THE BEAUCHAMP LODGE SETTLEMENT
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : s*********r@t******************m.co.uk
Mission Statement
Vision A community where children, young people, and families are connected – to each other, to their neighbourhoods and to the environment we all share – so that they can thrive via a strong sense of place, of belonging and of the impact they can have on their world. Mission We do this via the exceptional learning and enrichment activities we offer on London’s only Floating Classroom, and in green and open spaces along the city’s waterways. Putting children, young people and families at the heart of the learning process, we encourage curiosity, delight in discovery and nurture a sense of connection with the natural world.
About This Cause
What We Do The Floating Classroom – a purpose-built electric barge moored in Little Venice near Paddington Station - provides imaginative and engaging learning experiences for children, young people and families inspired by London’s canals and adjacent green spaces. Our core offer is the Floating Classroom’s Education Programme for primary schools. These trips cover topics across all stages of the curriculum from Early Years and Foundation Stage (EYFS) to Upper Key Stage 2. Each module addresses specific curriculum requirements and learning objectives. In addition, we offer specific learning experiences to students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Alongside these standalone experiences for schools, we deliver: i) in depth, multi-session learning projects for schools ii) holiday and afterschool programmes for local children and young people. iii) enrichment activities and trips for community groups During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear that the impact of lockdowns, social isolation and ongoing uncertainty had increased the need for the experiences we offer. In response, we expanded and diversified our provision to broaden access to the Floating Classroom’s services. In line with this, we have significantly increased our out-of-school offer for children and young people, including: • Floating Classroom Forest School • HAF & Afterschool Puppet Club • Broadening Horizons on the Floating Classroom • Youth Empowerment Programme • Summer Holiday Activity Programme • Brighter Futures Creative Workshops for Youth Hubs In addition to our charitable work, we operate as a social enterprise: marketing the boat as the Electric Barge for commercial hire. Approximately 60% of the charity's funding comes from this source. Legal Status BLS is a registered charity (Charity Commission number 1105466) and a company limited by guarantee (Companies House number 04613979). BLS incorporated a trading subsidiary – The Electric Barge Limited (Companies House number 09952676) - for its commercial activities. The sole purpose of the trading subsidiary is to generate profit in support of BLS’s charitable aims. History BLS was set up in 1938 by Diana Marr-Johnson, along with social workers based in the Paddington area, to alleviate the poverty, loneliness and despair experienced by people caught between the aftermath of the Great Depression and the onset of World War Two. Diana Marr-Johnson wrote that as a Care Committee worker she was “familiar with the appalling housing conditions and miserable poverty of so many families, some kind of club appeared to be an urgent necessity. A place where people could escape for a while from their cramped leaking houses, drink tea in peace with their neighbours, perhaps eat food they had not cooked, perhaps even get help and advice about the many difficulties and sometimes injustices which beset their lives. A place where children could play, mothers rest, turbulent youths possibly find greater attractions than kicking dustbins around.” In the early 1940s the settlement established itself in a run-down building, Beauchamp Lodge, on the canal at Little Venice. BLS was primarily targeted at and run by local women and within a week of opening, 100 women from the Paddington area had joined. By 1942 its annual report reveals that it was already providing a canteen, a nursery, a clubroom for social activities, a youth club, and an advisory medical centre. BLS continued to provide a range of services to communities in Paddington for much of the next 60 years, including canoeing, narrow boat activities, teenage advisory service, credit union, a community café and small grants to those in need. Many of these activities were centred on the area’s canals, close to the charity’s office. In the early 2000s BLS took the decision to focus all of its energies on the activities it offered on its latest and boldest project: the Floating Classroom.