Onboarding Instructors
Almost time for another camp season – here is some essential information to ensure a smooth journey. This includes travel logistics, necessary documentation, and an overview of German tax regulations. Please read through this and provide all documents by the middle of april. (Earlier for UK passports)
Dive into the heart of our camp with detailed insights into our locations. You’ll find a comprehensive packing list tailored to each site, ensuring you have everything you need. Plus, get acquainted with our teamer app—an integral tool for our paperless camp management system that keeps everything at your fingertips.
Our program and games section is designed to excite and prepare you for the dynamic activities you’ll lead. This will be your guide to creating unforgettable experiences for our campers. Please make sure you spend some time studying this, if you haven’t work for me before.
Should you have any further questions or need clarification, don’t hesitate to reach out. Welcome aboard!
Camp prep and paperwork
- Send a copy of your passport (pdf or photo) and send it back to me via and email. I need a nice scan or copy, clear, nor hands or fingers in it, clearly visible or it will be rejected by the council here. If I still have your current passport copy, don’t worry.
- teamer app: see blue box. Please fill out the application if this is your first time.
- Sign a letter of permission for my local council, in order to register you (to get your German tax ID) with a real signature on it. Print, Sign, Scan, sorry about German burocracy:-)
- EU form for residency (All EU passports) Please fill in the box at the top, I have already ticked the right boxes for the rest of it.
- For our Webpage: Please send us and email with a nice portrait picture of you and a brief profile text for our team page, see example here: https://sprachcamp-allgaeu.de/team
- Read through the safety manual for the Grigri+, the belay device we use in all our climbing activities. In addition, review this video if you are unsure how to use the Grigri.
For UK passport holders only (work permit paperwork):
- Please fill in the Vorlage Erstantrag questions 1 – 13. Sign the form in the box unterneath question 22 and fill in the date as well. You can print and sign it, and send it back or fill it in and I will send a signature request back. If you can’t fill it in, just send me the info and I fill it in for you. Thanks!
- A letter of permission so that I can pick up your work permit at the foreign office. I need your signature for this – again print, sign, scan.
- You also need something to proof that you are with the NHS – have a look at following response from a GP and see if you can get that as well.
Teamer App
Please familiarise yourself with our teamer app. Your Login is here: teamer app. If you haven’t worked for me before, you need to follow the application link to get access to it. For returning instructors please fill in all the gaps in your profile. Thanks!
Work permit (UK passport)
- permission letter council
- Passport
- permission letter migration office
- online application ( tbc)
- Passport picture for the permit (colour copy sent to me by mail)
Work permit (EU passport)
- permission letter council
- Passport
- Eu residency form
Induction days for our upcoming season
There will be an induction day this season before our june camp for all our new instructors. Please make sure you arrive on the Sunday before camp at 2pm at the lates at Immenstadt station.
Please come prepared. I expect you to have read the manual and please watch the links for the games. For our first day you will need a first draft of your first half day and be ready to test-play one of the games with our team.
If you have any questions, we can do an e-meeting before camp – just get in touch!
Our Locations for our schoolcamps
The camps are located in the Allgäu mountains or in the Kleinwalsertal valley of Austria. The area is truly stunning.
We work from Bergengrün, Bergheimat and Schlössle, three houses that are quite close to each other, however, it’s different busses that you need to take to get to them.
We are right in the middle of the mountains and we can walk our groups almost everywhere straight from the hostel. There is lots of hiking paths, nice spots in the river to do landart or shelter building or survival skills.
You can find our camp locations here:
Bergheimat and Bergengrün
To get to Bergheimat/Bergengrün take line 1 to Riezlern Post (Baad), change to line 5 Ifen bus, get off at Fuchfarm – from there it’s a 5 minute walk.
Busses Kleinwalsertal: just follow this link
Accommodation before camp and Arrival
We will provide food and accommodation during the camp but also one extra night before our camp week. If you work two or more camps in a row then we also provide accommodation for the weekend in between camps. Schoolcamps finish on the Thursday night at around 9pm, for holiday camps it is the Saturday morning 11.30 pm.
Make sure that you filled in your food preference in the teamer app, so that I can order the right food. The hostel isn’t great with vegan food, so if you are vegan it’s helpful to bring your own favourite spreads (for sandwiches) and snacks.
You are welcome stay at our home, if you want to arrive early for camp. We will also be staying here for the Sunday nights before camp. My home town . Closest station is Immenstadt (i. Allgäu) station, about 2 hours from Munich, a bit longer from the airport.
