To volunteer at Over The Wall, you must be 18+ before you attend camp. Former campers must be aged 21+ before the first day of the camp you’re attending.  
 
Here at Over The Wall, we strive to be diverse and inclusive within our team of staff, campers and volunteers. We welcome and encourage volunteers of all ages, genders, ethnicities and backgrounds to join us.  If you have enthusiasm, a sense of fun and a genuine desire to empower children and young adults with serious health challenges, then we would love to hear from you!

When you apply online, you will be able to choose your preferred camp/dates. If you want to do more than one camp, you can select the camps in order of preference!  

We will try to accommodate your preferred choice as much as possible, so recommend submitting your application early to avoid disappointment. Check out our camp calendar which shows the apply by dates to ensure that you don’t miss out!

We have a new role for volunteers living close to camp. You can come to camp from 9am-5pm for every day of camp, you will not require accommodation and can go back to your home each evening. Non-residential volunteers will need to commit to the full training and camp dates.  

After you’ve submitted a volunteer application, we will review it.  If we need additional information we will contact you. Following this stage, you will attend a virtual interview or in-person interview day which will give you a chance to get to know about life at camp whilst we get to know you.  

Following your interview, you will be sent a conditional offer of a place at camp subject to a satisfactory police check, at least two suitable references, confirmation of your MMR and assessment of any medical information you have provided.  

We provide a pick-up and drop-off service from the train station closest to camp or you can drive as there is plenty of parking available. There may be an opportunity to car share with other volunteers and we encourage you to do this through our closed volunteers Facebook group.  

There is an E-learning course that you will be sent to complete before coming to camp. The E-learning course covers elements such as Emergency Procedures, Camper Behaviour Support, Safeguarding, Policies and the Therapeutic Recreation Model. You will also be sent a Camp Handbook before you arrive that has all the information you need to prepare for volunteering with Over The Wall Camp! You will also participate in in-person training prior to camper arrival at camp.  

As a volunteer, you will be present at camp activities helping to engage and support campers. The focus is on the experience and participation of the activity for the campers, so volunteers shouldn’t come to camp expecting to have a go on the Climbing Wall or Zipwire! That being said, there may be times when you will be asked to participate in an activity to support campers (i.e. accompanying them up the Climbing Wall. However, you will never be made to do anything you are not comfortable with. 

Volunteers’ prescription medication and over the counter medication must always be locked away in the provided lockers or with provided padlocks during camp (unless it is required to be carried with you). 

Campers are not permitted to bring their electronic devices with them to camp so they can be fully absorbed in what we call the ‘Camp Bubble.’ Whilst volunteers can bring their phones and laptops/tablets with them to camp, they are only to be used at appropriate times and not in front of campers. Although the sites we visit do have Wifi, signal is however often weak or we do not have access to it, so please come prepared for the fact there may be limited Wifi available at Camp. You’ll be too busy having fun to need it anyway! 

All meals are provided for you whilst you are at camp. At camp we may have campers and volunteers with severe food allergies. To protect against life threatening allergic reactions, we have a list of foods which volunteers can bring to camp. You will be sent this food list in advance of coming to Camp. Please DO NOT bring any food items with you that are not on the Food list. This food cannot be shared with Campers.

Although we call them camps, you won’t be sleeping in tents! For the duration of a residential camp, you will be sleeping on site in comfortable accommodation with other volunteers, this will be in the same accommodation block as your Campers, but never in the same room.   

A typical day at camp varies depending on what camp you are supporting. Activities may also vary depending on locations. Here is an example schedule for a day at a past Health Challenge Camp:  

7.30am: Wake-up
8.15am:  Any trips to the Beach Hut (our Medical Area at Camp) for medication
8.45am: Breakfast
9.45am – 12.20pm: Two different Activity Sessions (e.g Zipwire and Arts & Crafts)
12.30pm: LUNCH!
1.30pm – 2.30pm: Rest hour for Campers (Campers have the chance to chill out for an hour before the fun continues!)
2.30pm – 5.15pm: Two Activity Sessions
5.30pm: DINNER!
6.45pm: Chillax time
7.00pm – 8.00pm: Evening Programme (This could be anything from Disco to Movie Night!)
8.15pm – 9.30pm: Cabin Chat (The chance for you and your team to get into pjs, drink some hot chocolate and reflect on all of the amazing things you’ve done that day.)
9.30pm: Any trips to the Beach Hut for medication etc.
9.45pm: Lights out for campers … and then we do it all again the next day! 

At camp, you will be joined by a fantastic group of Clinical Volunteers. These are trained Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics who come along to Camp as our ‘Beach Patrol’ team. They have a designated ‘Beach Hut’ at camp where Campers will go to get their medication if necessary. We also have a Wellbeing Coordinator for any wellbeing needs. So, unless you are a Clinical Volunteers, you will not be responsible for helping Campers with their medical needs.  

Volunteers are responsible for the general safety of campers. You may need to carry your campers’ emergency medication, but you will rarely be expected to administer it- and if you are, you will receive full training in advance. 

Meeting our campers’ needs is always our top priority, so it’s important to expect a full few days when you join us at camp. That being said, supporting our campers well requires rest, so you can expect a scheduled break each day, set at the start of camp and dependent on your role. We also encourage volunteers to get early nights when possible and to access our Volunteer Wellbeing space on weeklong camps. Please keep in mind that for the safety of our campers and volunteers, we operate closed campuses, so Volunteers must remain onsite with us for the duration of their stay. If your personal circumstances mean that you may require more break time, contact a member of our team so we can learn more about how we might support you best at camp.

Many of our campers will have lowered immune systems or will be coming into close contact with those who do, and so we cannot risk the possible spread of infection at camp. If you are feeling unwell in the run up to camp, it is vital you contact us so that we can assess whether you are well enough to attend. This includes symptoms of the flu, diarrhoea, vomiting, a temperature, rash, sore throat, cough and cold sores etc. Depending on your symptoms we may ask you not to come to camp or you may be asked to go home. We understand it would be disappointing not to be able to come along to camp at the last minute, but we hope you understand the safety of our campers must be a priority.