Hiya,

I thought, I'd jot down a few options which might be useful.

At Role Models we provide an ad hoc and part-time Creative Childcare Service. We have a range of 21-30 yr old actors, sports people, artists, musicians etc on our books, who love looking after children, in and around developing their career. The link tells you more:

[url]http://www.rolemodels.me/creative-childcare/[/url]

For your eldest in particular, we run a one-to-one Leadership Programme of 8 sessions of 90 mins for 10-14 year olds, focused on encouraging children to understand their character strengths and how they can have a positive impact on those around them. It was developed by the Head of Leadership Institute at Wellington College:

[url]http://www.rolemodels.me/events/leadership-programme/[/url]

We also run other Life Skills Courses as 4-5 day group courses for 8-12 year olds in the holidays. Our flagship course is a Confidence & Resilience Course in Wimbledon and Chelsea / Pimlico:

[url]http://www.rolemodels.me/featuredevent/life-skills-courses/[/url]

I hope that's useful.

All the best,
Hugo Shephard

020 3637 7107

Not sure what interests your children have - i have been running Holiday Sewing Workshops for the last 4 years. The workshops can be attended for just one day or all days, each day the children learn how to use a sewing machine or continue to improve their skills by making a variety of projects. My next workshops are 29 August - 1 September and run 10 am - 4pm so cover most of the day. If you would like more information please contact me at isewinfo@gmail.com

Hello all, at Camp Suisse we specialise in summer holiday activities!

We run Alpine Adventure and Language camps for kids and teens up to age 17, AND have a 20% off August offer running for NVN Mums.

Campers spend one or two weeks with us in the stunning Swiss Alps getting stuck in to all kinds of great fun activities including husky dog sledding on the glacier, banana boating on Lake Geneva, hiking and camping in the mountains and improving the foreign language of your choice (French, German, Spanish, Italian). If you're looking for something a little different to brighten up their summer break, do get in touch. campsuisse.com

Hi, it sounds like you have some good suggestions here already. I know it's so difficult, especially to find options for the older ones, so I just wanted to flag up that we have a couple of summer camps on offer that cater for children up to 14 or also up to 18. There are sibling discounts to help make it more affordable, as well at the option to pay by childcare vouchers. It could be something to consider to help with the summer as a whole.

If I can provide any further info at all, then just let me know. Otherwise, there is more info here: www.sparks-ignite.com/balham.

Hi, tough one. I have the in-laws staying for 3 weeks, who tend to be good in entertaining him and supervising playdates with kids from school that are around.
Then he is off with a friend on holiday for 5 days, and scout camp for a week. He is only 12 so I imagine we have many more holidays to come like this. I am eagerly waiting for more ideas.

Sailing course?
Staying with his cousins or grandparents abroad?
Encouraging him to set up play dates with friends himself? (I work from home quite a lot so don't need continous childcare)

The solution I have seen others do is to have only 1 parent at work and the other in the summerhouse in Cornwall or France....Yes, I know, not an option for most of us.

My work colleague is in a similar situation. She is currently looking for a university age student/sixth-form leaver to look after her girls (13 & 12) for 2 weeks. Someone old enough to take on the more responsibility than a babysitter but young enough for the kids not to feel they're being babied. There are activity camps around for older kids that usually involve a week away but her two didn't want to do them so this was the best option. I think they also have activities lined up for during the day - tennis camps that are 3 hours a day or things like that - but not whole days.

I have no advice - as I am in a similar situation, so following this post.

With both parents working full time, our children are at boarding school during the term and home (in wandsworth) for the holidays. Our last au pair is leaving us this summer and I don't know what to do during the school holidays. The oldest is now 13 so is a bit too old for most of the camps i'm aware of (plus the prohibitive cost of camps for the long holidays). This is the first time I've been in this situation so am keen for any knowledge and tips of what others do.
Thanks