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Ofsted suspends kids holiday centre activities over safeguarding issues

BBC The PGL camp at LiddingtonBBC
Ofsted said it had "serious safeguarding concerns" about the camps

Ofsted has suspended activities for unaccompanied seven year olds at four children's holiday centres over "serious safeguarding concerns".

Allegations by the education watchdog include that staff misused substances.

The sites affected are Liddington in Wiltshire, Marchants Hill in Surrey, Osmington Bay in Dorset and Windmill Hill in East Sussex.

PGL said it was "committed to the highest operational standards" and was "frustrated" by the findings.

'Substance misuse'

Ofsted made the announcement after its inspectors visited PGL's five UK sites during the half-term week.

It found "serious safeguarding concerns" at four of them and suspended activities relating to the provision of childcare for unaccompanied seven year olds.

Other services - such as activities taken with parents or as part of a school trip - are still running.

The allegations included environmental health, health and safety, and the conduct of some staff including substance misuse, Ofsted said.

The PGL camp at Liddington
The PGL camp at Liddington has been sanctioned by Ofsted

As some of the concerns were being investigated by other agencies, Ofsted said it was unable to provide specific details at this stage.

PGL Travel, the camp operator, provides residential breaks and activity holidays for children aged seven to 17 and operates centres across the UK and France.

'Extremely frustrated'

The regulator said: "We recognise the impact this decision will have on many families.

"PGL has a duty to inform affected parents urgently, and we have requested contact details in order to do the same."

A spokesperson for PGL said it was "committed to the highest operational standards and is extremely frustrated with the representation and communication of Ofsted's recent findings at four of our sites, including Liddington".

The spokesperson added: "Ofsted's recent reports have highlighted potential risks arising from isolated administrative and procedural shortcomings, not systemic issues.

"The suspension relates to a very specific service provision.

"All other PGL services - such as multi-activity programmes for the education sector and family adventure holidays - are completely unaffected and will continue as normal."