Frequently Asked Questions

ONLINE

Find the holiday(s) you want to book on our website, and click "Book A Place". Select the number of places you want to book and click "Add To Cart". Search for more holidays to book, or, if you are finished, click on the shopping cart icon to follow the checkout process. We will process your booking within 2 working days, and communicate with the email address you have provided. If this has not been received within a week, please contact us.

BY PHONE

Our preference would be for all bookings to be made online. If you do not have the facilities for this, follow the instructions below.

• Please phone our enquiry line on 0141 352 7620. We are open Monday to Friday each week from noon to 4.30pm.
• Please ensure that you have found the HOLIDAY CODE (e.g. LM1) of the holiday that you wish to book and have available a credit or debit card to pay the deposit.

BY POST

Download a copy of our Booking Form or phone our enquiry line to request a form. Complete the form, and return with your deposit to SU Holidays, Scripture Union Scotland, 70 Milton Street, Glasgow, G4 0HR.

All bookings will be treated as provisional until we send you Confirmation of your booking.

There are various reasons why you may not be able to attend, including local restrictions, being asked to self isolate by Test and Protect Scotland, or because you have ANY of the following symptoms:

If this is the case, we will offer you one of the following:

• Transfer your booking to an alternative event
• Allow SU Holidays to retain your money for you to use against a future booking
• Donate what you have paid to the work of SU Holidays
• Refund you in full using your original payment method

ONLINE

Find the holiday(s) you want to book on our website, and click "Book A Place". Select the number of places you want to book and click "Add To Cart". Search for more holidays to book, or, if you are finished, click on the shopping cart icon to follow the checkout process. We will process your booking within 2 working days, and communicate with the email address you have provided. If this has not been received within a week, please contact us.

BY PHONE

Our preference would be for all bookings to be made online. If you do not have the facilities for this, follow the instructions below.

• Please phone the appropriate Regional Office as listed on the publicity. Note that most of our Regional Offices are only staffed part time.
• Please ensure that you have found the HOLIDAY CODE of the weekend that you wish to book and have available a credit or debit card to pay the deposit.

BY POST

Complete the Booking Form included with the publicity and return with the deposit to the address listed on the publicity.

All bookings will be treated as provisional until we send you Confirmation of your booking.

The holiday code is a reference that helps us to know which holiday you want to go on, e.g. GS1. You can find it with all the other details on the page about the holiday you’ve chosen. You’ll need to know the code when you make a booking.

After we have received and processed your booking, we will email you Confirmation of your booking.

For week long holidays:-

• Eight weeks before the holiday, we will email you Travel Instructions, a reminder of the balance due and any other information you require.
• Six weeks before the holiday, we will email you details of any Optional Extras.
• One week before the holiday, we will email you details about the Health Form.

For weekend holidays:-

• Two weeks before the weekend, we will email you Travel Instructions. This includes a reminder of the balance due and any other information you require.

INCLUDED:-

• Accommodation
• All food
• Activities
• Deposit (non-refundable)
• Travel costs to and from specified locations, unless otherwise stated

Not included:-

• Activities and trips shown as Optional Extras
• Personal spending money
• Cancellation and personal accident insurance

Yes. Loads of people come on their own and make friends quickly once they arrive. Everyone belongs to a small group with a leader, which really helps you get to know other people.

Every young person who comes on holiday with us will be placed in a small group - usually around 5-8 young people. Every group has an adult leader who is committed to caring for the needs of the group. This tried and tested approach makes it easy for everyone to quickly develop a sense of belonging at the beginning of the holiday. It helps us ensure that every individual is properly looked after. We aim to care for the whole person. The physical, emotional and spiritual needs of every young person who comes on holiday with us are important.

The Christian values of SU Scotland are expressed in the levels of care that we offer. SU Holidays are safe and enjoyable - they also offer challenge and excitement in a secure environment with the appropriate levels of supervision for each activity. Group leaders participate in activities alongside other qualified instructors. They build a rapport with the young people in their group through activities, meal times together and group discussion about the Christian faith.

In the event of any serious illness or emergency, we will contact the parents or guardian of the child using the contact number given to us on the Health Form. In all but extremely minor cases, professional medical help is sought. If you would like further advice, please contact us.

We would love for your child to come on one of our holidays. The information you provide about your child’s needs will help us work with you so your child can get the most out of an SU Holiday. If your child has a health condition (e.g. epilepsy, asthma, cerebral palsy) or an additional support need (e.g. dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism spectrum disorder, anxiety) please indicate when you make your booking. We will then contact you to find out further information.

We would be interested in the different strategies or medication you normally use to help your child feel safe and happy, and any particular needs that they have. For example it may be helpful to visit the venue in advance, get a written timetable of the event and meet a Team Leader or volunteer beforehand. If your child has a communication passport it would be helpful to receive a copy of this as well.  We use all such information confidentially and we take your child’s health and wellbeing very seriously. A number of our teams will have a team member who has already had some training and experience in this area.

No. SU Holidays are open to people of any faith or none. Every holiday includes a daily session of informal, lively Christian worship. This is a very important part of the holiday, which everyone attends.

Here is a basic kit list:-

Clothing–underwear, nightwear, changes of clothing, waterproof jacket, footwear, swimwear.

Other–towels, wash kit, notebook and pen/pencil, Bible (if you have one), any current medication.

