Tell me about PGL camps - debating whether to encourage 7 year old to go

[Okaaaay]

My DD7 has been invited to a PGL camp with her Brownies in May. It’s not a Brownie takeover and she’d be going with about 20 girls and 3/4 leaders.

I’m really unsure as to whether to support her to go. Mostly from a safeguarding standpoint - I have no idea how the security around bedrooms work for example. They won’t have a leader with them in the bedroom - will they be in a secure pod where other guests can’t access? She’s also quite a reserved child, but I worry much more about her safety than I do about her being homesick to be honest. I don’t think these are unreasonable concerns. The leaders were a little dismissive and didn’t really get my safeguarding concerns - I don’t think I was direct enough in my questions.

Would love your insights into PGL and whether you’d consider for your 7 year old for 2 nights.

I thought you had to be 8 minimum

Mine went with school.

It was 4 kids to a room, in 2 bunk beds, single sex. Teachers roaming the halls until they were satisfied they were all asleep.

They loved it.

I'm not sure I would send them with brownies group/ people I didn't know as well as their teachers.

I thought pgl was 8 minimum as well. My 7yo has done a brownie sleepover and was nervous but loved it. she will be on the young side and a touch younger than the pgl age for camps (don’t know if they do have more leeway for group trips).

I used to volunteer to take children away on residential. Pgl was a dream compared to some of the other venues. I remember it just feeling much easier than some of the other trips we did.

I took my brownie pack as a leader, I had 3 other leaders/helpers with me, to be honest, it felt like I was back and forth most of the night anyway!

They slept in dorms, PGL staff were also monitoring the hallways (it was in a country house)

I had to do a raft of risk assessments to do the holiday, PGL are set up for these types of groups, so it went really well.

Funny story - I had one girl who was paranoid about fire, when she was trying to get to sleep, she spotted the smoke detector on the ceiling and got upset. The girls were in a dorm, I spent ages with this girl explaining that the smoke detector and sprinklers made it really safe, it was like having your own fireman on guard, this reassured her, she calmed down, I was getting ready to creep quietly out, when one girl piped up 'Of course, they say it's the smoke that kills you...'

Cue fresh wailing!

I have taken rainbows and brownies on PGL trips for years, they have all been very good.
The one we go to most often has cabin dorm rooms for the girls, with a shared veranda that links them and our leaders cabin. It is very safe, we stay up late and get up early so there is always someone available. Generally there are no other groups nearby as the sites are pretty spread out.
They also have key locks on the dorm doors, they open from the inside so everyone can get out, but you can't access without a key. It's a very safe set up. We usually have each groups leader in charge of the key for brownies and with rainbows and maybe younger groups of brownies, the leaders keep the keys and we let the girls in when they need.

I think 7 is a bit young. I remember going to PGL at 10 and found it fairly stressful with all the physical challenges and being away.

My 8 year old has done a camp for one night at school but it was very near home and in a familiar place with nothing more stressful than camping and marshmallows. He struggles with 1 night sleepovers at friends homes.

I would say no as the parent of a 7 year old.

Noway
7 is too young
Pgl has bad reviews
I don't like or trust brownies

As a cub leader, we have been on PGL a few times. I can only speak for the centre we went to, but it does seem very secure. All external doors are locked at night, there are security staff at night, and you can call them in an emergency. There is also the option to lock each individual bedroom door - from the outside, but the kids can get out from inside. I can't remember if other guests can access the corridors where each group's rooms are. All adults on site have to wear passes. I was never concerned about safety.

OP, you may have concerns about sending your 7yo on a PGL, but I wouldn't let safeguarding/safety be one of them.

The leaders were a little dismissive and didn’t really get my safeguarding concerns - I don’t think I was direct enough in my questions

If you are worried, be more direct! You might find you get answers that reassure you.

With regard to 7yo olds going on Brownie camps, some will be fine, some will not. Some will love it, some will get homesick. We took beavers (6 and 7 year olds) and they had a great time, with only a little homesickness.

My DC did a couple of PGL holidays. Did a weekend one first then went for a week.
They were nicknames Parents get lost.

It might be that the leaders don't know yet in terms of bedrooms - they would need numbers and deposits in to book, and then would be allocated rooms based on that, depending on the site. If there are only 20-ish girls, there will probably be some other groups on site, but they won't know how rooms are allocated until nearer the time, so won't be able to tell you if others will be nearby.
Each PGL site is different, but generally leaders will be either just inside or just outside bedroom doors until the girls are asleep, and will be nearby and accessible if they're needed through the night, and girls would tend to just be in a room with others from their group (so if it's just their unit on the trip, just their unit, if it's join with another unit a mix of girls from both). I've never been anywhere were other kids have come into the bedrooms, and some sites have locking doors mid-corridor to help cordon off areas for groups (but leaders won't know which rooms they've got until it's properly booked in). Staff may be about depending on the site, but they're all DBS checked to work with children, and children generally wouldn't be in the bedrooms alone anyway - there's not really any time for sneaking off for a lie down, and there's usually allocated places to be during downtime, and different toilets to use during the day.

The leaders will have had to submit a first draft of their risk assessment already, and PGL will also have risk assessments for everything, so please be assured the safeguarding and safety has been considered from all angles. If you need some more assurance I'd say pop your questions in an email, it's not unreasonable to ask about things.

My DC went at seven. I was really worried but decided it wasn't fair for my fears to control the decision. DC loved it.

Two years later, DC wanted to go again but this time would have been with kids who were three years older and I felt this was more an issue. My concern was they would be able to survive on less sleep, they would have conversations that my DC was too young to hear and that they might ask DC to take part in something and DC would because they wanted to or not to 'fit in'.
I didn't allow it that time and haven't since but I am swaying towards allowing it again this year. For some reason I'm more nervous now than before although DC is older now.