2023-12-31-accounts - Pathfinders Camp (Woodlarks)

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Registered Charity Number: 1171466

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

FOR

PATHFINDERS CAMP (WOODLARKS)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st ] DECEMBER 2023

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Charity Number

1171466

Trustees and Key Management Personnel

Ms Sam Dunn Ms Jo Fulford Mr Dave Grosvenor Ms Jane Pyzniuk Ms Karen Selwood

Role

Camp Leader & Trustee Trustee, Treasurer & Secretary Trustee Chair of Trustees Trustee

Bankers

Lloyds Bank plc Account held at Abbeymead, Gloucester branch

Address for correspondence: PO Box 1000 Andover BX1 1LT

PATHFINDERS CAMP (WOODLARKS)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st ] DECEMBER 2023

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND TRUSTEES’ REPORT

The trustees present the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31[st] December 2023. The trustees confirm that in their opinion, they have selected suitable accounting policies and applied them consistently; made judgements and estimates which are reasonable and prudent and have prepared the accounts on an on-going concern basis. The trustees believe that the financial statements comply with statutory requirements, the governing document of the charity and the Statement of Recommended Practice relating to charities.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document

Pathfinders Camp (Woodlarks) was registered with the Charity Commissioners (registration number 1171466) on 03[rd] February 2017. The charity is controlled by its governing document – Constitution of Pathfinders Camp (Woodlarks), dated 09[th] April 2016.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

The two new trustees appointed in September 2022 have grown into role and having a trustee base of 5 has felt like a positive development. Additional and/or replacement trustees will be identified by the current trustees. The criteria are that any new trustee would have experience and knowledge likely to benefit the charity. New trustees would be trained by existing trustees. We remained of the mind that it is important to have user representation at trustee level, and a couple of campers, who may have the abilities needed to represent the breadth of the user voice, were identified. One of our disabled campers is considering the implications, and we would hope to be able to appoint her to trusteeship at our spring planning meeting in 2024.

Risk management

A member of the leadership team is responsible for creating and updating a comprehensive risk assessment for all activities undertaken across the week at camp each year. This includes risks inherent in camp daily chores and routines as well as any risks that might ensue during the various activities and leisure opportunities on offer during the week.

All new candidates for Pathfinders Camp are asked to provide the names and addresses of two referees when they apply for a place at camp. This rule applies for both disabled campers and non-disabled volunteers. All volunteer helpers are required to undergo an Enhanced DBS check, that includes clearance to work with vulnerable adults and with children, as a part of their application process. New volunteers are given an initial training/orientation session when they arrive at camp, and then work with more experienced volunteers until they feel more confident in undertaking personal care tasks more independently. All campers (or their parent/guardian, where more appropriate) sign a declaration which states that they are aware that they will be supported by unqualified volunteer help whilst at camp. Campers and carers are encouraged to submit care plans and details of the support they will need whilst on camp, again as a part of the application process.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Income

See accounts

Expenditure

See accounts

PATHFINDERS CAMP (WOODLARKS)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st ] DECEMBER 2023

Public benefit

The trustees are confident that the charity offers services of real and practical value to the applicants who attend the annual camping holiday, whilst also providing affordable and valuable respite to family members and other carers. More widely, by bringing together (mostly) women of all ages above 16, with and without disabilities, it helps to foster inclusive relationships. It therefore complies with the responsibility placed on all charities under the Charities Act 2011 to demonstrate a public benefit.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Building upon the success of our previous working parties at Woodlarks Campsite, we recruited another group of our regular volunteers to provide a further working party during a weekend in April 2023. Much painting, varnishing and staining of doors, windowsills and fences was achieved, and a couple of clearings in the woodland were prepared and seeded with wildflower seeds.

As we had hoped, our accreditation as an Approved Activity Provider (AAP) with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, paid handsome dividends and we were fortunate enough to recruit 14 candidates, all aiming to use their engagement with Pathfinders Camp as the residential element of their Gold Award. The fact that we are now able to advertise our opportunity on the DofE website has widened our reach and has resulted in an increase in the number of volunteers available to support our disabled campers.

Our camp in 2023 was attended by 85 people, representing an increase upon the figure of 69 people who attended in 2022, which was the first post-COVID Pathfinders Camp. The total population at Pathfinders Camp in August 2023 comprised 29 disabled campers (up from 23 in 2022) and 56 non-disabled volunteers (up from 46 in 2022). Within that total, the leadership group, or ‘crew’, comprised 19 people, whose roles ensured that the 66 other Pathfinders were able to participate in a week’s camping holiday with a full programme of activities, on-site.

