NCS Reviews 943

It was super easy to book my son onto this and affordable too! He was apprehensive at the start as he knew no-one that was going on the week long residential but he soon made friends and had such a great time that he said he'd love to go again! Great organisation and communication from the NCS team.

My daughter went on a trip Monday-Friday with NCS and had an amazing time. She thoroughly enjoyed everything aspect about the trip. She’s a very picky eater but this was no trouble for the staff they sorted her something out everyday and it was no trouble. She loved all the activities and made some great friends whilst there. I would highly recommend for anyone to go on this trip.

Great experience meet people just like you and have fun make friends

I generally just enjoyed everything.
One of the most amazing times of my life.

Sadly I cannot rate below one star - NCS Boss it delivered by Entrust Education in Coniston an utter safeguarding failure - basic checks not done, kids all wet and nobody checking they are dry and ok and getting wet kit into drying rooms, care plan for my daughter not acted on and staff only briefed when I finally got hold of someone on site. Number given to call shut at 4.30pm what use is that and then the NCS hotline closed this morning until 12pm - and the manager who called then said well they are 16 they can tell us if they are wet - if they are shy of neurodiverse they cannot always do that and at 16 they are still vulnerable and the provider still has a duty of care. Report to LADO made and I will be taking this further with this utter shambles of an organisation and yet another example of poor delivery on a lucrative governmet subcontract

ALL the staff were so lovely and made the experience so special for the people attending. So many memories were made that I will never forget. The main people I’d like the thank and Connor and Fozia who understood me so fast and helped me in so many ways and made the whole group feel so special. Kibblestone week 4 was the best week of my life and I stand by that. -Alexa

Very inclusive of fussy eaters.staff were amazing.great experience overall.

It was an amazing experience and really got me out of my comfort zone, I had a lot of fun meeting new people and doing fun activities.

I went just last week and the experience was incredible. At first I didn't want to go because I thought it would be boring but found out it wasn't too bad. It definitely helped build my socialising skills as I feel alot confident in public speaking. And the activities where amazing. I'd definitely recommend to others and the price wasn't that bad.

The experience as a whole was spectacular. The staff were amazing and made you feel welcome and safe. Madge, sargam, aisha and charlton helped support me and my friend with difficult situations we faced yet allowed us to enjoy the experience and made it easier to make friends. The activities we did were perfect and couldn't of enjoyed them more. We did caving, absailing and walked throughout malham cove with a swim in janets foss. (Rule breakers)The only reason for me dropping a star was down to the lady who ran a politics session for us. The lady was rude to other members of the group and had no consideration for people needs, however she was an external party and the members of ncs always created a warm and welcoming space. I can happily say it was one of the best weeks i have had.

it was great as i already had friends going but some people were purposely excluding us for some reason and someone has noticed that too maybe because of our different ethnic backgrounds and also the time we went riots around england were happening which is coincidental

It was so much fun!!! Met so many new people and had so many new experiences!! Sure I got absolutely demolished and bruised but oh well!! All part of the experience 😂😂. I do recommend it, especially to those that want to push their boundaries a bit

Doesn’t quite seem to be a scam because it comes via schools, who seem to support it. However they require you to put in £95 up front with no idea when or where they are going or even what they’ll be doing! We booked anyway, on the same day as the school visit but immediately went on a waiting list. Turns out there were no spare places at all. Anyway, we just came off the waiting list and were told that he would have a space in 4 days time, but without the originally promised transport. We replied that we couldn’t make it due to short notice and instead of putting us back on the waiting list they said they were dismissing him from the programme. We have now asked about a refund but suddenly they’ve stopped replying. Also, it seems 3-4 of his friends parents have been having similar problems. All very odd.

My teen enjoyed the experience with many fun activities. Staff were amazing and made the events exciting and were very helpful. Highly recommend for young people for character development and making new friends.

Shame you can't do 0 stars. Campsite was a tip, all of our tents, yes tents, we're filthy and some had missing parts or broken zips. The food is inedible, ate toast every morning. Staff seem like volunteers who look just as bored as us. £95 for a complete disappointment and have my expectations shattered. Waste of money, don't risk paying.