Optional–camera, juice bottle, small rucksack, torch.

Details of a more specific Kit List will be sent to you with the Travel Instructions. At some holidays, you'll need a sleeping bag, but no other expensive equipment is necessary.

Yes. This is possible at most of our events. However, you will need to check the drop off and collection times -  these will be included with the Travel Instructions which will be sent to you before the holiday. For week long holidays your parents will need to collect you by 10am on the final day. For weekend holidays the usual collection time will be Sunday afternoon.

We work hard to make sure friends can share a dorm or a tent, so you just need to remember to tell us when you book who you’d like to share with. Remember that both dorms and tents are either boys only or girls only.

We provide travel options to SU Holidays from quite a number of different places. Please check the individual holiday entry for a list of travel pick-up points.

We will issue Travel Instructions and remind you of your chosen travel arrangements before the holiday.

For week long holidays this will be sent 8 weeks before the holiday. We will accept changes up to 4 weeks before the start of the holiday.

For weekend holidays this will be sent 2 weeks before the holiday. We will accept changes up to the Tuesday before the holiday.

After these times it will NOT be possible to join the accompanied travel.

Great meals are a really important part of all our events and we make sure there is plenty of good healthy food to provide the energy you need to have a fabulous time.

Here's a typical holiday menu:

Breakfast
Most days breakfast will be continental - a choice of cereal and toast with a variety of spreads. But don't rule out the possibility of sausages (veggie sausages if you prefer) or a bacon butty!

Lunch
When everyone's off on a trip, there is a packed lunch with a choice of sandwich fillings, fresh fruit, crisps, chocolate biscuits and a drink. Otherwise lunch might include soup, burgers or jacket potatoes.

Evening Meal
The main meal of the day could be meat or vegetable lasagne with salad and garlic bread. Apple crumble, yogurt or fresh fruit could follow.

Supper
Later in the evening there will be a choice of hot and cold drinks with a freshly baked scone or toast.

All the food is freshly prepared by a dedicated team of kitchen staff. Please remember to include details at the time of booking if you are a vegetarian or have other special dietary needs.

At most holidays you’ll be asked to help with a few chores, such as setting tables and washing dishes. You’ll be helping alongside other young people and leaders – it’s all part of the fun!

Almost every holiday has a tuckshop (or nearby shops) and a bookstall. Some holidays also include a shopping trip. When you arrive at your holiday you’ll be asked to put your personal spending money in the holiday bank for safekeeping.

Some week long holidays offer Optional Extras at an additional cost, usually in the range of £10 to £30 which is payable in cash at the holiday. A full holiday programme is provided even if you don’t choose any of these extras. Details of how to select Optional Extras will be sent 6 weeks before the holiday. There may be a response date - if you do not respond prior to this date, we cannot guarantee a space will be available for your child to take part in that activity.

On the website, and in our printed publicity, you will find someone’s name attached to each event. These are the Team Leaders who are either SU Scotland staff or volunteers and are carefully selected for their leadership abilities and experience. The Team Leader works with the SU Scotland staff to draw together a team of volunteers with different skills and qualifications so that we can deliver the safe, caring and high quality programme you would expect at an SU Holiday.

All events are run by experienced adult staff who are accredited by Scripture Union Scotland via a careful vetting and selection process. We obtain a PVG Scheme Record for all volunteer team members at SU Holidays, as well as carrying out rigorous internal selection and monitoring procedures. All volunteers are given training and work within our code of conduct.

If you have any enquiries about this process, please contact our Volunteers Department on 0141 352 7610, email:volunteers@suscotland.org.uk.

The safety and welfare of the young people come first, and we ensure high levels of adult supervision. We are licensed by AALA to provide watersports, climbing and trekking. Activities such as swimming, canoeing, kayaking and other outdoor pursuits are always supervised by qualified instructors. We have many years of experience running residential events for young people in Scotland and work continuously to improve our events and ensure that we meet or exceed current legislation. SU Holidays have an excellent safety record, which we strive to maintain.

SU Holidays are covered by Public Liability Insurance. We strongly recommend that you take out insurance to cover belongings, personal accident or in case you need to cancel.

Please note that to be covered for cancellation you should take out insurance as soon as possible after your booking is confirmed.

We can offer financial help towards the cost of week long holidays. See our Bursary page for more information.

Yes. The holidays couldn’t run safely without them, but they are kept to a minimum. For example, campers may only leave the site with the permission of the overall Team Leader and swimming or outdoor pursuits are only permitted under qualified supervision. Smoking, alcohol and illegal drugs are not permitted. Silence is expected after lights out.

At a number of sites there is poor or non-existent mobile phone coverage so do not expect phones to work everywhere. Because of the high risk of phones being lost, damaged or misused, it is our policy that all mobiles are deposited in a secure place and made available for use at a mutually convenient time of day.

If there is any problem during a holiday we would like to know as soon as possible so that we can do our best to put it right. Please ask your child to mention it to the Team Leader (named in the website and printed publicity) in the first instance. If the problem is not dealt with to your satisfaction please contact us either in writing or by phone as soon as possible.

SU Scotland has a written complaints procedure that is available on request. We are always keen to find ways to make our holidays even better. Please let us know your comments.

We're always happy to answer questions. Go to our Contact page to get in touch.