What should I tell a club, holiday scheme or childcare setting about my child?
Share the concise information a club or childcare setting needs for safe, workable inclusion while protecting the child’s privacy and voice.
The short answer
Tell the setting what helps staff support your child during this particular activity. Include how to get their attention, how they communicate, what they want from the session, the first signs that they need help, useful responses, relevant health or safety information, personal-care needs, the break and exit plan, and who may collect them. Ask the setting about its group, staff, supervision, safeguarding, activity rules and ability to make the requested changes before deciding what to share. Involve your child in the wording and agree who can see it. A concise current profile is more useful than a long diagnostic history, but do not omit information needed to prevent serious harm or provide necessary care.
- Ask how the setting works before writing a support profile.
- Share information that changes what staff need to do.
- Include the child's interests, communication and preferred help.
- Record health, safety, personal-care and collection arrangements precisely.
- Agree who may see the information and review it with the child.
- Test the plan during a small first visit and update it from observation.
A setting needs enough information to include your child safely. It rarely needs every assessment, school report or difficult event the family has lived through.
Find out how the activity works first. Then give staff a short account of what they are likely to see, what your child needs them to do and which information matters for health or safety.
Ask about the setting before describing the child
The same child may need different support at a two-hour craft club, a full-day holiday scheme and an after-school sports session. Ask the organiser to describe:
- the room or outdoor space;
- group size and age range;
- the usual leaders and any volunteers;
- the sequence from arrival to collection;
- how instructions are given;
- noise, changing, food and toilet arrangements;
- whether children move between rooms or sites;
- how breaks and early departure work;
- staff supervision and safeguarding responsibilities; and
- what happens during illness, injury or another emergency.
Ask whether a parent can visit, whether the child can see the space or meet a leader, and whether a familiar adult may stay for the beginning. The answer may be no for sound operational or safeguarding reasons, but it tells you what preparation is realistic.
Government guidance for parents in England recommends checking the provider's safeguarding, health and safety, suitability of staff, supervision and complaints arrangements [1]. Other UK nations have their own frameworks. Wherever the club operates, do not rely on a friendly website or the word "inclusive" as proof that the arrangements fit your child.
Write for this activity
Begin the profile with the child's name, the name they use and what they want from the session. An interest or skill gives staff a way to welcome them as a participant rather than approaching them as a list of problems.
Then cover the information that changes staff action:
- How to get the child's attention.
- How the child understands and expresses information.
- What the first signs of difficulty look like.
- What staff should try and what they should avoid.
- Relevant health, personal-care and safety information.
- How the child takes a break or leaves.
- Who can collect them and who to contact.
Keep descriptions observable. "She may not respond to a group instruction; say her name, show the first step and allow time" is more useful than "poor listening". "He walks quickly towards the exit when the room becomes loud; an adult needs to follow the agreed safety plan" tells staff what they may see and why it matters.
Avoid labels that invite guesswork. "Sensory issues", "demand avoidant" or "can be challenging" may mean different things to different adults. Name the sound, touch, wait, change or communication barrier and the response that has helped before.
Include communication in both directions
Tell staff how your child communicates yes, no, pain, uncertainty, a need for the toilet and a wish to stop. Include speech, signs, symbols, a device, writing, gesture or behaviour that has a consistent meaning for this child.
Also explain how adults should communicate. This might include:
- one instruction at a time;
- a demonstration alongside spoken words;
- a few seconds to process a question;
- concrete language without teasing or implied meanings;
- written notice of the next change;
- choices between two available options; or
- permission to watch before joining.
Do not require the child to ask for support in a way they cannot use when under pressure. Agree a card, gesture, place or trusted adult they can use without a long explanation.
If the child uses augmentative and alternative communication, ask who can support access to it and how the device will stay with them. It should not be treated as optional equipment to be put away when the group begins.
Explain early signs and useful responses
Staff need to know what happens before the most visible difficulty. A child might speak faster, repeat a question, stop talking, cover their ears, pace, hide, become silly, argue about a small detail or try to leave.
Link each sign to a practical response:
| Staff may notice | A useful response |
|---|---|
| Stops answering after a group instruction | Move closer, reduce the language and show the first step |
| Repeatedly asks when collection is | Point to the visible sequence and confirm the agreed collection event |
| Covers ears and moves to the door | Offer the agreed quieter place or exit route |
| Cannot rejoin after a break | Contact the named adult rather than using consequences to force a return |
Say what tends to make the situation harder, especially crowding, repeated questions, touch, public correction or removing a familiar support. Do not promise that a strategy will always prevent distress. Staff need permission to observe and update the plan.
