Woodcraft Folk is delighted to celebrate its recent successful application to Adventures Away from Home. The £45k grant will enable Woodcraft Folk to work with a number of partners to provide residential and day activities to a wide range of young people including those with experience of the care system, displaced young people and young people with disabilities.
Woodcraft Folk’s CEO, Debs McCahon said “It is great to be able to engage more children and young people in our centres, giving them opportunities and introducing other organisations to the benefits of residential experiences and co-operative approaches.”
Woodcraft Folk’s network of centres will be hosting organisations throughout January-March 2025, facilitating co-operative team building activities, bushcraft, creative arts programmes and more. Working in partnership with North Lincolnshire County Council, Yorkshire & Humber Regional Youth Work Unity, Free to Be Kids, Croydon Refugee Day Centre, Safe Passage, Womenzone, SELFA and others we will be able to provide 180 young people with a residential experience and a further 100 young people with a day activity.
2025 will be the third year in which Woodcraft Folk has benefited from the DCMS funding to increase and widen participation in outdoor adventures. Evaluation of last year’s programme suggested that:
- 91% of group leaders responded to say that their group was showing improved happiness through being outdoors
- 93% said that their group was showing improved enjoyment through the outdoor experience
- 87% gave positive feedback that their group was showing more confidence in taking on new challenges
- 89% said that their group was showing more self-reliance and independence in doing activities
- 90% suggested that improvements were made in working better together as a group
You can see the full evaluation report here.
The Adventures Away from Home programme aims this year to support about 7,000 young people, by fostering the social and emotional development of young people aged 11–18 – and up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities by providing fully funded bursaries for young people who face barriers to participation. This programme offers outdoor learning opportunities across England, that encourage participants to experience, learn and develop while also connecting with others and the natural environment.