Led by Harriet Code and Elysia Pott, supported by Hannah Bourne and Pippa Kober, we are now recruiting to form the 2024 Camp team.

The strength of our staff team continues to attract parents to the Camp year after year. The confidence they have in the quality of care their child will receive as well as the knowledge that our safeguarding procedures are exemplary is not matched by other local provision.

We know that a role at Camp is fun and a great way to interact with our children in a more relaxed setting. We also appreciate that a role can be full on. Following a survey sent to 2023 Camp staff we have tried to listen to your concerns and structured Camp in a way that works for the children and our staff team this year.

When will Camp take place?

Camp will start the week after the two Inset days at the end of the summer term. It will run for two weeks, from Monday 29th July through to Friday 9th August.

Where will Camp be?

It will operate from our Echelford site, for the first time since 2017. We needed to choose a large school site to accommodate the 175 or so children that come to Camp each day and Echelford has extensive inside and outside facilities. 

What is the Camp offering children this year?

• Camp will be operating a carousel of free-flow activities everyday.
• Children will not be split into defined groups on a class-like basis. Instead, children can choose what activity they wish to do and are also free to mix with whoever they want so friendship issues will be reduced.
• Staff will no longer be expected to lead a group of children alone for the day. Instead staff will work in pairs to host an activity for the children taking part. 

Our usual wraparound care for full time working parents will be in place with the provision of an Early Club and Late Club which means Camp can accommodate children from 8.10am through to 5.45pm.

The minibus shuttle service will no longer be available for all families to book, it will only be open to Pupil Premium families on a first come, first served basis. 

Why should you be part of the Summer Camp Team?

Being part of the Summer Camp provides staff with the chance to spend time with the children simply having fun. Camp allows staff and children to take part in activities that allow more of a child’s (and staff member’s) unique personality and interests to shine through.

Our staffing structure for 2024 has changed to reflect the feedback from our staff survey.

• Parity in pay for staff facilitating the group activities, recognising the equal effort everyone makes to ensure each Camp day is a success. 
• Daily rates have been uplifted and are competitive with other local offerings in the same sector.
• We are offering a commitment bonus for those who wish to commit to full weeks of employment. 
• We have the exciting new role of Camp Administrator available, created due to the increasing back office tasks that come with a growing Camp.
• Staff discount of 50% on any sessions booked for your own child.

Do you have to already work for Lumen or one of our schools to apply for a Camp role?

We will only consider applications from external candidates if they are able to demonstrate that they are:

• fully aware of the aims and values of Lumen Learning Trust and their behaviour management approach for children aged 3-11;
• have a secure and deeply embedded knowledge of safeguarding and their personal responsibilities to it as detailed in our Lumen Child Protection policies;
• be a minimum of 18 years of age.

For those candidates with strong applications:

• An invitation to interview with our Camp Leaders will be made.
• If successful at interview stage an enhanced disclosure (DBS check), social media checks and the taking up of references will be carried out before a formal offer of employment is made.

What roles are available for staff?

You are able to apply for the following roles:

You will be ensuring service provision for children aged 5 and up is a safe, fun, and stimulating environment, reflecting the Lumen ethos of putting the children's needs at the heart of its provision.

You will lead group activities and guide Group Assistants when needed to ensure the successful delivery of the daily timetabled carousel of events which can include, multi sports, games, arts & craft, downtime and structured play.

Please see the detailed job description at the bottom of this page. 

You will assist Group Leaders in delivering activities for children aged 3-11 years which can include, multi sports, games, arts & craft, downtime and structured play.

Whilst this role is designed to be flexible, reacting to the varying needs of Camp, it is anticipated that the Group Assistant will likely predominantly support our Early Years children. 

Please see the detailed job description at the bottom of this page. 

Other roles on offer:

This role requires a 2-year commitment, with on the job training during our 2024 Camp, with the aim of taking up substantive Camp Leadership in 2025 to ensure the successful delivery of the camp experience, bridging leadership and supervisory initiatives with the care and facilitation of all aspects of the camp day.

For the successful applicant this role will provide invaluable experience in developing and honing your strategic skills in personnel, premises, finance and operational matters. 

