The long summer holidays are brilliant for kids… and a logistical puzzle for working parents. You want something more inspiring than “another week on the Xbox”, but residential camps and childcare can quickly add up.
If you’re one of the parents who still receives Childcare Vouchers, the good news is that you can use them towards residential summer camps, including FunTech’s Ofsted-registered tech camps, and in many cases, you can combine them with other support like Tax-Free Childcare, depending on your situation.
How to use the childcare vouchers for residential summer camps with FunTech
Below, we’ll explain how:
- How childcare vouchers for summer camps work in the UK
- How to use them specifically for FunTech residential summer camps
- Where our summer camps that accept childcare vouchers are based
- A quick overview of every FunTech summer course (with age ranges and links)
1. Childcare Vouchers in the UK – what’s the situation now?
A quick recap, because the rules have changed over the last few years:
- The employer Childcare Voucher scheme is closed to new applicants – it shut to new applicants in October 2018.
- If you joined before 4 October 2018 and stayed with the same employer (and they kept running the scheme), you can usually keep receiving vouchers.
- Vouchers can be used for children up to 1 September after their 15th birthday (or 16th birthday if they’re registered disabled).
- They can be spent with any registered childcare provider that agrees to accept them – including many Ofsted-registered holiday clubs and camps.
- There’s no expiry date on vouchers you already hold, so they’re ideal for big-ticket things like holiday camps.
If you’re not in the voucher scheme, the main alternative is Tax-Free Childcare, where the government tops up £2 for every £8 you pay in, up to £2,000 per child per year.
Please Note: Always double-check what’s best for your family on the official gov.uk calculator or with an adviser – especially if you’re considering switching from vouchers to Tax-Free Childcare, as you usually can’t go back.
2. Can I use childcare vouchers for residential summer camps?
You can use childcare vouchers for summer camps with FunTech. You can do this because FunTech is a registered childcare provider (Ofsted in England) and we accept childcare vouchers as a form of payment.
So, if you’ve been searching “residential summer camp childcare vouchers” and wondering whether it’s actually allowed: yes, as long as you’re still in the scheme and your vouchers come from an approved provider, you can use them to help cover a FunTech residential week.
3. How childcare vouchers for summer camps work at FunTech
FunTech has made the process extremely parent friendly. Here’s how to use childcare vouchers for summer camps with us, including residential:
Step 1 – Book your child’s camp
- Book online as normal through the FunTech website (residential or day camp).
- Pay using your credit or debit card to secure the place.
Step 2 – Send your childcare voucher or Tax-Free Childcare payment
For Childcare Vouchers:
- Log in to your voucher provider.
- Use the FunTech reference number for your chosen location (Barbican, Hammersmith, Northwood, Reading, Richmond, Tonbridge, Westminster, Wimbledon or Virtual). You’ll find these listed on FunTech’s Childcare Vouchers page.
- Arrange payment directly to FunTech through your provider.
For Tax-Free Childcare:
- Log in to your government childcare account and search for FunTech.
- Make the payment from your childcare account.
- Email FunTech with your Tax-Free Childcare payment reference + your FunTech booking reference so they can match the payment.
Step 3 – FunTech reimburses your card
Once FunTech receives the funds from your voucher provider or Tax-Free Childcare account, they’ll reimburse that amount back to the card you originally used to book. (One reimbursement per booking.)
This approach means:
- Your child’s place is secured immediately, even if vouchers take a few days to arrive.
- You still benefit from Flash Sale or Early Bird discounts, and Camp Swap flexibility if your plans change.
4. Where are FunTech’s summer camps that accept childcare vouchers?
FunTech runs tech and coding summer camps for ages roughly 7–16, with a mix of day camps and residential options:
London day camps
- Barbican (EC1Y)
- Hammersmith (W6)
- Northwood (HA6)
- Richmond (TW10)
- Westminster (SW1E)
- Wimbledon (SW19)
Other day camp locations
- Reading (RG1)
- Tonbridge (TN9)
What parents love about our residential summer camps:
- 5 days & nights on campus (Sunday–Friday)
- 24-hour pastoral care, with specialist staff on duty
- Comfortable single or dorm rooms
- Evening activities and social time (games rooms, sports, chill-out spaces)
- A ready-made community of like-minded kids who love tech, gaming and creativity
And crucially for busy families: all of our residential camps are Ofsted-registered and accept childcare vouchers, so your residential summer camp childcare vouchers can help cover a big chunk of the cost.
5. Why choose a tech-based residential camp (not just “childcare”)?
Lots of holiday clubs focus mainly on sports or general activities. FunTech sits firmly on the tech and STEM side:
- Founded in 1996, FunTech has almost three decades of experience teaching children to code, build games and understand real-world technology.
