Welcome
Detonate is an amazing children’s holiday club that begins the summer with a bang!
It’s run by Christians from the local churches. We aim to introduce the children to God, to explore the Bible with them and to help them look to Jesus as their special friend – all in a fun-filled week with sport, drama, craft and music.
Whether you are a seasoned member of the Detonate team or have never helped before, we are inviting you to be part of this year’s Detonate. We expect to attract in excess of 300 children so we need lots of helpers to make sure we give every child the individual love and encouragement they need.
Watch our video about being a Detonate Team Member here.
Key Information
The Team Day starts at 9:00am and ends with a debrief session at 3:45pm. The children arrive at staggered intervals from 10am. If you are working with a children’s group you will be with them for most of the day as they require supervision over lunch. You will need to bring lunch with you.
There is a wide range of jobs we need to fill, we can normally accommodate you even if you can only offer half a day.  So please don’t hesitate to apply.
You need to be responsible, sensible with children, ready for hard work, enthusiastic and excited about enjoying a great week.
Small Group Roles
There are 3 sets of Team Members who work directly with the children and are with them most, if not all of the day and in all roles a positive attitude is vital. Please note the school year requirements for the Team.
Small Group Leaders (SGL), Yr 11+ – Adult. Leaders look after a group of 8-10 children guiding them through the day’s activities with prepared materials
Small Group Helpers (SGH), Yr 8+– adult. Helpers work in small groups supporting an SGL. In the Red Group we ask that Helpers be in Year 10 or older.
Each SGL must be a committed Christian and have a living relationship with Jesus. For other Team members some knowledge of the Bible is helpful. While you may not be certain what you believe about God, if you are happy that we run on a Christian basis, you are welcome to join our Team.
In 2025 we are holding an important Training Day on Saturday 26th July at 2pm when you get a chance to meet your allocated team. Please put this in your diary.
Activity Teams
An important part of Detonate are the Activity Teams which have three 40-minute sessions per day across the three age groups. These are:
- Games
- Craft
- Dance
Other Roles
If you can only offer a few hours, you could help with
- First Aid: looking after both children and team members
- Early Birds: Taking care of Team Members’ children from 8:30 to 10:00 am
- Refreshments: For both children and team members (2 shifts: [morning, afternoon])
- Day Security: Welcoming children at the gates and manning them throughout day (three shifts: [morning, afternoon evening])
- Night-time Security: 7pm to 7am sleepover in main marquee
Also, could you or another member of your household help before and after Detonate or give up a late afternoon or night to ensure the security of the site?  Please e-mail or fill in the form; state what role you can help with and provide a telephone number for the relevant team leader to make contact. You must be over 18 for site security, and over 16 for setting up (Saturday immediately before Detonate start) or taking down (4pm on the Friday of Detonate week).
Team Member Benefits
As a Team Member you have access to the following benefits:
- Priority pre-booking reservations – if you register online as a Team Member before ticket sales open you can tell us about your children as part of your online application and we will reserve place at Detonate for them. When bookings are open you can then purchase your reserved tickets.
- A place in Early Birds – a session run for Team members’ children only. Please enter their names in the relevant section of the online application.
- If you have a Year 7 child, they can be considered for a place on the Team while you are on site. Please complete a separate online Team Member application for them and write a note about this in the any other comments section.  This does not extend to the children of friends.
To qualify, you must be able to help at Detonate for a substantial proportion of the week. Approval is at the discretion of the Detonate team.
Registration
To ensure the safety and well-being of children attending Detonate we need a record of all people on site, everyone is therefore required to register on the website and complete the online application.
The information is kept confidential and, except under the compulsion of law, will be seen only by the volunteer co-ordinators appointed by the Detonate Committee.
DBS Certificates (formerly CRB). These are required for all Team members who are 16 or over at the start of Detonate, and who have direct contact with the children attending or are on site during the day. If you do not have an in-date Certificate from St Alban’s Diocese, please indicate this on the relevant section of the online application and we will contact you to help organise this for you. If you have an enhanced DBS for child workforce that you think may be sufficient please note this on your application.
Thank you for considering being on team at Detonate.