| Country Days Limited |
| Registered number 11433398 |
| Charity number 1181833 |
| Trustees Report |
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| Strategic Review |
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| Country Days is an Educational Charity providing outdoor learning in a beautiful nature reserve for young people aged 7-11 in Bedfordshire, giving children who have little or no access to the countryside an opportunity to learn in and about nature. |
| We are grateful for the dedication of our patrons, trustees, teachers, support staff, volunteers and our fundraising committee whose dedication and enthusiasm has made all this possible. We are equally grateful to all those who have supported us and proud of what we have achieved to help create a brighter future for children on low-income families in Bedfordshire and hope you enjoy reading about it. |
| Research and surveys continue to highlight why stimulating interest in the natural environment is the key to unlocking learning potential, building confidence and resilience to give children a more positive future. |
| Each year we strive to offer more places to more children, extend the scope of our courses to deliver an ambitious curriculum and make a difference to those whose opportunities to enjoy the wonders of nature are limited. |
| We continue to introduce new activities and implement the learning from last year to this one. Our quiz night sold out in a week, our first ever stall at the Cecil Higgins Museum event caught the attention of a local MP and culminated in handing out over 100 leaflets this combined with our Family Fun Day helps us in our quest to continue to raise awareness and allow the charity to play a more central community role. |
| A sponsored bounce run by Great Ouse Primary Academy was both a successful fundraiser and further developed the awareness of the charity. |
| 50% of our children this year were FSM, pupil premium or SEND and the need to support the growing number of these children is vital. |
| We continue to publicise our funding on social media platforms, newsletters, word of mouth and local fundraising events. We are fortunate in the support of the local community and with increasing numbers of returning children we are building the future volunteers for Country Days. Next year we have 3 more volunteers who are previous participants in the courses. One of our annual volunteers who supports the charity throughout the year on all the courses is taking part in the 5K Bedford Running Festival and another has completed the three peaks challenge. At the family fun day our Head of Admin Rita Di Carlo was presented with a Recognition Award by Camilla King, High sheriff of Bedfordshire. |
| Helen Orssich ( nee Hadfield) Esme Watkinson ( nee Hadfield ) Rita Di Carlo |
| Co – Founder Co- Founder Head of Administration |
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| Our young people |
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| We want to continue to run our outdoor learning courses of one- or two-days duration during the Easter and Summer holidays at a local nature reserve for 300 children aged between 7-11 from low-income families in Bedfordshire who have little or no access to the countryside. |
| Each year we review our courses using teacher, parental and child feedback and adjust our curriculum accordingly. Our courses this year have received outstanding positive feedback from parents and children. |
| Our links with schools and organisations continue to grow. Due to the cost-of-living crisis, the pressures on the education and welfare systems, we believe the work Country Days does in the community in Bedfordshire has become increasingly vital to support the emotional wellbeing of children 7- 11 consequently we need to broaden its reach to include more children throughout the year. |
| We are continuing to explore the possibilities of how we can expand our activities to include a Saturday morning club run by 2 teachers so that we can give more children the opportunity to benefit from being outside and learn in a beautiful nature environment. |
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| Our Strategic priorities |
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| ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE ACTIVITIES AND FOOD |
| Through our face-to-face delivery, maintain that 50% of places are accessed by young people meeting our criteria and alleviate barriers created by financial hardship. Increase access to healthy meals and snacks at our face-to-face provision. |
| EXPAND OUR REACH |
| Ensure that the delivery locations are reflective of where referrals are being received from, where there is most local need, and where we can build strong relationships within the community. |
| FUNDRAISING |
| Continue our relationship with our existing funders where possible, explore new funding, extend and develop our fundraising activities. |
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| What Patrons, Trustees, Staff and Volunteers say about us |
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| Dr Elizabeth Slack DL(Patron) |
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| It is a privilege and an honour to serve as a patron of Country Days, and to help to secure a flourishing future for the charity. Ann Hadfield’s purchase of the land in Felmersham in the 90’s and the energy with which she began to establish it as a nature reserve dedicated to allowing young children to spend time in nature was a hugely generous, timely and visionary gift. I admire greatly the way that Country Days has since been established as a charity by her family and others, based on furthering her ideas. The trustees and all the volunteers involved in running the courses are delivering precious experiences full of imagination, creativity and care, offering meaningful ways to widen enjoyment and appreciation of our countryside for young people in Bedfordshire. |
| More than half a century of working and volunteering in various roles with children and young people of all ages has, for me, revealed how important fresh air and time spent playing and learning in natural settings are for all aspects of a child’s development. Such access should be a fundamental entitlement for every child and all those who foster such experiences are engaged in work of inestimable value. Young people’s experiences also prepare them to play an active part in mitigating climate change and advocating for the protection of biodiversity as they grow older. |
