Camps are a great opportunity to offer your children a fun vacation. And, let’s face it, they also help us balance our free time with our work obligations. The problem often comes when choosing the most suitable one.
At that point, the question arises: what requirements must a good summer camp meet? And although the answer may seem simple, there are many factors that we must take into account when deciding correctly.
Ultimately, camps must meet a series of structural, legal, and human requirements to fit into what we commonly call “good” camps. These requirements are the basis for guaranteeing the safety and quality of the experience your children will have.
Therefore, you must know what they are and what purpose they have. This way, it will be easier to critically evaluate the best Edmonton summer camps as the ideal summer plan for your children.
The Structural Requirements of a Summer Camp
First, you should find out what the facilities are like and where the event will take place. It is not enough to know that it will be in a park, a mountain, or a beach.
You should answer questions such as ‘Where will my children sleep?’ or ‘Is there a suitable dining room?’ This way, you will be sure that all their needs will be met.
These are some of the structural characteristics that a camp must have:
- It must have open spaces for recreation.
- To spend the night, you will need cabins, buildings, houses, or spaces suitable for camping.
- If necessary, there should be spaces for kitchen work, nursing, etc.
- Even if you don’t want luxury, the structures must be in good condition to provide a quality experience to their users.
Legal Requirements for a Summer Camp
Depending on the type of camp, there will be legal regulations that are responsible for ensuring the quality of the activities and the well-being of the campers.
Although these criteria generally depend on the province where the camp is held, below is a list of the basic legal requirements that must be met to ensure that you are choosing the best summer camp programs in Edmonton.
- Legal inspections: You must be constantly subject to evaluation inspections.
- Presence of a director: The camp must be supported by a director or delegate who is in charge of ensuring that everything is carried out according to the rules.
- Professional monitors: all monitors must have one or more certifications or, better yet, verifiable experience.
- Number of monitors: you will have enough staff to meet the needs of each participant. Therefore, it is correct to have one monitor for every 10 campers. There are places where you can count on the presence of one monitor for every 12 campers.
- Authorization from the owner of the space: you must have the legal authorization of the owner and the permission of the city council to carry out the said activity.
- Liability and accident insurance: you must have adequate insurance. This way, campers will be protected in the event of an accident or illness during their stay.
- Contract: The organizer must offer a contract to each of his campers. The characteristics and detailed conditions of the camp will be defined in it. In this way, each of the parties will know what their advantages and duties are, which will be supported by a legal document. Some of the criteria that must be reflected in this contract are the following:
- Camp start and end dates.
- Full price, broken down into taxes, additional expenses, discounts, and special services, among others.
- Terms of payment.
- Conditions in case you wish to terminate the contract, such as the refund of a percentage of the payment, among other criteria.
- Exact activities are to be carried out.
Human Requirements for a Summer Camp
A summer camp must have a team of professionals in different areas. We are not referring only to the instructors; there are other people involved who are a crucial part of this experience. Below, we mention some of them:
- Foodstuff: A camp has two options at this point: hire a catering service or have its own cooks. In both cases, the appropriate permits must be obtained. Food services are very delicate and must be handled by people who are experts in the area. They must know if your children suffer from allergies, are vegetarians, or have any intolerances.
- Health personnel: despite having health insurance, it is necessary to have a team of nurses capable of dealing with immediate emergencies. In this way, all people will have medical attention 24 hours a day.
- Administrative staff: There should be an administrative team to ensure that all available materials are being used correctly. These are supervisors who will ensure that food, medicine, money, and other important resources are used intelligently, managing to cover all the days of the event.
- Transport staff: whether traveling by bus or plane, the company in charge must be responsible and have all the relevant security measures in place.
- Qualified teachers and professionals: if it is a science, English, music, animal, etc. camp, it is essential that, in addition to monitors, you have a team of professionals in the area at your disposal. This way, they can provide a complete experience, full of learning and fun, under the best and most comprehensive quality standards.
Wrapping up
Numerous organizers offer the best summer camps at very affordable prices. However, you should not rush! Take your time and evaluate, with your children, several options before making a decision.
With the OurKids team, you can get the best deals. You just have to use the filters in our search engine to find the best Canadian summer camps that match the characteristics of the ones your children wish to attend.
We recommend that, after doing a search and requesting information from the camps that most attract your attention, you start comparing the quality/price ratio of each one. How?
Well, you just have to make a checklist with all the requirements we have mentioned and start evaluating what each camp has and what it lacks.
There are some factors that you will not be able to identify at first glance, such as, for example, the professional certification of the instructors. However, you have nothing to lose by inquiring into the forms available at OurKids to clear up any doubts.