Of the disabled campers, 23 had been to Pathfinders previously (up from 19 in 2022) and 6 were new campers (up from 4 in 2022), some of whom may have attended other camps at Woodlarks and some who had never camped anywhere previously. Of the volunteer helpers, 22 were ‘first time’ volunteers (up from only 7 in 2022) and of those 22 new volunteers, 14 were DofE Gold Award candidates, as mentioned above. The remaining 34 volunteers (down from 39 in 2022), were returning to Pathfinders Camp, and again, some members of this group have been helping at camp for 40 or 50 years. Thus, Pathfinders Camp continues to maintain a loyal group of regular attendees but still enables and actively encourages new campers and new volunteers to take part. The youngest attendee this year was 16 years old, and the eldest attendee was 72.

Although Pathfinders Camp is set up primarily as a provision for women, 8 men attended the 2023 camp. Male attendees are predominantly members of the leadership group and usually have no personal care responsibilities.

Some of this data has been summarised as an impact statement, attached here as Appendix 1.

The focused training session for volunteer helpers, first delivered to the entire volunteer cohort in August 2022, was deemed to be so successful, that it has been incorporated permanently into our operating procedures. The entire package, which includes manual handling, safeguarding, emergency procedures, privacy and dignity, amongst other related topics, was again delivered to all helpers, including the crew.

PATHFINDERS CAMP (WOODLARKS)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st ] DECEMBER 2023

It remains an important tradition within Pathfinders Camp that everyone attending pays the same level of camp fees, whether they attend as a disabled camper, as a volunteer helper or as a member of the leadership team or ‘crew’. This enables the charity to keep the cost of the holiday as low as possible, with a view to ensuring that even where attendees may be totally reliant upon benefits for their income, attending Pathfinders Camp should remain a possibility. In addition to this general principle, there is a mechanism whereby all or part of the camp fee can be waived for an individual, at the Trustees’ discretion, where funds are tight for whatever reason. This rule can be applied both for disabled campers and volunteers. The level of donations received each year has thus far allowed these costs to be absorbed without the need to ‘ringfence’ a separate amount for this purpose.

Two of our trustees began making tentative enquiries in April 2023 about the possibility of creating a permanent wheelchair accessible orienteering course in the woodlands at Woodlarks Campsite. We identified the local orienteering club and recruited their mapping officer to create an accurate map of the campsite, which could form the foundation of such an orienteering course. He was so enthusiastic about the project that he volunteered to provide the mapping free of charge and to design the course in conjunction with us. He is hoping to be able to have all in place to enable us to offer this activity to all users of Woodlarks Campsite, from the beginning of the 2024 camping season.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Reserves policy & financial risk

Our policy is to maintain a cash reserve between 50% and 100% of the expenditure of the previous year’s camp. This “buffer” enables us to continue our policy of keeping costs to disabled campers and volunteer helpers as low and affordable as possible, whilst at the same time reducing any financial risk to the charity.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

The trustees foresee no changes in their objectives in the forthcoming year.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP and FRS 102;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.

PATHFINDERS CAMP (WOODLARKS)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st ] DECEMBER 2023

The trustees are responsible for keeping sufficient accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

SIGNED BY THE CHAIR OF TRUSTEES

Jane Pyzniuk

Date: 7[th] October 2024

PATHFINDERS CAMP (WOODLARKS) REPORT OF THE CAMP LEADER FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st ] DECEMBER 2023

ACTIVITIES

The change in the ‘shape’ of the week, with campers and helpers arriving on Sunday, rather than Saturday, and departing on the Friday, continued to work well in 2023, having been trialled in 2022. We continue to work on how to improve the ‘exit plan’ on Friday to make it as good as possible, looking at the structure of the afternoon and making sure it is filled with fun before folks go home.

Activities on offer were very well received with the mobile accessible climbing wall returning, thanks to the Outdoor Education Company. We booked them for 2 days, allowing a more relaxed and less time-pressured experience and enabled everyone who wanted to scale the climbing wall to do so. We used both the aerial runway and wheelchair swing facilities on site, and these are always popular with attendees. We also enjoyed a ‘cattle drive’ (outdoor teambuilding fun on the Sunday afternoon), archery sessions, quiz night, campfires, a wide game and a party night.