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| Frank McMahon (Trustee) |
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| It was a privilege and an honour to be asked to be a trustee of Country Days. As a former teacher - and parent and now grandparent - I am particularly aware of the value of visits to the countryside for children - of all ages! My visits to the site are always a pleasure, seeing and hearing children and adults involved in a variety of activities, and cheerfully engaged in the variety of challenges and opportunities provided. |
| The benefits to children of being outdoors are numerous: |
| Their physical, mental and educational development all benefit from exposure to nature, which can help support a healthier lifestyle, reduce stress, and enhance important cognitive and social skills; |
| The open spaces encourage children to run, jump, climb and play, all of which improve their physical fitness, agility, balance, and coordination |
| Exposure to nature can reduce levels of stress and provide a welcome break from mobile phones and other technologies of dubious benefit to well-being |
| Physical exertion in the fresh air leads to better sleep, helping children to feel more refreshed and rested; sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D, which is crucial for healthy bones, teeth and a more robust immune system |
| Countryside experiences can enrich classroom learning in many subjects, including science, geography and history. It can improve concentration and focus, particularly for children with ADHD |
| It provides opportunities for children to use their imagination and inventiveness - a humble stick can be a magic wand! Problem-solving, while building dens or devising ways of overcoming challenges, enhances critical thinking, boosts perseverance, while also refining crucial social skills! |
| I could go on. I’m proud to play a minor role in this major contribution to the enhancement of the lives and development of so many young people; and to witness the commitment and dedication of the adults who make it all possible. |
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| Laura Davies (Teaching staff) |
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| It is a pleasure to be asked to be a teacher at country days 5 years ago and I have loved every course run since. Teaching outdoors is something I don't get to do much of in my day-to-day teaching so it's a real pleasure to have such a great site available for children to come and explore, especially for those children who are not surrounded by countryside. When teaching the pond dipping or mini beast hunting, I really get to see the awe and wonder of children who catch a newt for the first time or find a new and interesting creature. |
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| Katrina Hyden (Teaching staff) |
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| It has been brilliant becoming part of the Country Days team. As a practitioner who usually lone works it has become an experience to look forward to each holiday. All of the team members are creative and have a contagious passion for outdoor learning and screen free exploration. |
| My favourite part is to see children arriving for the first time, often a little nervous, coming to life, feeling safe and bounding back to their parents at the end of the day full, excited to show and tell what they have been up to. |
| I organise art and craft and I try to have a range of activities to try, from sticking to sewing, with a lot of opportunity for the children to go off-script creative with their makes. I have honestly been blown away by the focus and the ideas that they have come up with. It's very special to have the chance to facilitate creative experimentation, have instant access to a whole load of natural and sustainable resources |
| ("everyone go and pick up three pinecones!") and to work with such flexible and caring practitioners and facilitators during the programmes. |
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| Esme Orssich (Group leader) |
| For the past five years, I have volunteered as a group leader for Country Days during their Easter and Summer courses. Each year, my enthusiasm and belief in the charity deepen after spending time with the children. They truly love the courses. As a group leader I have the privilege to directly hear their unsolicited feedback. the most common being that they don’t want the day to end, or that they can’t wait to come back. In a digital world, that is no small achievement: these children genuinely want to be outdoors. |
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| Often, the children in my group don’t know each other beforehand, or only a few do. I see great value in this: resilience and social skills grow, and I’ve yet to see a child intentionally excluded. It gives them a fresh social experience, different from school, and one rooted in inclusivity. This year, I watched a neurodivergent child gain immense confidence as they made new friends and were welcomed with kindness and openness — instead of being made to feel different or alone. |
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| Sophie Abdin (Volunteer) |
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| I started volunteering at Country Days in Summer 2024 and continued at Easter and Summer this year. |
| I thoroughly enjoy being with the team who make sure the holiday club runs so well and have learnt a lot about managing activities, resources, and time. Without the commitment of the leaders at the club, the children would not get the experiences they do, and they love their time with Country Days; they always say they want it to be longer. |
| I have enjoyed building positive relationships with everyone and seeing how much the children want to share their joy at discovering new things. At each camp, I am learning new skills and would like to become a leader in the future. My confidence and decision-making have improved through my time volunteering. Being outdoors in nature. exercising; we take lots of steps, makes the experience feel even more rewarding' |
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| What our families say about us |