Getting there
Memmingen Airport (Ryan Air) and Munich Airport are the closest airports – both airports are about 3 hours from our hostels by public transport. Just be aware that with some evening flights you might not get here – the last train from Munich leaves at 8pm. (It’s one hour from the airport to the train station). Zurich airport might also be an option
Closest station for all our schoolcamps is Oberstdorf station – for the Summercamps and the 3. – 6th of june, it is Immenstadt station. Check in with us if you are not sure.
Getting from Sprachcamp to the Airport
We usually try to give you a lift to the staion, but also camps in the Kleinwalsertal have a bus stops nearby, buses leaving for Oberstdorf every 10 minutes, plan for an extra 35 mins to get to the next train station (Oberstdorf) from the Kleinwalsertal Camps).
The following websites can help with your planning:
http://www.allgaeu-airport.com/passengers-visitors/getting-to-the-airport/bus-train/
Games
Equipment, that we provide:
- loads of games ropes, pens, paper, lego bricks, smurfs, picture cards, feeling cards,
For bushcraft: flint steel, knifes, pans, tarps, Vaseline, cotton wool
Games you should be looking at before camp, just follow the links. Enjoy watching.
Team Games (Problem solving) you might want to revsise:
- The marshmallow challenge, a really nice TED talk about the challenge.
- Tower of Power
- Pipeline
Word Games / Icebreaker Games with focus on Speaking English
- Emotion Cards
- Zoom (Prep for Photoralley)
- Werewolves (Card Game, very popular)
- pass the bomb,
- Sussed
- 5 second Rule
- Poetry for Neanderthals
- Snakessss
- Bumfuzzle
- Herd mentality
For your debriefs: Picture / Emotioncards
Also have a look at our Sample Programmes for one of our school camps here.
Here you can find the complete card decks as a pdf for Sussed, Therapy Card deck, Worst case scenario and Feeling cards.
Please familiarise yourself with the games – you will still have to adjust some of them to play them with a group or you might have to consider the age group you are working with. Remember to hand in your first 1,5 days so I can check that we are on the same page.
Kit List
- Outdoor clothes,
- Your Climbing gear (Safety Gear)
- First Aid kit
- Waterproofs
- A daypack
- Water bottle, lunchbox
- Depending on the season: hat, gloves, a warm jumper,Sunglasses, swimming gear
- Toiletries (ex: shampoo, toothpaste/brush)
*For the hostel: slippers, a towel, PJs, earplugs – we provide bed sheets for you! You don’t need a sleeping bag
- a group first aid kit
- a climbing rope for any private climbing sessions you might want to go on – please tell me before camp, so I can load it onto the van.
Equipment that we don’t provide:
- Your own safety and climbing gear
Travel expenses
Please plan your travels on a tight budget, if possible. We strongly advice you to book your flights in advance or keep your eye on the prices. Expecially during holiday peak times i.e. the summer prices are bound to sky rocket.
You can claim flights, train tickets and other expenses as agreed in your contract.
You can include insurance to cover cancelled flights or tickets.
Please also get in touch if you need an advance payment on flights.
Please download our Travel expenses template (one form per camp), and add your IBAN (not sort code)
Remember to keep your receipts – you need to add the copies to the document.
Money will be transfered within a couple of days. Fees might be taken off from UK banks, you might want to look into alternative accounts like https://wise.com/de/
Pay for school camps and holiday camps
School camps run Monday to Thursday evening – which makes it 4 full days .This varies for Holiday camps, these are week-long camps. Payment details will be in your contract.
Please remember that your wages are before VAT. You will be paying German Income tax (Lohnsteuer, about 8-10% of wages) Income tax, that you can then claim back – see Taxes.
German Taxes
The instructor is solely responsible to declare their own taxes in their home country. You might be able claim back your taxes that you paid in Germany, depending on your earnings in the UK and your passport (UK passport might not be able to claim the money back) back.Remember: Taxes can only be claimed the following year.
Cancellation Policy
If a camp week has to be cancelled we will try to offer the instructor an alternative date (This has never happened for a schoolcamp) If we don’t get enough bookings for our holiday camps we will let you know in advance – but as bookings come in very short notice this might be a last minute confirmation. If the instructor gets ill, we would really appreciate immediate notice and help with looking for a replacement. I would advise you to cover insurance for cancelled flights on a travel insurance policy. Unless you have a super cheap Ryan Air flight, where the damage is slightly less.