Welcome to Barracudas 2008
This is our 17th year of providing the most popular day camps in the UK. Since Barracudas first started in 1991 we have seen many changes, and have grown from two very small camps to 25 exciting locations for 2008. However, certain core values have remained constant. We have always sought the opinions of parents, which means that your views genuinely shape the services we offer. We invest hugely in staff training, with time, energy and expertise to ensure our staff fully understand, and are committed to outstanding customer service. Recognition of this good work has seen us receive the "Investors in People" award. We continuously work to provide you with a professional service that values innovation and fun at its core!
OFSTED Registered
Quality Assurance
Money Back Guarantee
OFSTED Registered [back to top]
Barracudas is the only activity day camp in the UK to be listed in OFSTED's 'Outstanding providers list'!
All Easter and summer holiday camps should be registered with OFSTED Early Years and should be inspected at least every couple of years. Do not use a provider that is not registered, as they may not meet the National Standards for Day Care. The OFSTED registration means that certain standards have to be maintained as a minimum!
OFSTED inspects all areas of holiday camps and childcare operators under the following headings
Being healthy, Staying safe, Enjoying & Achieving, Making a positive contribution and Organisation.
A grade is then given for each of these headings, with an overall grade being awarded that demonstrates the level of care being attained in all areas. There are 4 grades – Outstanding, Good, Satisfactory and Inadequate.
It is sometimes difficult for parents to compare different activity camps. Most are similar, but there are differences and it’s these differences that matter. All OFSTED reports are available to the public at www.ofsted.gov.uk. These are always worth checking to ensure that you get the best activity camp for your child.
The results displayed below are from the last 2 years inspections for Barracudas and our competitors*, as reported on the OFSTED website - November 2007.
| % of Outstanding overall grades achieved | Barracudas | 13% |
| Other Camps | None! | |
| % of camps achieving Outstanding on "Helping children make a postivie contribution" | Barracudas | 21% |
| Other Camps | None! | |
| % of camps achieving Outstanding on "Helping children to achieve and enjoy what they do" | Barracudas | 38% |
| Other Camps | 4% | |
| % of camps achieving Outstanding on "Helping children to be healthy" | Barracudas | 17% |
| Other Camps | None! | |
| % of camps achieving Outstanding on "Helping children to stay safe" | Barracudas | 21% |
| Other Camps | None! | |
| % of camps achieving Outstanding on "Organisation" | Barracudas | 17% |
| Other Camps | 2% | |
| % of camps achieving one or more Outstanding grades | Barracudas | 40% |
| Other Camps | 4% | |
| Total number of Inadequate grades | Barracudas | None! |
| Other Camps | 10% | |
| Total number of Outstanding grades achieved | Barracudas | 30 (from 24 inspections) |
| Other Camps | 3 (from 50 inspections) |
* Competitors compared were Camp Beaumont and SuperCamps.
This is a statistical analysis and to capture the full content and nature of Ofsted’s reports you should visit the Ofsted website and check each report individually. These figures are compiled independently of Ofsted.
Quality Assurance [back to top]
Aiming Higher – for you
Barracudas is the only activity camp provider to be voluntarily assessed by the Government backed (Investor in Children) quality assurance scheme by 4Children, known as Aiming Higher.Assessment covers all areas of the camps’ operation from staff to facilities to policies and procedures. This is an extensive audit, which requires much preparation from our ‘all year round’ team prior to the camps opening and then additional work by the camp staff to implement at the start each season.
All Barracudas sites operate to these high standards and are regularly assessed to make sure they are being maintained, ensuring that Barracudas remains the best activity camp for your children.
We are pleased to be able to back up our claim to be the best activity camp by such authoritative sources such as OFSTED and 4Children.
Money Back Guarantee [back to top]
Above all, our aim has always remained the same - to provide quality, enjoyable activity camps for your children. That's why Barracudas remains the best choice for you and your child. Of course, this kind of assurance is easy to make, but our staff are 100% dedicated to actually delivering our promise. To demonstrate this commitment to you we offer a simple guarantee. If this is your child's first time at Barracudas and they do not enjoy camp we will return your money in full and in addition give you a £10 voucher. We can make this guarantee because for 16 years parents and children have been returning to our camps year after year. We hope that you will join them in 2008.