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| “My eight-year-old year three son had a brilliant time and this is a boy who cannot cope at another Holiday Club we have tried. He is autistic and ADHD and has difficulties getting along harmoniously with other children, but he found the adults to be very kind and helpful and really enjoyed all the activities that were an offer. As his parent it was worth its weight in gold and we will look forward to the next course at Easter and again next summer. I am so grateful to have found your course” |
| “These courses are so important to children's child hood. To spend two days outside within the safety of this environment is amazing. My daughter arrives not knowing anyone and leaves with new found friendships. Thank you for making this possible” |
| “My daughter had a great time, came home exhausted but full of wonderful stories about her day in the sunshine. Thanks for taking such good care of her and giving her a great experience she will be talking about for a while” |
| “Our daughter attended the course on Wednesday 9th April. She never attended one of your courses and came home buzzing with enthusiasm and happily exhausted. She had nothing but positive feedback about the activities, staff and setting. We are so grateful to you for helping our daughter to explore, enjoy and learn about the great outdoors. Impressed by your set up and the drop off and pick up. We hope she can attend again in the future. Thank you” |
| “Country days is always my son's favourite option for a holiday club. The organisers and kind and supportive and he loves the activities too. It’s such great value as well” |
| “Fantastic organisation the children absolutely loved it, such a warm friendly environment would highly recommend” |
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| Trustees Report |
| Country Days Ltd is a single entity set up as a private company limited by guarantee and a registered charity and governed by the objectives listed on the Charity Commission website. |
| Charitable objectives and activities |
| To act as a resource for young people up to the age of 11 living in the Borough of Bedford by providing programmes of Physical, educational and other activities as a means of: |
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| Advancing in life and helping young people by developing their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as independent, mature and responsible individuals. |
| Advancing Education |
| Providing recreational and leisure time activity in the interests of social welfare for young people living aged 7-11 living in the area of benefit who have need by reason of their social and economic circumstances with a view to improving the conditions of life of such persons. |
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| Public Benefit Statement |
| The Trustees confirm that they have due regard for the Charity Commission Guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives, planning future strategy and setting policy. The work of Country Days is fundamental in improving the mental health and wellbeing of young people in Bedfordshire by giving them opportunities they would not otherwise have. |
| Research has shown multiple benefits of being outdoors on children’s learning and development, including social, physical and academic benefits. Despite the research children still spend most of their time inside. With the increasing challenge of climate change it is vital that our young people develop an awareness and appreciation of the natural environment which can only be heightened by spending more time in it. |
| The Leys Nature Reserve at Felmersham provides an ideal learning environment for Country Days with 33 different varieties of trees in woodland, a pond with great crested and common newts, resident ducks and other wildlife and three natural open play areas. |
| The use of the Leys Nature Reserve, which is used to host the nature courses for Country Days, is freely donated by its owners Esme Watkinson and Helen S E H Orssich, who also act as trustees for Country Days. The Charity has raised funds to maintain it as safe environment for the children and developed it so it is fit for purpose with the addition of rain shelters, landing stages at the pond and 2 science sheds, Admin hut and storage, in order to allow the course activities to take place and accommodate the growing number of places the charity can offer in line with the demand for its activities. |
| The nature reserve is not run for profit and the owners’ intention is to continue to develop opportunities for schools, voluntary organisations and other charities in Bedfordshire to benefit from using the Nature Reserve if suitable for their activities when it is not in use by the charity, and any fees raised by this will be donated back to Country Days to contribute to the preparation costs of the site for the courses |
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| Financial Review Accounts December 2024 |
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| Financial Review Accounts December 2024 |
| The Charity was awarded total funds of £58,919 this financial year from a range of grant funding, donations and community fund raising activities. |
| The major sources are grant funding from The Wixamtree Trust, The Carlton Trust, The BEA, |
| The Gale Trust, Kempston Charities, The Miller Charitable Trust, The St John’s Hospital Trust, The National Lottery and Bedford Borough Council also provide funding through the HAF programme. |
| Currently we hold sufficient unrestricted reserves to meet the funding gap between our costs and the funding we raise to allow us to expand the charity’s vision to benefit more children in Bedfordshire and increase the use of the nature reserve throughout the year but we recognise that these funds will deplete as the charity expands. Our charity committee and admin team at Country Days continues to look at ways to increase our fundraising activities in step with the growth of the charity. We were fortunate to benefit from the sterling efforts of several committed supporters raising sponsorship while undertaking some hefty sporting challenges. |
| The trustees recognise that as with all charities there is an uncertainty to grant funding but the trustees have an expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements and hold a prudent reserve. |
| The trustees approve a draft budget for each financial year and any costs which exceed this budget but are deemed vital to the charity are approved by the board. Any capital and core costs over a threshold of £2,000 are sanctioned by the board of trustees on n ongoing basis. |
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