Summer children’s disability sport camps face the axe

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

A local authority’s summer children’s disability sport camps could face the axe due to a drop in demand.

The move could come as a blow to some families who value the scheme, although others involved have suggested the camps, in their current state, need improvements.

For more than 15 years, Caerphilly County Borough Council has provided the camps as an opportunity for children with disabilities to take part in sports and activities in the school holidays.

But the number of children taking part has “progressively declined” and just three attend on an average day, according to a new report.

The local authority is considering shutting down the camps, describing the scheme as “less popular” than others run by its organisation Sport Caerphilly.

“The current model only offers limited opportunity for a small number of people,” the council said. “It limits the range of sports that can be offered and reduces opportunity to promote inclusivity as per the disability sports strategic agenda.”

The council argues Sport Caerphilly provides “numerous” other schemes throughout the year for children with disabilities, including swimming galas, a rugby festival, and bowls, and the organisation “endeavours to make other sports camps provided as accessible as possible through suitable training for staff with further training proposed”.

£10,000 loss

Money spent on the sport camps would be “better invested supporting other initiatives and promoting and growing the disability sport directory”, the council argues.

It currently runs the disability sport camps at a £10,000 loss each year.

A recent consultation with families showed a mixed reception to the suggestion the camps could be shut down.

Children taking part in the scheme reported enjoying the “kind people at the camp and that it is nice to see their friends”.

If they did not attend, they would likely be “in the house all day, chilling in the back garden or sleeping”.

Coaches reported that the scheme “offers some of the young people an opportunity to participate in a sports camp that they may not have elsewhere”.

One parent who took part in the consultation called the camps a “much-needed service that could change the lives of children and their families with proper investment and training”.

Promoted

They claimed the “quality of the staff and provision has declined significantly” in recent years, however, and said the scheme would be “much more successful if properly promoted and experienced staff employed”.

Another parent said the eligibility criteria for the camps was also a problem, and told the council that if it “would like better take up of places, I would suggest looking [at] extending the level of disability your camps are willing to accommodate”.

A third parent said the current scheme didn’t meet their child’s needs, and argued it was “disappointing” that the council’s holiday provision for disabled children could leave some families excluded.

The council believes it can improve a more tailored service for families if it closes the summer camps.

“With reducing numbers of participants year-on-year, resources would be better invested supporting other initiatives to increase year-round sporting opportunities for individuals with disabilities,” it said. “They will be better matched with their interests and have access to a wider range of sports.”