School Holiday Clubs

Looking to book a School Holiday Club in Swanage for your kids? Cumulus Outdoors may just be what you’re after!

We offer a selection of school holiday clubs throughout the year from our residential centre in Swanage. These are designed for local children and aim to encourage students to get outdoors and participate in various adventure activities. We deliver the Dorset Council funded HAF programme during the Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays for children who are eligible. Running alongside this programme and during the school half term holidays, we also run our school holiday activity club so all children between 5 and 16 years of age can enjoy the wide variety of activities on offer.

Booking for the Christmas Party is now live!

As we have recently registered with Ofsted, we can now accept child care vouchers. 

Watch the YouTube video below as an example of cooking healthy food as part of the programme, in order to promote healthy food, and to conduct lessons in food prep and planning with us!

BOOKING INFORMATION

  • Christmas Holiday Club

    23rd December 2024

  • Price

    Free for HAF or £18.50 per child

  • Age

    5-16yrs
cumulus outdoors birthday party cake

Birthday Parties

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school activity club gingerbread decorating

Christmas Party Morning

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School Holiday Club Adventure Activities

Get ready for an action-packed School Holiday Club, filled with adrenaline-filled adventure activities! We welcome children of all abilities, however please note that all participants MUST be able to swim to take part in any water-based activities and they will require swim gear, towel, shoes to wear in the water and a dry change of clothes.

School Holiday Club activities include wildlife walks, cooking, craft, team games, axe throwing, coasteering, climbing, bushcraft, watersports, high ropes, tunnelling and more!

  • HAF and Half Term at Cumulus Outdoors Tunnelling Activity
  • Purbeck Goes Wild participant climbing high ropes course
  • boy preparing to climb high ropes course
  • Buschcraft benefits of outdoor experience
  • little girl starting to climb high ropes course
  • haf programme children playing with parachute
  • Children outside flying on homemade broomsticks
  • school activity club gingerbread decorating
  • purbeck goes wild participant climbing high ropes course at Cumulus Outdoors

Parent Resource Document

For all parent information regarding our child care policies and procedures please download the Parent Resource Document.

Disclaimer: We have a policy at Cumulus that any personal belongings that are brought into the centre from home must be labelled with your child’s name. Although we do our best to safeguard all the personal belongings that our children bring in, please be advised that Cumulus is not responsible for any lost or stolen items.

Downloads

HAF & Holiday Club Child Care Policy

Using Tax-Free Childcare

As Cumulus is now registered with Ofsted, you are able pay in part or in full with Tax-Free childcare or childcare vouchers, a way of making your school holiday childcare more affordable. You will have the option when making the online booking to select childcare vouchers, please include the payment reference so that we are able to reconcile your payment.

Families can qualify for Tax-Free childcare if they meet the following criteria:

  • You’re a working family (including the self-employed) in the UK
  • You earn under £100k and at least the National Minimum or Living Wage for 16 hours.
  • You aren’t receiving Tax Credits, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers.
  • You have children aged 0-11 (or 0-16 if disabled)

Parents need to apply or sign into the government childcare service. There is one single application to apply for either the 30 hours free childcare for nursery aged children or Tax-Free Childcare for older children. Cumulus only accepts Tax-Free Childcare for older children.

Using Childcare Vouchers

We are currently using the following voucher facilities, search for us using the provided registered names or numbers.

Tax-Free Child Care: Cumulus Outdoors

Computershare Vouchers: 0026979683

Kiddi Vouchers: Cumulus Outdoors

Pluxee/Sodexo Vouchers: 920791

Care-4: 88328350

If you have vouchers provided by a company not listed above, please contact us so that we can register with that provider.

Please note that we will not be able to approve your booking requests immediately as often payments can take up to 10 days to reach us. However, the sessions you have requested will be ring-fenced for your child and approved as soon as we are able.

Watch the latest HAF video

Dates for 2024

Date

Club Type

28 Oct – 1 Nov 2024

Autumn Half Term Club

What parents say about us

  • haf children bodyboarding
    Caregiver testimonials

    "Thank you very much for providing the opportunity for our three grandchildren to experience these activities. Cumulus were amazing, everyday my kids were so excited to go and tell me what they had done"!

