Our TACT Scotland Team took a group of young people on an outdoor residential, providing a fantastic opportunity for them to grow in confidence, develop new skills and support one another through shared outdoor experiences.

The residential took place at Broomlee Outdoor Education Centre, on the outskirts of the conservation village of West Linton. During the visit, we had a total of 22 people attend including children and staff. 16  young people from 9 different families took part in a variety of activities that focused on team building, communication and peer support. These activities included two separate high rope tasks, fire building, evening games and night line.

Both high rope activities were a big hit with our young people, including the Leap of Faith, which focused on confidence building and bravery. Here the young people would climb an 8 metre high pole, stand on top and then leap off to hit a target buoy. This was a difficult challenge, but it was incredible to see the bravery of the young people taking part, and how they attempted to go higher on their second attempt and push their limits a little further. It was great to see them encouraging each other from below and congratulating each other on their jump.

Crate stack, the other high rope activity, was a great team builder – as it focused on one team member standing on stacked crates to try and get as high as they could without falling, whilst their team mates supported by placing each crate on once the climber was ready.   

Another great activity for communication was night line, where the whole team was blindfolded, and they had to follow the line over, under and around the obstacles to complete the course. For this activity it was essential for the young people to clearly communicate in order for the people behind them to prepare to overcome the obstacle in front of them.

There were many highlights of this trip including seeing the young people overcome their fears and building their confidence, as well as witnessing the peer support as they did so. For some, it was their first ever residential and it was nice to see them navigate this new experience and enjoy themselves. 

Feedback from our young people and foster carers was unanimously positive. One young person said that he loved the range of activities and spending time with others; it helped him to develop a bit more self confidence when meeting new people, and taking part in unfamiliar activities. He said that he wished it was longer!

A TACT foster carer said: “What an honour it was to be in the company of our amazing children and young people at camp.  They barely knew each other or some of the adults.  Yet, they were resilient, supportive, inclusive, and empathetic throughout the two days and were a credit to their carers, and the wider TACT support network around them.”

A big ‘thank you’ to our team for organising such an enjoyable and enriching event, that everyone clearly enjoyed!