Posts

Why Forest Schools Can Benefit From An Outdoor Classroom or Shelter

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with water butt and roof guttering system

with water butt and roof guttering system

We have undertaken a lot of work recently in supplying schools with outdoor classrooms or shelters for their forest school programmes. Some of these have included fire pits in the middle, some have been totally enclosed to provide shade and shelter from the elements and some even have educational renewable energy systems for environmental awareness which include wind turbines and solar panels. And there is good reason why –

Through the Forest School principles of learning, we can successfully say that we have played a major part in bringing outdoor learning to life, whilst improving children’s ability to work co-operatively and whilst offering them opportunities to take risks, make choices and initiate learning. All of the children who have passed through the programme so far have experienced nature first hand through a series of engaging and achievable tasks.

When children embark on outdoor learning they need to feel safe and their basic needs need to be met. A shelter or outdoor classroom from the Hideout House Company can provide much needed warmth, safety and shelter that children need to embark on their outdoor learning programmes.

For further information on how we can work with your school and your Forest School programme (including funding opportunities and grants which are available), then please contact the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

Seating and fire pit area

Seating and fire pit area

Funding and Grants for Outdoor Classrooms

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A question for you – and that is:

Does your school have sufficient funds in the school budget to pay for your playground/outdoor learning/outdoor classroom projects and if not, do you have enough time to try and source external funding to pay for it?

If the answer to the above is no, then you might want to have a chat with us.

We have invested a lot of our time and energy trying to understand how schools can successfully find alternative ways of paying for our products and it is working as we have helped a lot of schools recently get full funding for their project. We will work alongside you and tell you how we can help you with applying for grants and which grants are applicable to you; we will tell you how you can now potentially lease our products; we will tell you how you might be able to generate extra income by letting out your existing facilities; we will tell you about how to set up a crowdfunding website and approach local companies for sponsorship. And we have a unique PTA fundraising events night which is something no-one else is doing.

We are more than happy to provide testimonials or put you in contact with schools we have worked with on the above.

If you would like to talk further with us about how we can help your school with funding opportunities, then please contact us on 01865 858982 or email info@hideouthouse.com

solar panel and wind turbine system

eco outdoor classroom

 

Tesco Bags of Help Grant Scheme For Schools

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The Tesco Bags of Help programme has changed slightly as of this August. Applicants can now apply all year round and they will be making multiple grant awards each month. Application and decision times are therefore hopefully greatly reduced.

However, the amounts they will give out are reduced to either £1000, £2000, or £5000.

Applications are now open and you can apply whether you have been previously funded or not.

Programme Information

The new programme is very similar to the old one. Their aim is to support projects which will “promote community participation in the development and use of outdoor spaces”.

What do they mean by this?

They will fund projects that deliver either a physical environmental improvement or encourage the use and long term sustainability of outdoor spaces.

Any non-profits, including schools, are eligible to apply. Grants can be the full amount a project needs, or can just provide a contribution towards the costs.

As we specialise in supplying products to schools which meet their grant funding criteria, then please do visit our website www.hideouthouse.com to find out a bit more about what we as the Hideout House Company do or give us a call to discuss how we can help you with your application bid.

For further information on the Tesco Bags of Help grant please visit:

https://www.groundwork.org.uk/Sites/tescocommunityscheme/pages/Category/apply-for-a-boh-grant-tes2

The Hideout House Company Ltd

Tel: 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

www.hideouthouse.com

An Alternative Way For Schools To Fund Outdoor Classrooms

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Enclosed octagonal and rectangular classrooms

Enclosed octagonal and rectangular classrooms

We sell a lot of outdoor classrooms to schools and ever more so those which are fully enclosed with solid wall panels and glazed panels. The reason being is that schools can use them all year round without worrying about the elements (we can also insulate them if they were going to be heated) plus they can use them as buildings which the wider community can utilise and benefit from too.

But the challenge is always funding or lack of it to be more precise. “Love them but we have no budget” is the usual response I hear from head teachers or school business managers. There are undoubtedly grants which you can apply for which will fund these type of buildings but let’s assume that there is no room in the school budget to afford these outdoor classrooms and you cannot get a grant. But you want and need an outdoor classroom for your school. So we have thought “outside of the box” on this issue and come up with following proposal.

