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2024-12-31-accounts

Nature of Learning Foundation (Charitable Incorporated Organisation)

Trustees’ Annual Report for the Year Ending 31 December 2024

Contents

1. Objectives and Activities

  1. Achievements and Performance

  2. Financial Review

  3. Structure, Governance and Management

1. Objectives and Activities

The Nature of Learning Foundation (also referred to as NOLF) is a grant-giving charitable organisation that aims to enable opportunities for people to benefit from the natural world who encounter barriers to such opportunities.

Our Charitable Objective:

The advancement of education for the public benefit by making grants to enable children, young people and adults who may otherwise be excluded by socio-economic factors or disability to access the educational opportunities and experiences in the natural world offered by recognised Forest School Association forest school providers.

During 2024, the trustees continued to embed and apply the charity’s systems and policies developed in its earlier years. This included continued use of our application forms, scoring matrix, outcome letters and review tools. We also began receiving and processing grant applications and distributing funds in alignment with our charitable objectives.

Grant Making Guidelines:

Funds must be used only to meet the NoLF charitable aims. They cannot be used to grow a business or fund general business operations or infrastructure.

Applications can be made by requesting, completing and returning an application form to our registered address or by email to: 📧 funding@natureoflearningfoundation.org.uk

Public Benefit Statement:

In explaining how the charity's activities are striving for public benefit in its work, the trustees have had due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and confirm that the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 have been met.

2. Achievements and Performance

In 2024, the Trustees met 4 times to progress our objectives and review applications. We distributed a total of £881 in grant funding, enabling access to nature-based learning experiences for children and young people who would otherwise face barriers.

We received a donation of £500. These funds were directed to grants supporting individuals and organisations in line with our grant-making policy.

At the end of the year, we retained a modest surplus which we will carry forward to continue and expand our grant-making activities in 2025.

Funding efforts

In 2024, the trustees worked with determination to identify and pursue suitable funding opportunities to support the charity’s mission. We successfully submitted 10 funding applications to a range of grant-making bodies and other potential funders, securing £500 during the year. While not every application was successful, each has helped us strengthen our approach, build valuable relationships, and increase our visibility. We remain confident that these efforts will lead to greater funding success in the coming year.

Beneficiary Impact Statement

"Forest School has played a vital part of my children's life for the last 5 years. It is where they socialize, exercise, meet friends, learn crafts, and most importantly feel safe. It's their community. My children home school as neither of them thrived in mainstream school. Through the last few years they have both been diagnosed as neurodivergent, which has a lot to do with their special needs. My son, who's ADHD, likes to go twice a week. He loves to meet his friends, run around, climb trees, play games and be noisy. My daughter, who is presently being diagnosed with autism, is a very delicate, shy and sensitive child, but she

loved to go and make crafts and to hang out with Sarah and Heather, who have become two major mentors in her life. They have helped her come out of her shell, feel safe and grow in confidence — so much so that now she loves to help out with the small children. This gives her responsibility and pride. I myself am disabled and often immobile, so this extended family is honestly a lifeline for my children, and I truly don't know how I would have coped without it. When I have been financially troubled, NOLF funded sessions so the children won't go without. Forest School is not just a club. It is a community, extended family and a safe place for children to be nurtured — and a place of great fun and happiness. I could not be more thankful to be part of it."

— Daisy Sparling

3. Financial Review

The Charity’s funds were held in a combination of a Saffron Building Society account (savings), and a Co-op account (current).

The income (grants, donations, interest) was £539. The expenditure was £881

Year-end balance: £381

The charity does not currently operate a reserves policy, given its early-stage and low-scale operation. However, trustees aim to retain sufficient funds to enable continuity of grants across financial years.

The Trustees have reviewed the financial and operational risks facing the charity and are satisfied that reasonable steps are in place to mitigate these risks.

The charity remains a going concern with adequate resources for the foreseeable future.

4. Structure, Governance and Management

Constitution of the Nature of Learning Foundation (NOLF)

NOLF is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) , which is a legal form designed specifically for charities. This structure allows the charity to:

NOLF is governed by a constitution document that outlines:

The Foundation’s governance model is a foundation model meaning the trustees are the only members of the organisation.

Trustee Recruitment Methods

Trustee recruitment at NOLF typically follows a process that ensures alignment with the charity’s values and legal responsibilities. The process includes:

Advertising Roles

Selection Process

• Prospective trustees are invited to attend an initial board meeting as an observer, providing an opportunity to understand the charity’s work and meet existing trustees.

Appointment

to the board in accordance with the charity’s constitution.

Registered Name: Nature of Learning Foundation

Also Known As: NoLF

Charity Registration Number: 1201558

Registered Address: 15 Redgates Lane Sewards End Saffron Walden CB10 2LW

Trustees in 2024:

The charity is governed by its Constitution and is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).

Approved by the Board of Trustees on [insert date of approval] and signed on their behalf by:

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