AUTUMN 2019 UPDATE

We were so busy over the Summer that we missed our Summer update and Autumn is already passing on. The photo above of the Virginia Creeper on the Centre was taken last week whilst it was still in its Autumn glory. Most of the leaves have now fallen. The seasons move on and so does the Centre. We are very proud to announce the news below:

We have just been inspected for and awarded the AHOEC Gold Standard. This is the highest accreditation for our sector and is the Outdoor Centre equivalent of an OFSTED Very Good to Outstanding. We were assessed in 9 areas such as Learning & Development, Safety Management and Customer Care. All 59 criteria had to average at a least very good standard to get this accreditation.
It is the result of a tremendous team effort from all the staff at Deanfield to make the Centre a great place to visit.

Deanfield is very much about the outdoors and we have even tried to bring a bit of it to our dining room! A new 'living wall' reflects the forest we are surrounded by and is enjoyed by all who dine with us. New paint on the walls, new curtains and plants complete the theme.

As well as our dining room we have also given our lounge a complete refurb. A complete redecoration including new carpet, curtains and chairs that hopefully creates a warm homely feel for relaxing in or using as a meeting room.

Deanfield is always developing and improving (as this Blog shows) and there are several more developments in the pipeline that we look forward to telling you about in our Winter update.

DFSC Spring 2019 Update

The Bluebells are at their peak at the moment, soon to be gone for another year.

This is the scene from our nest box yesterday. Mum and Dad are busy feeding 9 Blue Tit chicks that hatched over the weekend. The live feed goes to a TV in our field studies lab where groups base themselves for our stream study.

The forest sheep have been regular visitors outside the Centre through the Spring, grazing on the grass in the village.

Steam trains are also again regular visitors to the village with their seasonal timetable in operation several days a week.

The end of an era...we recently wished Lyn a happy retirement after 27 years working at the Centre as a cleaner!  Lyn was our longest serving member of staff and we gave her a good send off with a surprise staff gathering where we presented her with a long service award and retirement gifts.

We have also been busy over the last few months doing some bathroom refurbishment. Below is one of two showers on the first floor that have been given a new look with fresh tiles and fittings and are now operational

DFSC Winter Update

In truth we should be calling this the Spring Update as we have got there already and also had a very unseasonably warm Feb. This has been great for our groups who at the same time last year were battling snow. The only downside is its likely association with global warming - something that is affecting us all. We try to do our bit with regard to this and educating the young people who visit us about the importance of the environment.

We started the last Blog post with an historical note and have another for this time. A local historian has been in touch and informed us of part of the building's history that we were not familiar with. During the Second World War, as well as partial occupation by the American army, the Centre building was used to train some of the Womens Land Army

 Training was given to women 'aged between 18 to 40 of good physique'. A lot of the women trained at the Centre were put to work in the Nags Head area (which is now a Nature Reserve that many of our groups visit). Some were put to work alongside the 129th Company of the Royal Engineers who felled trees. They would be required to work up to 48 hours per week and were paid 32 shillings.

Winter is often a time when staff at the Centre do various training courses. As well as updating Health and Hygine L3; doing a Kitchen Managers Course; Manual Handling update; safeguarding training etc. Jane, our Cook-in-Charge, has also received fire extinguisher training alongside the rest of the staff team. She insists she has never burnt the food she cooks! But it is always best to be prepared. Below Jane demonstrates how to give your pizzas a little extra CO2!

In other news - we have been very busy over the winter refurbishing some of our bathroom areas with new showers and basins. The girls using the first floor and 'flat' will be particularly pleased with the upgraded facilities once they are completed. A teaser photo below and we will show this finished article in the next blog post.

Providing a warm welcome to our groups has always been a top priority for us. When we did have the cold weather we found that with lots of children coming in and out of the back door it could get cold and draughty. We've therefore now installed a new heater into the entrance lobby to warm it up as you enter the building.

We are always trying to look for new activities to extend the curriculum options we offer at the Centre. Recently we have developed and resourced a new activity of "Rockets". This draws on many S.T.E.M. areas introduced in a fun and exciting way. It is on offer to our groups as an hour + session alongside other activities or as an evening activity. The video below demonstrates the launch technique once groups have constructed their 'Eggscape Capsules'