Firstly, you can take out an operating lease on these type of buildings (this applies to your school whether it is an academy or within local authority control) over a typical period of 3 years where at the end of the lease period the school then has the option to return the equipment with no further payments or extend the agreement for one final year.

  • If the school extends for a final year the quarterly payments will be charged at ‘fair market value’, typically no more than 60% of the quarterly repayments on the original 3 year lease
  • At the end of the fourth year the equipment is then abandoned to the school with no more rentals to pay, no title is passed to the school

So you have the benefit of the asset now but can spread the payments over a period of time or school budget accounting periods. But we still haven’t got the money to pay for the lease payments I hear you cry.

By way of an example incidentally, a £12,000 enclosed outdoor classroom would cost £80 to rent per week over a three year period.

First question to ask yourself…..could the building be let out for before and after school clubs for example and if so, would you have any idea what a school could charge for this? Could the PTA use it or some of the money they raise each year be used to offset the lease payments?

or we have an association with a company who rent out school premises such as sports facilities or halls (for further information on this see my blog link given below). In terms of hiring halls for example they have on their books some smaller schools in a rural setting earning £10-15k per year but the larger halls in busier cities can attract up to £60k of revenue (obviously dependent on the types of activities allowed). They also have an IT system which does all of the administration for the bookings and they do all of the marketing as well – in return for this, they ask for a commission for all bookings taken. All the school has to do is obviously have someone on hand i.e. site manager, caretaker – to let people in and out.

So if a school were to utilise this service, this would hopefully generate enough extra income to pay for the outdoor classroom leasing payments. You already have the school asset so you need to put it out work. But I am well aware that this would have to be run past Governors and many questions would be asked! See therefore some testimonials below from schools who are already using this system.

But all I am trying to do is find a way of not just giving up and saying there is no money. That would be very un-British!

Angela Mellish – Bursar School: St Bernards

QUOTE: “We wouldn’t be without BookingsPlus! It has saved us so much time with the speedy invoicing and online payments. We recently had the auditors in who commented that the system was an auditors dream. The audit trail is tight, and there is a good level of control within the system such as not being able to delete invoices and payments. The ability to add reasons to credit notes and voided invoices provides the perfect picture as to what is happening. From booking through to payment, it is easy to keep track of everything. The auditors said they would recommend the system to other schools, and so would I”

Steve Munday – Head Teacher William Edwards School

QUOTE: “The BookingsPlus system gives us a significant revenue boost, which we have been able to invest in ICT/ technology, sporting equipment and staffing to ensure that we can provide the best possible learning environments and opportunities for our students. Equally importantly it has helped us to become an integral part of the local community by giving local groups, charities and organisations the chance to use our exceptional facilities. Everybody wins!”

Blog on renting out premises

Generate Money for Your School – Rent Out Your Premises

For further information on the above or to explore opportunities how we can help  your school get funding for our outdoor classrooms, please call 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

www.hideouthouse.com

4m x 3m enclosed outdoor classroom

4m x 3m enclosed outdoor classroom

Grants for Schools – Tesco’s Bags of Help Grant

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Tescos are currently offering a grant which schools are eligible to apply for and is a funding scheme which is giving grants of £8 – £12,000 for projects which improve green spaces in communities. These may include building new pocket parks, sports facilities, woodland walks, community gardens and school playgrounds.

Basically they want to fund schemes which will get people out and about and enjoying the great outdoors more, by making physical improvements to open spaces. School playgrounds fall therefore within their funding remits.

Outcomes Tesco wishes to achieve:

Projects must lead to: Physical Improvement of an Open Space

Plus at least one (and as many as possible) of the following outcomes:

  • Protecting or improving biodiversity
  • Promoting physical activity
  • Improving wellbeing
  • Increasing community safety
  • Mitigating or adapting to climate change
  • Improving access to open spaces by under-represented groups

They value any volunteering opportunities created by the project and are interested to know how the scheme will be promoted in the community. The scheme has to benefit the wider local community and not just be for the exclusive use of the school.

Things Tesco want applicants to provide: Organisational constitution, photograph of site as it is now, landowner permission form (this is downloadable, and is just signed off by the landowner).

Tesco look like they want to fund the projects mostly themselves. Match funding can be up to £4000. This means that a total project could cost up to £12,000 – 16,000. But no more.

Decisions on grants will be made at the beginning of September, and paid in Mid-November.

