Supporting families through funded places

Our Supporting Families programme aims to make a difference to the lives of children from a range of difficult or disadvantaged family circumstances, including financial hardship, terminal illness, bereavement and other challenging family situations.

By offering subsidised places on our camps, we seek to improve the well-being of the child and their family. It’s an opportunity for them to experience a week of fun and structured activity. It also offers the family a respite opportunity and financial assistance with a fun and engaging activity during the school holidays.

Our Commitment

Each year we provide hundreds of Supporting Families places on our camps. We receive applications from the families themselves, support workers, schools, pastoral care, charities and many other support services.

The cost of a camp place is subsidised based on individual circumstances. In exceptional circumstances, we are able to offer fully subsidised places. We offer a maximum of 3 weeks in total per year  (at half-terms, Easter and Summer holidays).

We’re currently working with Mums in Need in Sheffield, Barnardo’s Scotland and Time-Matters UK in Liverpool to offer subsidised places to the families that they support.

Contact zoe.wilson@kingsactive.org if you would like to find out more about how we can work together.

Apply for a Supporting Families place

All applications must be received 3 weeks prior to the start of the season you’re applying for (please note for the summer season it is 4 weeks prior).  This allows us time to assess the application and notify families if they’re application is successful.

We ask that you add all the seasons and dates that you are wanting to avoid having to re-apply through a new application. We can only offer a total of 1 week per season (2 weeks in summer) and a maximum of 3 weeks total per year.

Applications for 2025 will open 6th January ’25.

Applications open 6 /1 /25

Seasonal application deadlines

Summer (Scotland) – now closed

Summer (England & Wales) – now closed

October – now closed

Applications for 2025 will re-open on the 6th January ’25.

How your money makes a difference

Since 1991, we’ve provided assisted places to more than 10,000 children and families in a range of difficult circumstances.

We establish partnerships with local schools, hospices, palliative care units, social workers and community support workers to ensure that our Supporting Families places are awarded to families and children who are in real need.

“It’s been a life saver for us as a family”

It’s hard enough to cover the 13 weeks of holiday children receive throughout the school year, but especially as a single parent family with no relatives in the UK. Hear how Kings Camps and the Supporting Families programme has supported the family, since first attending in 2021.

“I’m a single parent and I have to work most holidays so to know that my son can be somewhere he is happy, have such a great time and that fits around my working hours, is absolutely priceless. He has made a few friends that he talks with outside of camp so that’s lovely too. Thank you for having him, we are very lucky, you guys are doing such a great job! I think that he will be attending camp until he is too old for it.”

Mum first applied for a Supporting Families place, due to having stage 3 breast cancer and undergoing a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. A really difficult time for the family as mum was very, very ill with some very scary times.

“This has affected our lives very deeply, financially I am still trying to get back on my feet, physically I still suffer from post cancer treatment, I’m still extremely tired all the time, emotionally I had to have counselling. My son suffers from really bad anxiety, although he will get therapy, having a place at Kings Camps during the school holidays means that he can have some fun, do something that he loves and be somewhere he can be happy and forget this trauma whilst he is at Kings Camps, it has and will help us tremendously.” The family attended our camp in Sheffield.

We’ve provided support to the family through the Supporting Families programme, helping to lessen the burden of the school holidays by providing financial support for the cost of camp places. We’re delighted that both mum and son are doing well and Kings Camps have played a part in providing a fun and active experience whilst allowing mum to work with peace of mind.

2025 dates coming in December

Find your nearest camp & Book now

Our safeguarding promise

Kings Active Foundation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Safer recruitment is central to the way we work and all staff and volunteers are expected to share our commitment to safeguarding, always creating an environment where young people feel safe and can thrive. Read more