Happy Campers – Inclusivity, Empathy and Understanding

Every child is different – but these differences don’t have to divide us. Gender, ethnicity, disability, religion, culture, economic background, personality and behaviour are all parts of what make everyone unique.

At Kids Takeover, we are firm believers that children aren’t born with prejudices – these are learned behaviours. As you would expect, we take a zero tolerance approach to bullying, but our approach goes beyond simply protecting children in our care.

We believe that the best way to build cohesive, happy communities and prevent bullying and exclusion is to take an honest open approach, celebrating difference in all its forms. 

To that end, we work hard in everything we do to promote inclusivity, empathy and understanding, with the goal of making every child we engage with to feel welcome and included. 

Here’s how we do it.

Natural curiosity and understanding

Children are naturally curious about the world, and the people around them.

When they see difference or something new, they want to know more about it! Children can be extremely honest (sometimes to the point of brutality!) with their line of questioning – which can make adults feel anxious, especially when ‘sensitive’ topics like disability and skin colour are brought up.

The obvious temptation in society is to try and repress this curiosity, but at Kids Takeover, we believe in encouraging it, and being open about it. Our belief is that understanding is the first step towards acceptance, empathy, inclusion and friendship. 

In practice, this means actively discussing difference at the start of the day – and giving all the children a platform to discuss and answer questions about themselves! We encourage children to share their feelings and experiences with one another, to help them understand each other’s perspectives and identities.

For example, when we have children with disabilities at our camps, we encourage other children to ask about them, and invite the child with a disability to talk about their experiences, without ever putting pressure on them to do so. 

We like to start a dialogue, and build understanding about the differences – breaking down misconceptions, and building acceptance.

An inclusive programme

At Kids Takeover, we’re completely inclusive – every child is welcome on our camps.  No two groups of children are the same, and we see a huge range of different abilities, personalities and group dynamics, which change from day to day.

Instead of trying to shoehorn every group into the same activity programme, we build each day around the group – catering to specific requirements and different personality mixes to ensure that it works for everyone.

At the start of each day, we take time to engage with everyone, assessing the abilities and discussing preferences, before choosing activities that everyone can get involved in should they want to. 

This helps to ensure that everyone gets to come together and participate in a group, and everyone gets to enjoy the day.

Kids Takeover Camps –  Summer 2019

Looking to keep your kids active, entertained and happy through May half term and the Summer holidays?

Want a cost-effective alternative to childcare for 5 – 12 year olds? 

Whether it’s a one-off treat, or you want to use our services every day, our Kids Takeover camps are ideal. Every day is jam packed with a huge range of sports, dance and activities, with something for everyone to enjoy.

Camps run from 9.30am – 4.30pm daily throughout the holidays (with wraparound care available from 8am – 5.30pm), at locations in Hull and Beverley. Prices start at just £16 per day.