2020-09-30-accounts

THE SUMMER CAMPS TRUST

Annual Report of Trustees for the period April 2019 to September 2020.

Reg Charity No: 1162580

1. This Report covers an eighteen month period from April 1[st] 2019 to September 30[th] 2020. This is because the Trust has changed its financial year from April- March to October-September and Trustees decided there should be an extra interim six-month financial year in 2019 to achieve the change.

2. This change of financial year was necessary since the Trust was starting to run and promote events for children and young people, and the income and expenditure pattern of these events fitted better with a financial year which matched the academic year.

3. During this 18-month period the Trust has run training and promoted summer camps itself for the first time. The latter part of it has included a frustrating period of Covid restrictions.

4. Two new Trustees have been appointed to the Board during this period: Nicky BANDINI, who is a journalist, and Mya-Rose CRAIG (known as “Birdgirl”) who is an environmentalist.

5. Trustees met in person on May 24[th] 2019, September 16[th] 2019, and January 13[th] 2020, all at the NCS offices, Kensington Village, London W14. They also met via Zoom on May 18[th] 2020.

6. At the start of the academic year 2018-19 the Trust had decided to experiment with promoting “TryOut Camps”, aimed exclusively at children resident in Britain who had never previously attended any kind of summer camp. The price of these camps was fixed at an attractive £245 to include accompanied travel. Offering these camps also meant the Trust needed to start running training weeks for young adults to work as volunteer leaders.

7. A successful first residential training week was run at Longtown Outdoor Education Centre, Herefordshire, from April 15[th] to 22[nd] 2019, for fifteen trainees, with three instructors.

8. Recruitment for the TryOut Camps proved difficult, but in the end two camps were run by Camp Crusoe on behalf of the Trust. Both were at Longtown Outdoor Education Centre in Herefordshire. The first ran from August 15[th] to 22[nd] and included 20 children looked after by four volunteer leaders. The second ran from August 23[rd] to 30[th] , and again included 20 children with four leaders. An accompanied travel system was organised for both camps

9. Of the forty children involved fourteen were from poorer backgrounds and were offered places at subsidised rates. These were funded by a donation from the Community Lottery Fund.

10. Both camps were thoroughly successful, and the Trust is most grateful to Camp Crusoe for agreeing to deliver them. The object was to give children a taste of what summer camps can offer, in the hope that in subsequent years they would wish to return and book for more realistically priced camps. This looked as though it was working, since a number of parents expressed interest in booking for Camp Crusoe’s non-TryOut Camps in 2020, though sadly these were unable to take place in the event due to Covid restrictions.

11. A programme of TryOut Camps and training weeks was prepared for 2020, and in the first two months of booking applications were coming in well. Then Covid hit, and everything for 2020 had to be cancelled. All the deposits paid were refunded in full. Since brochures were already printed and publicity had been done this cancellation was costly for the Trust.

12. In the autumn of 2019 the Trust had appointed a Development officer to work initially half-time. This appointment enabled much more publicity to be done for the proposed 2020 events, and the new D.O. also took over many parts of the administrative work, notably the website and social media. Sadly, he was not successful in raising any significant money for the Trust, though fundraising was an important part of his role, and he worked hard at it. Most grant giving Trusts ceased making any donations or grants during Covid.

13. In order to help parents stuck at home with their children during lockdown, the Trust decided to publish “The Summer Camps Trust Book of Things to Do”, and to put up fifty selected activities

14. from it on the website, to be downloaded free by parents who would find them useful. This initiative attracted a good number of parents to the website, and it is hoped a number of them may decide to book summer camps once the pandemic is over. Some 250 books were sold.

15. The Trust spent some of the time during lockdown preparing for a better future. The training weeks for volunteer leaders are now recognised by The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme as recommended residential weeks for the Gold Award. A submission to government was also prepared, asking for start-up funding to allow the employment of a new CEO and the establishment of a proper office / headquarters. This submission will be sent in when the time seems most appropriate.

16. The Trust has suffered from the pandemic, though nowhere near as badly as some Trust members who have large buildings to run and staff to pay. Trustees are desperately sorry for those members who are seeing their whole business threatened by being unable to run any residential activity. The Trust has not asked members for their annual subscriptions during the Covid period.

17. The experience of Covid has, on the other hand, maybe presented an opportunity for many more good summer camps to attract higher numbers of children. The need to run about in green fields, to play and laugh with friends, to make new friends, to spend a week right away from screens or tablets, and to run about being active has been highlighted during the Covid period. The Summer Camps Trust will continue to argue that a proper national system of wellrun residential summer camps, as exists in many other countries, has a great deal to offer our country in the 2020s.

Chris Green, MA, MBE, Co-ordinator The Summer Camps Trust.

Regktered Charfty no. 1162580 Annual acc¢>unts for the 11 months to September 30th 2020 Secdon A: Statement of Hn•nd•l ac11￿1 mths io 7 mths to INC(ME RE(EIVED Jbscrlptlons from members Donations Try out Camps Volunteer h•d•r tr•lnlryJ Book sale5 2,250.fAI 9.845.59 165.15 9.OSOAXI 14.463.70 1593.51 13.854.25 24.908.75 EXPEP4DmJRE C•ntral Admlnlstr•t Swlary and on c¢5ts Insuranc•s Advertlslw cost IwKlud5r4bsSt• Book costs Member5hlp f••5 Tryout camps Volunteer le•d¢r trnlnlr 575.67 18.015.30 523.88 2.734.59 855.28 188.L 3,744.27 401.97 14.746.10 IA03AX) 26.63&99 17A51n7 Nel Incomel(Expendltur•) -12.782.74 7.4S7.68 Total funds brw¢ht forw•rd Total funds carfled forward 12.957.99 175.25 5.51K131 12,957.99 Sertlon B . B•lance sheet Stock C•sh •1 B•nk 7A27.IXJ 2561.94 12,957.99 9.98&94 12.957.99 Attruals Deposlts hekl -881.41 fy) 4282.28 175.2S 12.957.99 4nd John Waktston Acmi Hol￿ryUdIt0r W02n021