Outdoor Skills.
Real Adventure.
Instructor-led survival skills sessions for children, families, schools and corporate groups. Active. Purposeful. Unforgettable.
Words from
our families
"The children were completely engaged from start to finish. It was fun, different and full of real learning — unlike anything we'd tried before."
"A brilliant outdoor experience. The children came away confident, proud and full of stories. My son hasn't stopped talking about it."
"So much better than another soft play party. They learned teamwork, resilience and practical skills — and had the time of their lives."
About Summit & Sand
Adventure you
can trust.
Expert-led outdoor experiences, built on a career spent keeping children safe.
Experience you can feel safe
handing your child to.
A career in child safety
Summit & Sand is founded and led by Ty Warncken, who spent over a decade leading UK residential childcare as an Ofsted-registered manager of children's homes, including therapeutic provisions. Services under his leadership were graded Outstanding by Ofsted, and he held personal Ofsted registration — passing the rigorous "fit person" assessment required to be trusted with children's care.
Qualifications & training
- Foundation Degree in residential childcare management; Master's in social care management (in progress)
- Ten years as a Designated Safeguarding Lead; Safeguarding to Level 3
- Emotion-coaching & trauma-informed practice training
- Paediatric & Emergency First Aid
- Risk assessment & safer-recruitment trained
- Years of hands-on desert & mountain craft across the UAE, Oman & Europe
Rooted in attachment-
informed practice.
What sets Summit & Sand apart isn't only what we teach — it's how. Drawing on a decade in children's care, our practice is attachment-informed: built on a simple, well-evidenced truth — children take on more, and learn more, when they feel safe and genuinely known. Here's what that looks like in a session.
A secure base
Children explore further when they trust there's a calm, consistent adult to return to. Our instructors are that steady presence — the secure base a child ventures out from.
Emotion coaching
When a child hits frustration — the fire won't catch, the climb feels too high — we coach them through it rather than push or rescue. That moment is where real growth happens.
Knowing the child
We keep groups small and instructors consistent, so every child is genuinely known — not processed. Relationships are the point, not an afterthought.
Challenge built on trust
We stretch children just past their comfort, then let them feel the pride of coming through it — building confidence and composure that last well beyond the session.
To be clear: Summit & Sand is an outdoor education provider — not a clinical, therapy or assessment service. Our attachment-informed approach shapes how we teach and relate to children. Where a child needs support beyond that, we point families toward the right professionals.
What We Do
Instructor-led outdoor and survival skills sessions for children, families, schools and teams — fire-lighting, shelter, knots, navigation and more. Real skills that build confidence, composure and independence, away from screens.
Why We Do It
We believe children grow when real challenge meets a trusted adult who knows them. Our sessions build resilience and self-belief — and draw families closer together in the process.
Built on safe practice
Risk-assessed
Every activity is risk-assessed and led by trained, first-aid-qualified instructors, with small groups and careful supervision.
Safeguarding-led
Background-checked staff, safer-recruitment practice, clear waivers and parental consent — drawing on a decade of frontline child-protection experience.
In our lane
Summit & Sand is an outdoor education provider — not a clinical, therapy or assessment service. Where a child needs more, we point families to the right professionals.
Good to know
Meet the Team
The person behind
the adventure.
Every Summit & Sand session is shaped by real experience working with children — here's who's leading the way.
Ty Warncken
Long before the desert, Ty spent his career making sure children were safe, known, and given the room to grow. For over a decade in the UK he led residential childcare as an Ofsted-registered manager of children's homes — including therapeutic provisions for some of the most vulnerable young people in the care system. Services under his leadership were graded Outstanding by Ofsted for leadership, child protection and children's progress, and he spent ten years as a Designated Safeguarding Lead.
His defining lesson didn't come from a policy. Working with teenage boys caught up in gangs and offending, he began using emotion-coaching — and watched the anger they aimed at staff soften the moment they felt genuinely understood. Connection, he realised, was the thing the system talked about but rarely allowed to take root.
He discovered the outdoors as a boy, camping with his family across the UK, and rediscovered it with his own wife and two sons in the UAE desert — now a second home to his boys, who've spent years barefoot in the sand, building fires and camping high in the mountains of Oman. Summit & Sand was born when he was asked to run a school survival-skills club, felt the off-the-shelf version sold children short, and knew he could give them something with real substance.
"We don't just run activities. We get to know children — and we never quit on them."
Qualifications & training
- Ofsted-registered children's home manager — Outstanding-graded
- 10 years as a Designated Safeguarding Lead; Safeguarding Level 3
- Foundation Degree, residential childcare management
- Master's in social care management (in progress)
- Emotion-coaching & trauma-informed practice training
- Paediatric & Emergency First Aid; risk-assessment trained
Why he does it
"I want children to leave a session with a real sense of I did that — not just knots and fire-lighting, but composure, stoicism and bravery they carry for life. And I want to bring families closer — especially sons and fathers — through the outdoors. We care about substance, not shine, and about genuinely knowing the children we work with."
