Scottish Disability Sport wishes to celebrate the work of Trefoil and their ongoing dedicated support to young people with a disability in Scotland. Trefoil’s story began following the outbreak of World War II after some volunteers from the St Abbs Girl Guides took the initiative to ensure a group of children with a physical disability were cared for. This service soon developed into a formalised educational established named the “Trefoil School” and carried an ethos of providing as normal a life as possible during the war years. The guiding principle of the school was that every child should experience a sense of achievement and practical skills were taught to reflect the origins and ongoing support from the Guide movement.
The Trefoil School continued to develop through the decades with their core values still driving their work for children with additional support needs. A dedicated group of volunteers and supporters maintained significant fundraising efforts and the school was soon able to buy a large property and surrounding grounds on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Social care and education reforms in the 1970s meant that local authorities were increasingly responsible for the education of children with additional support needs, so an alternative use of the house and estate was sought and soon the Trefoil Holiday Centre opened in 1976. This ensured children who were disadvantaged at the time had a relatively inexpensive holiday option in an environment where staff had the requisite skills to support their needs.
As legislation and regulation of care services continued to be more stringent usage declined so the trustees decided to cease provision of direct services and seek alternative ways to follow their principles. Leasing the property to Edinburgh Council and the sale of some other land allowed the group to maintain its charitable purpose through providing grants to individuals in need and smaller groups with similar aims. After a few more tenancies, and amidst the considerable ups and downs of a fluctuating market, the estate was finally sold in 2015. Trefoil’s investment portfolio increased and in turn allowed the charity to concentrate on developing their core work around grant awards to both individuals and organisations and their reinvigorated holiday fund.
SDS met with Trefoil in 2018 to discuss how we could support each other’s work. SDS member branches offers a national structure of autonomous bodies whose principles and core objectives aligned neatly with Trefoil’s. After discussion, an agreed standardised format was produced for branches to complete an application process that reflected the main outcomes of Trefoil’s aims as a charity. Branches who were able to run projects and programmes that meet these outcomes and in a state of readiness to deliver them were encouraged to apply for consideration by the Trefoil board. This means that every application is given the opportunity to succeed on its own merits whilst staying within the parameters of the organisation’s aims and objectives. This approach has resulted in 10 SDS branches so far being supported by Trefoil by a total exceeding £50,000 since our first meeting in 2018. The money has gone towards on-the-ground delivery of events, sessions and positive experiences for young people with a disability from the Borders and Dumfries & Galloway in the south all the way through to the Highlands in the north, with many other areas in between. SDS is delighted to be involved in delivering Trefoil’s admirable objectives through the fine work of our branches and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with the organisation.
Much of the information above was taken from the short history of the Trefoil organisation. The full version can be found on its website www.trefoil.org.uk where you will find out much more about this fine organisation.