Inspiring Derbyshire's Children to Flourish
Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre (DCHC) is a long-standing local charity dedicated to giving children from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to laugh, grow, and thrive – through unforgettable holidays, new experiences, and lifelong memories.
Since 1891, we’ve helped thousands of children from across Derbyshire take a break from everyday challenges.
“This holiday made me feel like I could do anything.” – Child, aged 10
Our Holiday Offer
We provide fully-funded 4-night seaside holidays in Skegness for referred children during school holidays.
- Holidays are organised across the May half-term, five weeks of the summer holidays, and the October half-term.
- Our holidays are staffed by caring professionals and trained volunteers.
- All activities, transport and meals are fully funded by the charity.
Children are referred to us by their schools for some of the following reasons:
- They appreciate that your family is facing financial difficulty at this time.
- They believe that your child would benefit from some respite away from challenging circumstances, or that you would benefit from some respite.
- They feel that your child would benefit from an opportunity to grow their independence, confidence or friendships.
The Referral Process
Step 1
Your child’s school will speak with you first to ask for your permission to make a referral to us.
Step 2
The school will share information with us as part of the referral process so that we can check whether your child meets our criteria for a holiday place.
Step 3
If we are able to offer your child a place on one of our holiday weeks, we will contact you to:-
- Share further information about the holiday,
- Answer any questions you may have,
- Gather any important information about your child, and
- Ask for your consent for them to join us.
Wherever possible, this conversation will take place during a face-to-face visit to your home. However, depending on timings and location, it may sometimes need to take place by telephone.