- Across all camps, 97%+ of parents who leave a review say they’d recommend FunTech.
- Classes are small and tutor-led, so your child isn’t just “on a screen”; they’re guided through proper learning.
- Students rave about how much they learn in one week, and how easy it is to make new friends with similar interests – whether they’re into Minecraft, Roblox, robotics or Python.
For parents, that means your summer camps that accept childcare vouchers aren’t just ticking a childcare box. They’re:
- Building real skills (coding, problem-solving, logical thinking).
- Supporting GCSE and A-Level pathways for older teens.
- Giving your child a huge confidence boost in a safe, structured environment.
6. FunTech summer camps that accept Childcare Vouchers – course overview
All of the following in-person summer camps can be booked at FunTech locations that accept Childcare Vouchers.
LEGO Robotics Coder (ages 7–10)
In this hands-on LEGO robotics camp, each child builds and codes their own robot using LEGO Mindstorms, learning about sensors, motors and core programming ideas like loops, conditions and variables – all wrapped in fun challenges and a Friday “Grand Finale” robot competition.
Minecraft Mod Developer (ages 7–10)
Perfect for younger Minecraft fans, this course turns them from player to mod developer. Using tools like MCreator, they design their own blocks, tools, biomes, creatures and even whole new dimensions, learning logic, game design and problem-solving as they build a custom mod-pack to take home.
Roblox Game Designer (ages 7–10)
Using Roblox Studio, children design and build their own obby (obstacle) games, adding platforms, traps and interactive elements. They learn about game physics, terrain, level design and basic GUI elements, and finish the week with a multiplayer game they can share with friends and the wider Roblox community.
Minecraft Redstone Engineer (ages 9–12)
This camp uses Redstone (Minecraft’s “electricity”) to introduce electronics and logic. Kids build circuits, create automated systems and explore logic gates, memory circuits and more – turning Minecraft into a fun way to learn the basics of engineering and digital systems.
3D Game Design Developer (ages 10–14)
Here your child steps into professional game development with Unreal Engine, learning to design levels, work with 3D environments, lighting, physics and interactive elements. They move from playing games to designing and building their own multi-platform 3D project.
A solid foundation in Python, from the absolute basics to building real programs. Students learn variables, logic, loops, data structures and classic algorithms, building quizzes, tools and simple games while learning the style of coding used at GCSE and A-Level. Ideal as a first “serious” coding course.
LEGO Robotics Robot Wars (ages 11–14)
A more advanced robotics course where older children design, build and code more complex LEGO robots, with a focus on advanced sensors, strategy and competitive challenges. The week builds towards a dramatic Robot Wars-style showdown that tests speed, strength and intelligent programming.
Moving beyond drag-and-drop, this camp teaches Lua scripting in Roblox Studio. Students code interactions, game systems and in-game events from scratch, gaining real text-based programming experience while building more sophisticated multiplayer Roblox games.
Using the industry-standard Unity engine and C#, your child learns how 2D games are built: sprites, physics, collisions, inputs, UI and game systems. It’s a brilliant stepping stone into professional game development and is often offered as a residential option for older campers.
Python OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) (ages 11–16)
For students who already know the Python basics, this course introduces object-oriented programming – using classes, objects and more advanced structures. They might build graphical interfaces or data-driven programs, taking an important step towards real-world software development.
A.I. Machine Learning (ages 12–16)
This advanced camp turns confident Python coders into budding AI developers. Using tools like Google Colab and TensorFlow, students build classifiers, image recognition systems, chatbots and more, exploring neural networks, natural language processing and modern machine learning techniques in a very hands-on way.
Hackathon Cyber Security (ages 12–16)
Focused on ethical hacking and cyber security, this course teaches how systems can be attacked – and how to protect them. Students work through challenges, learn about security weaknesses and safe hacking techniques, and build a strong awareness of online safety and digital security.
7. Next steps – turn your childcare vouchers into an unforgettable summer
If you’re still receiving vouchers and have been Googling “summer camps that accept childcare vouchers” or “residential summer camp childcare vouchers”, FunTech is designed with you in mind:
- Ofsted-registered, childcare vouchers and Tax-Free Childcare accepted for all camp formats (including residential).
- Camps in multiple London and South East locations, including Reading and Tonbridge.
- A proven blend of fun, friendship and serious tech learning for ages 7–16.
Ready to explore?
- Check our Childcare Vouchers info and reference numbers
- Browse all summer camps and residential options
And if you’re still not sure which course is right for your child, the FunTech team are happy to talk it through – just give us a call or request a callback via the website.