Children in Thames Valley to enjoy ‘magical’ days out as CLA Charitable Trust awards grants to education charity
Inside Out for Children among the groups to successfully apply for funding, receiving £5,000
An education charity that provides transformational outdoor learning experiences for disadvantaged children has been awarded £5,000 from the CLA Charitable Trust (CLACT).
The trust is funded almost entirely by subscriptions and donations from members of the CLA, an organisation representing thousands of farmers, landowners and rural businesses.
It provides grants to charities and community organisations who share its vision to help connect young people who are disabled or disadvantaged with the countryside and nature.
Inside Out for Children is among the groups to successfully apply for funding recently, receiving all £5,000 it asked for. The grant will go towards its ‘Magical Days Out Schools Project’ providing outdoor learning experiences for disadvantaged and underperforming children with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Using the charity’s ‘5 Keys to Happiness’ framework – Look Inside, Move Outside, Share More, Be Curious, Be Kind – the project includes 30 Magical Days Out which combine nature, mindfulness and horses. Activities will take place at Checkendon Equestrian Centre in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in 70 acres of woodland.
Local primary school children from Berkshire and Oxfordshire will practise mindful breathing/sensing and how to express their ‘weather inside’. They will apply these skills to explore and discover the countryside environment and their role in it, create nature art and to ride and care for horses.
Inside Out Founder and CEO Stephanie Weissman said: “We are very grateful to the CLA Charitable Trust for their grant. Mental health issues among young children in the UK have become a massive problem and educational opportunities outside in the countryside are more important than ever for them.
“The CLA’s generous support will help us to transform the life chances of children, helping them to deal with life’s difficulties and to reach their full potential.
“There is a global movement to rebalance the education system where the mental health and wellbeing of children are as important as their academic achievement. We want to do all we can to help make this happen.”
The funds from the CLA Charitable Trust will be spent to part-fund the 30 Magical Days Out and will restart the initiative for children in spring 2023, after being postponed for three years because of Covid-19.
The ‘Magical Days Out Schools Project’ will be delivered directly to 300 primary school children from Reading and Oxford. It will benefit a further 2,000 back in schools through Inside Out’s website of digitised resources.
Bridget Biddell, Chairman of CLACT, said: “This charity is delivering important work for children struggling with school. The Chilterns are to provide the backdrop for 30 Magical Days Out in the countryside, and the trust is pleased to be able to support this crucial work with its positive outcomes.”
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