About Us
Making A Difference
Ways To Give
Apply For A Grant
Professional Advisors
Foundation News
Campaigns |
 |
| Sign up to receive our e-newsletters! |
 |
 . |
The Meadows School is a school for children with acute Special Education Needs, many of the children are disadvantaged socially and come from low income families throughout County Durham or are in the care of the local authority. The Friends of The Meadows School was formed to raise funds to provide additional out of hours learning and experiences for the children who attend the school and live within the community.
“ I had the best experience of my life but also the hardest test I've ever had. "
County Durham Foundation provided funding to enable a group of young people from the Meadows School to participate in the Tall Ships Festival. The group hired a sailing vessel from the Cirdon Trust to provide a five day tall ships sailing experience for the young people who were nominated by the school as being those who would thrive the most from the experience and had made an effort with their learning over the past three to four months.
Eight young people including three young people who are in foster care were able to participate and enjoy the five day sailing experience. They were given the opportunity to work on their team building skills, face new challenges and raise their self esteem.
As many of the children who attend the school are from the most disadvantaged areas of the county, this opportunity to spend time away from their normal surroundings and take part in activities was made even more special and the trip provided them with experiential learning that in the future will promote key/social skills.
This experience has been a valuable opportunity for those who attended to appreciate the wider world beyond their locality. One of the young people commented;
“The hardest bit was people telling me what to do. The best bit was stopping at Holy Island. The night sail was difficult and I would never do it again. If I went again I would do more fishing. Thank you.”
