Feedback from visiting groups!
As a Centre it is very important to us to listen to the groups that have been here, and pick up on what works, what doesn't and what we could do better. As a result we now produce a feedback form that we send along with a group's invoice asking for their views on the Centre and how we do things.
Sometimes, in addition to this, we get thank you cards and letters from youth groups and school groups that have enjoyed their stays here; this means a lot to our staff and instructors it is great to hear that you have had a good time!
At the beginning of the year we had a staff day to think about the coming season, a chance to consider what the Centre means to us, and what we hope it means to those that come here. You can see the results of that day in another article on this newsdesk; but it is very interesting to see the ideas we expressed coming out in the thoughts of the children.
One of the hopes we had was that we would help build 'good memories' for the children, we certainly seemed to have done that for one of the school groups that visited us at the beginning of July! They said:
"Viney Hill is the best holiday I have ever been to, it was wicked!"
"I will never forget the mountain biking when we went up the hill and I was the only one that got up the hill non stop".
"A memory for me that I will always remember is getting filthy from going down the mudslides, and going abseiling"
Seeing children accomplishing something they hadn't done before, and maybe felt they couldn't do is very rewarding for our instructors:
"I still can't believe I got to the top when we climbed the side of the building (climbing wall)"
Some of the children just couldn't decide what they liked best!
"Writing this letter was really hard because I couldn't think of a good enough word to describe it, it was all so good!"
Some of the children enjoyed their activities so much they carried on doing them when they got home therefore developing new interests and hobbies:
"I very much enjoyed the activities, I liked rock climbing so much I have taken it up at home".
One thought we had as a staff team was that the Christian ethos of the Centre can be worked out in the way we do things, and how we treat people. Hopefully, that Christian atmosphere brings something to the experience of the non-church groups that visit as well as those that run their own spiritual programmes. The children on this visit seemed to appreciate the input they received:
"Thank you for praying for us in September when we are all in our new high schools".
Maybe the last word on that should be given to the class teacher that accompanied them:
"The whole place has a unique atmosphere and is a special place to be!"
It is so exciting to see the hopes and aspirations our staff have, coming out in the words of the children who visit. This particular group will be moving up to senior school in September, we wish them every blessing for the future and hope that they will have just that much more self-esteem and confidence because they spent their year 6 residential here at Viney Hill!
As we now draw close to the end of the year, it is gratifying to still be getting positive feedback from visiting groups! We have remained busy quite late in the year, and as we now head into December and contemplate Christmas we still have a number of groups yet to visit. Live in Hope who visited recently said:
"Our Group has matured tremendously - getting into scripture, praying endlessly, God visibly touched the group all through the weekend"
"The chapel was a great success, it worked brilliantly and we used it a lot"
As well as being able to provide a beautiful and challenging background to church groups spiritual programmes, schools continue to benefit from using the Centre. St Mary's C of E school from Birmingham told us:
"All instructors were very professional. firm, fun, clear and very supportive/encouraging"
"Awe inspiring for many, due to the forest experience, star gazing and the beauty of the lake. Unforgettable!"
Thanks for your comments, keep them coming!
This article was posted at 15:07 on 13th July 2006