    HAF participant caregiver

  • two children wrapped as mummies during Halloween activity club
    Caregiver testimonials

    "It was the funnest day of my life!!!"

    Halloween School Activity Club participant

  • school holiday club dancing ledge walk
    Caregiver testimonials

    "My daughter is 12 years old and goes to special needs school in another town…. Spending every day for 3 weeks with Cumulus had made a massive difference on her .. She tried loads of different activities out of her comfort zone and made friends too. The activities leaders have been amazing and always gone an extra mile to help her and give her encouragement to socialise with others"

    HAF participant parent

  • school holiday club circus skills Summer HAF programme & Activity Club 5-8yrs
    Caregiver testimonials

    The activities that Cumulus put on for the children are brilliant. My son can’t wait to go and is disappointed when he doesn’t. The staff have so much time and care for the children and, in my opinion go above their duty and even spend extra time that they don’t have too with them. The experiences that the children get through their activities are invaluable and made enjoyable. The children get to meet other children who are from other schools or down on holiday. Thank you Cumulus for your adventures.

    Tim HAF participant parent

School Holiday Clubs

How much does the school club cost?

The Breakfast Club is free for school age children. The HAF Programme is free for eligible children – please contact Dorset Council to find out if your child is eligible. Our activity club caters for non-eligible children at a cost of £17.50 per child per session. (Prices correct as of November 2023).

Do I need to pre-book a space on your school club?

Yes, pre-booking is essential to secure a space on one of the school clubs at Cumulus Outdoors. You can book your space online by clicking the book now button on our website.

What’s the aim of school clubs?

School clubs are aimed at local primary and secondary school children. We encourage children to get active and spend time with their peers in the great outdoors and to learn about the importance of healthy foods. The HAF programme is for children who qualify for free school meals only.

What does my child need to bring along?

We suggest children attend in clothes that are warm and comfortable, appropriate for the time of year and weather conditions. Sun cream and a hat for the summer and warm coat, hat and gloves for the winter. Waterproofs and wellingtons are good items to bring at any time!

Any activity specific items will always be noted on the booking confirmation. Fo water-based activities we suggest clothes that can get wet, or swim gear, an extra pair of shoes that can be worn in the water such as old lace-up trainers, and a towel.

What time does the school club start and finish?

Our HAF and school holiday clubs run from 9am – 1pm Monday to Friday. Pre-booking is essential.

The Breakfast club operates from 8.15am – 9am Monday to Friday, booking is also required for the breakfast club.

What activities are included in your school clubs?

We offer a range of exciting activities as part of our school holiday clubs. The activities will depend on the time of the year and age of your child. School club activities can include wildlife walks, cooking, craft, team games, axe throwing, coasteering, climbing, bushcraft, watersports, high ropes, tunnelling and more!

Where do school club activities take place?

Most of our outdoor activities take place in the grounds of our Residential Centre in Swanage. We’re delighted to have a purpose-built high ropes course on-site, as well as a rifle range, sports field, tag archery course and aero ball court.

Sometimes we travel offsite to stunning locations along the Jurassic Coast to deliver outdoor adventure activities such as climbing and coasteering. Transport via minibus is included.

Where do you run your school clubs from?

Our school clubs are based at our Residential Centre in Swanage. Many of the activities we offer as part of our clubs are on-site, which means we don’t have to travel far.

Our Residential Centre overlooks Swanage Bay. The address is:

Cumulus Outdoors Residential Centre, Cobbler’s Lane, Swanage, Dorset, BH19 2PX.

What’s the age limit for school clubs?

We offer a variety of school holiday clubs for both primary and secondary school-aged children, ranging from age 5yrs to age 16yrs. Activity groups are generally for ages 5-9 years and 10-16 years so that young people can socialise with peers in the same age range.

Is food included in Cumulus’ school clubs?

Our HAF and school activity club programmes all include a healthy and nutritious two-course lunch.

The breakfast club is available for school age children Monday to Friday throughout the school holidays. We are delighted to offer children a FREE healthy breakfast in collaboration with Kellogg’s as well as the opportunity to socialise with other children.

When do you run school holiday clubs?

We run our school holiday clubs during the school holidays. We welcome young people to our Swanage school holiday clubs during half terms and the Christmas, Easter and Summer break. The HAF programme runs during the Summer, Christmas and Easter holidays.