Please see the detailed job description at the bottom of this page. 

You will ensure service provision is a safe, fun, and stimulating environment for Early Years children, reflecting the Lumen ethos of putting the children's needs at the heart of its provision.

You will work alongside Camp Leaders to help Group Leaders to plan for adaptations to their activities to enable younger children to engage with and enjoy them safely.

The successful applicant is required to be in role for the entire 2-week duration of Summer Camp.

Please see the detailed job description at the bottom of this page. 

You will provide support for a broad range of routine administrative activities to enable the Lumen Summer Camp to function efficiently.

You will ideally have Lumen school office administrative experience so you are able to effectively work at a fast pace, multi-tasking and prioritising on a daily basis.

This role will require the successful candidate to commit for the full 2-week duration of Camp. 

Please see the detailed job description at the bottom of this page.

As well as permanent members of staff, we are looking to recruit on-call Group Leaders and Group Assistants for each day the Camp is in operation. This will allow us the necessary ​flexibility to ensure our ratios remain at suitable levels, taking into account the level of bookings, any staff illness, absence and other exceptional circumstances.

On-call staff will carry out the same duties as permanent Group Leaders and Group Assistants. 

Please note that the full week bonus is not applicable to an on-call role.

What is expected of me leading up to the Camp?

There will be some necessary training and preparation prior to the Camp starting. 

These sessions will enable Camp staff to familiarise themselves with the Camp format as well as meet the Camp team and ask any questions they may have prior to Camp starting.

All Camp staff are expected to attend, permanent and on-call staff alike.

All Camp staff who attend will be paid at their Camp daily rate, prorated for the length of the sessions. 

For Lumen staff:

• Thursday 27th June (remotely via Google Meet) 4.30pm-7pm
• Tuesday 16th July (in person at Echelford site) 4.30pm-7pm

For external candidates:

• Tuesday 2nd July (in person at Echelford site) 4.30pm-7pm
• Tuesday 16th July (in person at Echelford site) 4.30pm-7pm

Summer Camp staff testimonials

Below, you can hear from staff who have been a member of previous Camp staff teams to understand some more about what it is like to be part of the Camp:

Harriet Code
Hi, I'm Harriet and I have worked at Summer Camp since it started 8 years ago. I love working at Summer Camp because it is a fun and relaxed environment where you can spend time with staff from your school and get to know them more but also staff from other Trust schools. 
My favourite thing about Summer Camp is seeing the children have the best time, they get so excited by the different themed days and you get to know more about their interests - whether it is children from your school or other schools. With having different themed days there is always something that really sparks their interest and so you see them with the biggest smiles on their faces. Working in a school means most days are centred on teaching, learning and making progress and at Summer Camp you get to have so much fun with the children and see them develop in so many different ways - one of my favourite moments was a child persevering on the monkey bars and she was so proud of herself when she got the whole way across!
I work every day but you can choose to work the days that suit you - whether it is 1 or 2 days or 1 week. 
Whatever you choose to do, it would be lovely to see you, even for one day, and I can imagine children from your school would love to see you there as well!

Zoe Tarry
I had always wondered what it would be like to work at the Summer Camp but always held back due being unsure of how much it would differ from my normal teacher role and it being out of my comfort zone. However, I'm so glad I gave it a go and, after only signing up for 1 week, I ended up doing all 3! Although the role uses the skills we all have as school professionals, it is a much more relaxed environment, with the children calling you by your first name and days filled with crafts and games. One thing I really enjoyed, was the opportunity to meet and work with different people from across the trust that you wouldn't do so normally, as well as meeting a variety of new children. Everyday is different, exciting and full of opportunities to use your creativity and have fun whilst earning some extra money. I'd recommend anyone who is thinking about it to give it a try!

How to apply for a role

If you think a role at our Camp sounds like an exciting and unique opportunity to have a positive and fun influence on our children’s holiday time this summer, we would be delighted to receive your completed application using the appropriate online form via the links below: 

APPLICATION FORM FOR LUMEN STAFF

APPLICATION FORM FOR EXTERNAL CANDIDATES

APPLICATION FORM FOR DEPUTY CAMP LEADER ROLE