using the climbing centre for an off-site activity was a great success. We arranged wheelchair accessible coaches to transport campers, and it was exciting for our beneficiaries (many of whom had never been to a climbing centre before). The centre was incredibly accommodating, giving us sole use and providing a winch for those campers with reduced mobility. We intend to provide this again at our 2024 camp.
The reduced number of volunteers was a challenge for us. This is partly due to volunteers who had previously regularly attended dropping off following our two-year break on residential camps due to COVID. It has also been a challenge to recruit enough new volunteers. We have now employed a Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator specifically working in Scotland. We are also focussed on improving the volunteer experience: including better evaluation, training and ongoing contact. We are hopeful that these efforts will assist with both recruitment and retention of volunteers, which will in turn enable us to increase beneficiary numbers.
One specific success this year was a change to the delivery of medication. At previous camps, campers needing medication would have to leave their groups to attend the “beach hut”, typically around mealtime. At this camp, a stand was set up outside the canteen where campers could pick up their medication on the way to their meal. This was less disruptive to activities, mealtimes, time with friends and we had good feedback from clinical volunteers and verbal feedback from campers. We have had to work out logistics to not block access by creating a bottleneck/crowd.
How Over The Wall has benefitted from the funding
We have been running our transformational camps since 1999 and can only continue to do this with the support of funders in Scotland. Support from Better Breaks assisted us in welcoming 82 children affected by serious illness – whether as a child with the health challenge or as a sibling carer - who came together and had an amazing time away from home.
We constantly strive to improve the service we deliver. Having the security of Better Breaks funding, especially after the covid pandemic, enabled us to confidently plan and deliver camps that evolve year after year to meet the needs of the children who we welcome.
Project Outcomes
Outcome
70 children with a disability or serious and life-limiting illnesses will have met others going through similar personal challenges, whilst experiencing fun creative and physical activities together with no barrier to participation.
Results
Camper numbers were down on predicted, partly due to a drop in volunteer numbers, which meant it was necessary to cap camper numbers to ensure we did not compromise on safety and safeguarding. 42 children with a disability or serious and life-limiting illness attended camp, meeting others with similar lived experience and participating in fully-accessible activities.
Grouped by age, campers experienced 5-days of fun physical and creative activities as a team. Activities included arts and crafts, swimming, archery and climbing. For climbing, wheelchair accessible coaches transported campers to an external climbing centre which was briefed on our requirements. A winch was provided so that children with limited mobility could climb the wall. Adaptations such as these mean that children who may never have experienced an activity, or thought themselves capable of taking part, could participate and have a uniquely enjoyable and supportive experience with their peers.
Case study
"R, who is nine-years-old and has Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (Chronic Kidney Disease), has developed so much confidence from her time at camp. She met others just like her which helped her realise that yes, she’s different, but no different to any other child who is seriously ill. She now feels like she can achieve anything she puts her mind to because camp was an environment that showed her she can. R spent her early childhood in and out of hospital so she really enjoyed taking part in everything camp had to offer including archery and swimming. This was her first time away from home, and we worried about who would give her medicine, how they were going to feed her and whether she would be able to sleep. The camp staff do an amazing job of putting parents at ease. We’re now confident we can send our children away from home and they will be looked after just as we would look after them – their feeds and medicines will be given just like they are at home."
Outcome
70 young carers will have access and support to try and enjoy a wide range of new activities not usually available to them.
Results
Each camper was assessed to understand the levels of support that they required. Our Well-being Coordinator identified those campers that needed extra support. We used the individual profiles to design an activity programme specifically around the needs and goals of the cohort attending. A fundamental part of our Therapeutic Recreation model is ‘Challenge By Choice’, which aims to stretch the campers to achieve more than they thought possible.
Whilst at camp our campers were organised into teams according to their age and had the opportunity to take part in a wide range of creative and physical activities including swimming, archery, climbing wall, drama, music, arts and crafts and team challenges.