We are more than what we have. We never quit on each other.
Held to the same standard
As Summit & Sand grows, every instructor who joins is chosen through the same safer-recruitment standards Ty has used throughout his career — properly trained, background-checked, first-aid qualified, and committed to the same relationship-led way of working. The names will grow. The standard won't move.
Packages
Choose your
adventure.
From birthday parties to schools and family groups, every package is active, structured and memorable.
Children's Parties
Perfect to make your child's party memorable. Great for getting little adventurers ready for the great outdoors, getting them active and using their brains.
- Outdoor team games
- Basic knot skills
- Mini survival challenges
- Up to 3 hours
Contact us for pricing →
Survival Skills and Challenge Parties
Great options for families and groups looking for adventure — challenging, fun and full of real skills.
- Rope and knot training
- Team building/rescue challenges
- Problem-solving missions
- 3 - 4 hours
Contact us for pricing →
Team Building and Group Development
A bigger challenge for groups ready to expand their knowledge and push their limits.
- Advanced team missions
- Scenario based challenges
- Timed rescue scenario
- 2 - 5 hour
Contact us for pricing →
School-Specific ECAs
Bespoke outdoor skills programmes delivered at your school as a weekly extra-curricular activity — built around your year groups, your timetable and your space, developing real skills across a full term.
- Weekly term-time sessions
- Progressive skills curriculum
- Delivered on the school site
- Tailored to key stage / year group
- Flexible half- or full-term blocks
Contact us for pricing →
Not sure which package is right for you? We're happy to help.
For Parents
More than
just a party.
Summit & Sand gives children an exciting experience while developing confidence, resilience, communication and teamwork.
Safe & Structured
Sessions are instructor-led, carefully managed and built around clear expectations. Safety briefings and risk assessments are part of every session.
Active & Screen-Free
Children move, build, think and work together through hands-on activities — no screens, no passivity, just real engagement.
Real Achievement
Children leave proud of what they have built, solved and completed as part of a team. The sense of accomplishment is something they carry home.
Skills for life
Contact Us
Start your
adventure.
Get in touch to enquire about birthday parties, school sessions, family adventures or group bookings.
Location
Dubai, UAE
Sessions at outdoor locations across Dubai.
Social Media
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Send an Enquiry
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Privacy · Terms
Enquiry Received!
Thanks for getting in touch. A member of the Summit & Sand team will be back in touch within 24 hours.
Privacy Policy
Summit & Sand Outdoor Skills respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data.
Information We Collect
We may collect your name, email address, phone number and enquiry details when you contact us or complete a form.
How We Use Your Information
We use your information to respond to enquiries, manage bookings, communicate with customers and improve our services.
Cookies
Our website may use cookies to improve your browsing experience and understand how visitors use the site.
Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal data. We may share data with trusted providers where required to operate our website or respond to enquiries.
Data Storage
Your information may be stored securely in the UAE or with trusted service providers.
Contact
For privacy questions, contact us at bookings@summitandsand.ae.
Terms & Conditions
These Terms & Conditions apply to the use of the Summit & Sand Outdoor Skills website and services.
Bookings
Bookings are subject to availability and confirmation. Details of session times, location and requirements will be provided before the activity.
Safety
Participants are expected to follow instructor guidance at all times. Activities are designed to be safe, structured and age-appropriate.
Parent / Guardian Responsibility
Parents or guardians must provide accurate information about children, including any relevant medical, behavioural or support needs.
Cancellations
Cancellation and rescheduling terms may vary depending on the type of booking. Details will be confirmed at the time of booking.
Weather
Outdoor sessions may be adapted, postponed or rescheduled due to unsafe weather or environmental conditions.
Website Use
Website content may not be copied, reproduced or used without permission from Summit & Sand Outdoor Skills.
Contact
For questions about these terms, contact bookings@summitandsand.ae.
Before Your Adventure
Participation &
Safety Waiver
Please complete this form on behalf of each child attending a Summit & Sand session. It must be submitted prior to any booking being confirmed.
Booked Guests Only
The participation & safety waiver is for families with a confirmed Summit & Sand booking. Please enter the access password included in your booking confirmation.
Waiver Submitted!
Thank you. Your participation and safety waiver has been received. We'll be in touch to confirm your booking shortly.
Summit & Sand Merch
Wear the
adventure.
Official Summit & Sand kit — built for the outdoors, designed to last.
Gear up
Add items to your cart, choose your size and colour, then place your order. We'll confirm and arrange delivery across Dubai, UAE within 24 hours.
All items are made to order. Once you place your order we'll confirm availability, size and delivery details within 24 hours. Payment is arranged on confirmation.