We reopened to day visitors (usually family or friends of attendees or past participants). One of our day visitors, a long time Woodlarks volunteer, with both Pathfinders Camp and Explorers Camp, came along to run Archery sessions, which were held down in Green Valley and were very much enjoyed. We were thrilled to be back to cooking outdoors (with the site being under a fire ban the previous year) and this enabled us to cook ‘hike lunches’ out in the woods with small groups. This worked well, having been trialled in 2022 (albeit with cold lunches), and enables this to be a scheduled team activity, undertaken with a specific member of crew helping to organise and support teams to enjoy the wider Woodlarks site and facilities.

The arts & craft-based activities, always remain popular for the ‘take home’ items which folks could make linked to our ‘Wild West’ theme, including keyrings, bracelets, candle jars (for use with battery powered tea lights) and making decorations for use at party night.

INCIDENTS

No significant issues were seen, other than standard first aid incidents, such as one might expect to see when camping with a large group.

REFLECTIONS

It was nice to see that COVID has not dulled the appeal of Pathfinders Camp to both disabled participants and volunteers, and the recruitment of Duke of Edinburgh participants for the residential section of their Gold award has had a big impact on the number of volunteers attending. Camp 2023 brought us back up to increased numbers coming in at 85 attendees. 12 disabled applicants were not offered places, due to being over-subscribed, and 2 folk dropped out. Whilst this continues to be disappointing to those who do not get a space, it is a reflection of the popularity of Pathfinders.

The implementation of the revised process where disabled applicant places are allocated by drawing ‘names out of the hat' following a six-week application period, proves to be a fair and equitable process. This replaced the pre-COVID ‘first past the post’ process, where, if an individual had to wait for assistance from others in completing the application (whether from a family member or a key worker in a residential setting) meant that folk who couldn’t get the form turned around and posted back quickly frequently missed out on the opportunity to join us.

PATHFINDERS CAMP (WOODLARKS)

REPORT OF THE CAMP LEADER FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st ] DECEMBER 2023

Yet again, everyone involved with camp, whether in person, in crew, virtually in the background or coming to camp as participants, have done a fantastic job in facilitating Pathfinders and ensuring a good fun-filled week is on offer and able to be enjoyed by all participants.

The main development for 2024 camp, will be moving away from paper applications and with the designing of a new, online application system by one of our long-time volunteers, who is a software engineer in their ‘day job’. It is hoped that this will continue to move Pathfinders forward from a technology perspective, but also to appeal to the expectations of younger attendees, with an easy to use, immediately available application. The aim of the design is for the process to be as accessible as possible and allow more folk to be able to fill it out without having to rely on outside assistance to fill in a manual paper-based application.

SIGNED BY THE CAMP LEADER

Sam Dunn

Date: 8[th] October 2024

PATHFINDERS CAMP (WOODLARKS)

REPORT OF THE TREASURER FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st ] DECEMBER 2023

Notes INCOMING RESOURCES Camp fees 1 Donations 2 Fundraising 3 Total incoming resources RESOURCES EXPENDED Campsite fees 4 Food 5 Activities 6 Planning and administration 7 Merchandising 8 Donations 9 Other 10 Total resources expended NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD Notes	2023 £ 13,334.39 1,758.92 1,951.24 17,044.55 8,176.00 3,891.84 2,119.52 2,014.45 0.00 148.57 486.66 16,837.04 207.51 7,557.03 7,764.54	2022 £ 7,927.65 240.93 2,579.76
		10,748.34
		5,335.00 3,839.26 1,827.11 1,612.17 1,051.83 0.00 325.00

		13,990.37

		-3,242.03
		10,799.06
		7,557.03

Fees from campers and volunteer helpers
Significant donors:
Jane Holmes, Kitty Holmes, Carol Drury, Mike Pumford & Lizzy Bull
Corporate benefactors
Fundraising throughout the year – noteworthy contributions from:
Clitheroe Mountaineering Club
Merchandising
‘Pennies for Pathfinders’ collecting tins, Amazon Smile, easyfundraising and PayPal
Fees to Woodlarks Campsite Trust inc. electricity and gas
Food for campers and volunteers inc. tuck shop
Activities put on at camp
Costs of consumables other than food at camp and any administration costs such as postage and DBS checks
Purchase of stock for fundraising
Donations to Woodlarks Camp Site Trust for on-site facilities
Financial assistance for participants unable to afford their camp fees

SIGNED BY TREASURER

Jo Fulford

Date: 9[th] October 2024

PATHFINDERS CAMP (WOODLARKS)

APPENDICES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st ] DECEMBER 2023

APPENDIX 1 – IMPACT STATEMENT

We have chosen to represent the impact of Pathfinders Camp (Woodlarks) graphically to amplify some of the key statistics for camp this year.