Case study
K's mum wanted to tell us about her experience of camp:
"Our days are structured around the timings of C’s routines, so it is hard to be flexible without pre-planning. It is a real challenge to fit in other things like social events and holidays. For us all to go these need to be accessible, so the scope of what we can do is often limited by wheelchair accessibility (or not) and hoist/changing space (or not) being available. Anything for K, like after school activities or appointments, relies on us having a carer able to help at home so that we can accompany her. Carers have thus been very much a part of family life, but there has been a lot of turnover so it’s difficult to manage. However, this is very much part of daily life and C has a constant stream of medical appointments and occasional times in hospital. What K enjoyed the most about camp was being able to have fun with the activities all day, rather than taking part in a time-limited activity and having to return home which is the case outside of camp. She loved the camp games, songs, activities as well as meeting the volunteers and other campers. There were lots of things she hadn’t done before like the games and arts and crafts, but the thing that was new and important was the context and setting. It was the chance to primarily have fun all day and be alongside other siblings with similar experiences. This meant the activities could be valued and enjoyed in a similar way without the need to explain. It was doing things in this way with the daily reflective Cabin chats and camp songs that was the exciting bit."
Outcome
70 young carers will have enjoyed a fun break from their caring responsibilities at a camp designed to deliver long term benefits as well as short term respite. These include: increased confidence & self-esteem, new coping mechanisms and a better understanding of the need and means to self-care. (95% of campers told us in 2019 that they felt better able to take care of their own health after camp).
Results
Children arrive at camp feeling a little nervous, unsure, and lacking confidence in themselves and their abilities. It is a privilege to watch them throughout their time at camp engage with others and join in with the fun-filled therapeutic activities. After just a few days, they have fully embraced the mischief and magic of camp, enthusiastically joining in with camp songs.
After camp we survey each camper to analyse the difference camp has made. Our 2023 findings were:
I/we have made new friends 97%
I/we feel refreshed 91%
I/we are happier 96%
I/we feel more positive about the future 96%
I/we feel more confident 98%
I/we feel less isolated 89%
I/we are better able to overcome personal challenges 98%
I/we feel less worried or anxious 90%
Case study
"K is really lucky to have been to camp a number of times and has had an amazing experience each time. She is in a good place herself, has made lots of friends and kept a box of memories that she adds to each time she goes to camp. She has made many friends over the years and continues to stay in touch with them even now. Her happiness returning from camp has led to her being more engaged with life at home and is keen to be more of a part of things, which is a lovely side effect of camp. When anything has been difficult, she has often mentioned camp and her time there with the wish to go back. It’s something to look forward to throughout the year as well as the time at camp itself – this is the immense year-long impact of camp."
Outcome
70 children with a serious illness or disability and siblings (young carers) will feel happier and more able to cope with the challenges of everyday life, which will impact positively on the entire family unit.
Results
After camp, 82 children with a serious illness or disability and siblings (young carers) felt happier and more able to cope with the challenges of every day life.
After a packed day of activities and mealtimes spent together, "Cabin Chats" within teams each evening gave an opportunity for campers to reflect on their achievements, consider their own wellbeing and celebrate each others successes. Camp encourages connections, with campers becoming each others biggest supporters. This helps to build self-belief and allows them to regain some of the childhood that is lost through the daily struggles of living with a serious health condition or caring for a loved one.
Case study
"Since R’s siblings came home from camp, they haven’t been able to stop smiling. They both lacked confidence before attending camp, but we could see from the camp photos that they both got stuck into every activity. H is a quiet child who doesn’t smile often in pictures, so there was that visible transformation. It was lovely to see that they both enjoyed camp and had as much fun as R did. S, who is a teenager, also gained a lot of confidence by going to residential camp and meeting other siblings who relate to his situation. It’s hard to describe how excited they all were when they got off the bus after camp, but when I saw them, I knew we’d made the right decision to apply to camp. Since camp, these confidence levels haven’t dropped. We used the momentum of camp to sign them up to similar activities they could do separately. Camp gave them confidence to make friends and talk to new people, a skill that continues to benefit them outside of camp."