This is a great opportunity to get some funding towards this type of project. Approx. 1 in 4 applicants received a grant in the last open window.

How it works is that the applicant has to say how they would spend £8000, £10000, or £12000 to improve their local space. If the project is successful, then it goes into a Tesco store and customer’s votes decides which amount (of those three) it gets.

Information you’ve got to provide includes project information, pictures of the condition of the area currently and information on local community support.

The deadline for applications is June 3rd!

At the Hideout House Company, this is an area we specialise in as we are able to supply products for schools which meet and fulfill the criteria and outcomes of this particular grant.

For further information on our products please visit www.hideouthouse.com and if you would also like further information on this grant and how we can help, please contact us on 01865 858982 or send an email to info@hideouthouse.com

How To Fund Your School Playground Equipment Project

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We have worked with numerous schools these past 16 years helping them raise funds for playground equipment projects so as a result of this, we have built up a useful knowledge bank of what works and how you can do this successfully and effectively. But sadly there is no easy magic wand which you can wave to immediately muster up the required pot of gold, these projects do take time and with dollops of determination and true grit on top! You need to think outside of the box as well to better your chances of securing funds faster.

You also need to bear in mind that for all of the options open to you as listed below, it might be a mixture of a few of them which gets you to your designated target so it is always best to initially put out as many rods as possible because you never know which big fish might bite first.

1) School Budget – this may sound completely obvious but if the school can donate any funds from its own budget or devolved capital budget, then this is a good start. It financially and psychologically gets you off the starting blocks but also a lot of funders like to see some sort of match funding (or at least a contribution) from the school.
2) Your LEA – put in a call to your local education authority to see if they are running any specific or relevant grant programmes for schools or initiatives in their area. For example, we sold last year an eco outdoor classroom with a living sedum roof to a school in South West London as there was a grant programme to promote cleaner and healthier air in the Borough.
3) Get your PTA on board – so much of our work nowadays comes directly from the efforts of PTAs, God bless them! If you have an active PTA, give them this as their next major project to raise money for but talk to us first about how we can devise some novel & creative fundraising ideas for you. For example, last year we worked with a primary school on developing a pedal powered eco outdoor classroom – so to raise money for this, we put together a pedal powered disco event where the children and parents had to cycle on these special dynamo bikes to produce enough electricity to power up the disco. If they stopped pedalling, so did the music! But more importantly it raised a lot of money because the event enjoyed a very high attendance (because it was novel and fun) but also the PTA charged for both attendance and got everyone to sponsor a bike rider. Plus the event was very relevant to what they were trying to raise money for.
4) Crowd Funding – this is the way the world is going and you need to be part of it. These websites are an excellent way of spreading the news about your project and message to a far wider audience plus you can constantly update them with news, initiatives, targets reached, videos etc. Have a look at the link below for a school in Norfolk who have done this really well and have actually gone over their target amount.
Crowd Funder Brooke School
There are also some other specialist educational crowd funding websites such as Hubbub.
5) Commercial Sponsorship and Donations – get together a list of potential companies you could approach who might donate some money towards your project. But I have seen so many schools do this really badly and as a result, consequently don’t get anywhere. The most important thing is to put yourselves in the shoes of the person or organisation being approached – how are you going to make them part with some cash to help you? We have actually published a whole paper on this subject matter and how you can do it successfully. Please contact us for further details.
6) Individuals – similar to above. Do you know of any local wealthy or benevolent individual who could help out? If you don’t ask, you don’t get. A school we worked with in Lancashire personally approached the owner and MD of a local oil company with the children listing all of the reasons why this new school playground equipment would benefit them. They were just as surprised as I was when he wrote back with a cheque for £10K attached!
7) Grants – this is a whole big subject worthy of a separate blog but suffice it to say there are numerous grants out there which could possibly fund or partially fund your project. But you have to know where to look for them and you have to know how to apply for them correctly. With the harsh winds of austerity blowing ever more into the educational sector, the competition for these grants has become ever greater. But we have a lot of experience here and without wishing to brag, we took on six school projects earlier this year to see if we could help them access grant money to pay for our products we had quoted for. Five of them we have successfully helped get the required funding for – so not a bad hit rate.

So if you would like any further advice on any of the above or if you have a specific upcoming project in mind, then please contact us as below:

Simon Fearnehough on 01865 858982 or email: simon@hideouthouse.com or visit School Grant Funding