My son cannot stop talking about how brilliant the 5 days were! He says the staff were so much fun; relaxed and easy going. He wasn’t sure what to expect although I did inform him there would be some classroom work. The activities were well organised and great fun. However, there does need to be more structure to the programme as there was too much free time, so often sat around.
As a parent, please note that the group leaders are young and at university. They are there to guide the children and keep them safe but are just ‘kids’ themselves. My son is looking forward to going back for the 1 night reunion.

The 5 days I was there was great the staff were really nice to everyone

I went on NCS with a few friends in the summer at the end of Year 11, and it was quite possibly the most traumatic week of my life, demonstrated through the idiocy and neglect of the staff around me, that did not, in any means, keep me safe.

In the group we were in, it was a group of girls who were already friendly, and a group of boys who were already friendly, which is pretty common. My issue arose when some of the boys had fear of heights, and did not take well to the girls doing better in certain activities, such as climbing and abseiling. Just to note, we girls by no means made any kind of snide or rude remarks to them.

For some reason, the boys took issue with this, and especially with me. I don't think they appreciated it, or felt insecure, and decided to take it out on me. Throughout the week I was harassed constantly by the boys in the group: they were constantly physically aggressive (but never outright violent), and verbally harassed me with taunts and rude names. It got to the point that when we were camping at night, the whole camp would be silent but I could hear them chanting my name over and over at like 11pm.

For a 16 year old, this was pretty terrifying. They were larger than me, and there were more of them, so the fear of sexual assault had crossed my mind a few times during our stay at the camp.

I obviously tried bringing this up with the guides of our group, but it was a man who always brushed off my attempts at concern by saying 'boys will be boys' and that's just 'lad culture'. Again, they were chanting my name for the entire camp to hear, so it was pretty obvious this was more than a bit of harmless banter. My experience with this man was constantly underplayed and I was brushed off, which made me feel even worse, like I could not trust the adults who were instructed to take care of us for the week.

Eventually, near the end of the week, I approached the camp leader (after many attempts with my group lead, who obviously had no interest in helping with the harassment and bullying), and informed her of the situation. She then informed me that the boys' parents had been called - and I found out some were shocked by the reported behaviour, and others saw it coming. Which also tells me there needs to be a stricter vetting process. After that, they were scared away like scolded dogs, the harassment became more subtle, like underhanded comments and looks, and the week ended.

And then what? I expected something to happen. Other than informing their parents, I hoped that some justice would come about. The boys would be kicked off the course, or a report to the police, or even simply that the boys would move groups so I wouldn't have to partake in more activities or complete the fundraiser with them in the second week.

But none of that happened. After their parents were called, I had to endure another whole week of this. Granted, the group lead was changed groups, and then eventually kicked out when more similar enabling behaviour was reported from the other group, but nothing else. I had to sit, plan and partake in charity fundraisers with boys/men who had constantly belittled, taunted and verbally harassed me the prior week. It was terrible, and I hated every minute. Since they had pulled back on the verbal aggression, they were not being so overtly cruel, and therefore the camp leader told me there wasn't much else she could do.

This is a disgusting show of negligence and enabling behaviour, and to this day the boys who caused me so much fear and anger have never faced any kind of consequence for what they put me, and the other girls in my group, through.

It is appalling. Those memories still upset me to this day, even so much later. I am angry that nothing happened and they managed to get away with it thanks to the lack of action and care by adults that were supposed to care for and protect the people on the trip. It ruined what I had been looking forward to as a fun and enjoyable experience.

I had an absolutely amazing experience, i was on my own however i made a new friend on my way to our coach, and eventually made more friends amongst my team and other teams, each and every activities we did as a team, we encouraged each other, and we made a great bond with each other and our team leaders. NCS allow me to learn and try new things as well as overcome fears such as heights.
We were called Team WAW, which stands for our team chant: WE ARE WE!
I had a great time and would love to go again!

this was the most incredible experience. i went on ncs at 16 and i found the experience to be nothing but positive and freeing. i threw myself into every activity which certainly made the experience 10x better and my leader adnan was so kind hearted and made me feel safe. the leaders offer a person to talk to and by being enthusiastic make the experience so unbelievably amazing, the leaders are more like friends than figures of authority and don’t pressure you to take part in anything making the experience relaxing. my site was hen cloud and i especially enjoyed making new friends. the facilities were surprisingly clean and well kept and the food was delicious. i would 100% do it again and am even considering applying to be a leader when i turn 18.