Camp Provider Inspections

OFSTED is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills in England. They are the Government regulator for the care of children and young people and report directly to Parliament. A similar set up in Wales called CSIW and CC in Scotland perform the same function.

The purpose of these organisations is to promote service improvement, ensure services focus on the interests of their end users and see that services are efficient, effective and represent value for money. It's not just about safety and all systems seem to go into an impressive level of detail.

They carry out hundreds of inspections and regulatory visits and most publish their findings within the reports areas of their respective websites.

If you are considering a camp or summer school in the UK and they are registered with OFSTED or their relevant authority you can usually view their report by typing in the providers and / or venue name in the search boxes provided on their sites.

What to look for in the reports

The Quality and standards of care

The report will broadly grade standards and state whether the facility meets regulatory standards.

The Venue / Setting

The report should re-confirm the location for which the assessment is based, what facilities are in place and who it serves. It may also expand on the activities that take place and the staff that run the programme.

The effectiveness of care provided

The report should state the aims of the operation and then detail how these aims are met. It will also broadly grade on to what extent the aims are achieved.

Organisation

The report will broadly grade the level of organisation and management and should go into detail on how this impacts on the facilities aims. It will also outline how this impacts on the children and what if any extra steps the provider has made to improve and maintain these standards.

The report will give an overall view on whether childrens needs are met and detail any improvements made since the last inspection and if any further improvements are required.