Record health and safety precisely
Relevant information may include allergies, epilepsy, asthma, diabetes, swallowing risk, mobility, continence, medication, vulnerability near roads or water, leaving the site, self-injury or risk to other people. State the agreed action, not only the condition.
The provider should explain what it can safely administer or supervise, which forms and medicines it requires, staff training, storage, consent and emergency arrangements. Do not assume that a school medicine plan automatically transfers to a private club.
If the child may run or leave, agree who supervises entrances, what staff do if the child moves away, when parents are called and when emergency services are contacted. If the activity involves swimming, climbing, animals, vehicles or specialist equipment, ask how the individual plan fits the activity's safety rules.
Personal care also needs a clear arrangement. Identify what help the child needs, how privacy and dignity will be protected, which staff are authorised and what happens if care cannot be completed. Do not leave intimate or health information in an informal message thread when the provider has a secure process.
Involve the child in what is shared
Explain why the setting needs information and ask what language the child prefers. An older child may want staff to know that they need written instructions but not want peers told their diagnosis. A younger child may choose the photograph or words used for their break card.
Share the profile with the adults who need it, not automatically with every family or participant. Ask:
- Who can read this?
- Where will it be stored?
- Will temporary staff or volunteers receive the essential information?
- How are updates made?
- When will old copies be removed?
Privacy does not mean withholding information needed to prevent serious harm or provide necessary care. Tell the child clearly when adults need to share something for safety and involve them in how it is explained.
Request changes around the barrier
In Great Britain, service providers may have duties to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. What is reasonable depends on the circumstances, and Northern Ireland has separate disability-discrimination law [3]. For practical planning, describe the barrier and the change requested.
Possible requests include:
- arriving before the busiest handover;
- a visual sequence of the session;
- one named adult for check-in;
- demonstration instead of group-only instructions;
- different clothing where the uniform creates a barrier;
- access to a suitable quieter place;
- joining one part of the session;
- an agreed way to pause or leave; or
- a gradual start before a full session.
Ask what the setting can provide and keep the answer. If an adjustment conflicts with supervision or activity safety, ask whether another change can meet the same need. A willingness to discuss the request is useful; a broad assurance that staff are "used to autism" is not a plan.
The movement and activity guide has further questions for sports and physical clubs.
Make the first session small enough to learn from
Agree what the first attempt is for. It could be meeting the leader, staying for the warm-up, trying one activity or completing half a session. Tell the child what the adult will do if they want to leave.
Check that the profile has reached the people leading that session. At handover, repeat only the essential current point: "The room change is new today. Please show him the new room before the group enters and use the break card if he heads towards the door."
Afterwards, ask the child what helped, what was hard and what staff missed. Ask the leader for concrete observations rather than a single judgement that the child was fine or difficult. A quiet child may have participated comfortably, watched with interest or worked hard to avoid drawing attention. The details decide what to change.
Update the profile with information that is likely to matter again. Remove strategies that did not help and childhood details that are no longer accurate.
If the arrangement is not working
Separate a solvable mismatch from a serious concern. A noisy room, unclear instruction or rushed collection may improve through a specific change. Repeatedly ignoring an agreed allergy plan, unsafe supervision, humiliating a child or preventing communication requires a more direct response.
Ask the provider to record what happened and explain its complaints or safeguarding route. The Department for Education's 2026 non-statutory code for England sets out expectations for providers on safeguarding, suitable people, health and safety, governance and complaints [2]. Use the framework that applies where you live, and contact the relevant statutory service when the concern cannot safely remain within the club.
Choosing a different setting can be a sound decision when the activity's structure and the child's needs do not fit. The child's failure to tolerate one club does not show that they cannot enjoy that activity elsewhere. The room, group, leader, timing or expectations may have been the barrier.
A concise profile
Keep the working version to one or two pages:
About me: name, interests and what I want from the activity.
Communication: how I understand, answer, ask for help and show pain or distress.
What you may notice: early signs and the situations in which they are likely.
What helps: precise actions, the break plan and the exit plan.
Health and safety: relevant needs, agreed procedures and emergency information.
Home contact and collection: authorised people, numbers and any collection safeguard.
Review: date, child's contribution and when the profile will be checked again.
The Family Bridge Pack can help families put shared support information into plain language. Tailor any template to the setting rather than sending it unchanged.
Sources and further reading
Sources and further reading
- [1] Department for Education. Guidance for parents and carers on safeguarding children in out-of-school settings. Applies to out-of-school settings in England; safeguarding arrangements differ across the UK nations. (accessed 4 August 2026).
- [2] Department for Education. Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings code of practice. Non-statutory code for providers in England. (accessed 4 August 2026).
- [3] UK Government. Disability quick-start guide for service providers. Applies to Great Britain; Northern Ireland has separate disability-discrimination law. (accessed 4 August 2026).