Our Story - The Humble Beginnings
Formerly a trading name of Kylanja Ltd, from 2009, Animal Days Out (ADO) was setup as a Community Interest Company (C.I.C.) in 2011, with the aim to provide interactive, therapeutic, educational and recreational opportunities for children, young people and adults with a wide theme of animals, wildlife, nature and outdoor activities-adventure. We successfully developed a wide range of programmes incorporating these themes and were able to deliver them to a wide demographic of people, providing a measurable return of investment into the wider community. ADO was a small company with big ideas.
In the very beginning we provided interactive animal encounters, animal experience days and remote mobile outreach services to the community, including park events, care homes, scouts, brownies, specialist day centres and many community organisations. We also ran a number of after school clubs and holiday clubs (half-terms and holidays) for children aged 6 to 14 years. It was these very early days of ADO that set the tone and sowed the seed for future years' growth into the services we now deliver. All invaluable experience working with children, young people and adults. Our success was built around referrals.
Our ADO Schools brand was a mobile outreach service to London and Kent schools providing interactive animal encounters to primary and secondary classes in line with the key stage curriculum.
Expansion of Services
With the success of our early models we expanded to concentrate into purely therapeutic services creating the ADO Therapy brand which still runs to this day. In February 2016 we changed strategy and ended our after-school clubs after nearly seven years to focus on opening our first early years Preschool Nursery. The after-school clubs were invaluable in giving many young people opportunities in volunteering and mentoring and it was amazing to watch some of them almost grow up with us. We still continued our Holiday Clubs, but we wanted to focus on adding early years to our portfolio and so the Preschool started, gaining OFSTED 'Outstanding' at its first attempt. The services were also becoming less about working with animals with bushcraft skills, forest school, adventure-nature-eco activities wrapping around a general educational and therapeutic approach. With this in mind, Animal Days Out was not really representing our current services and was to be gradually replaced with ADO Services as the headline brand.
Therapeutic Focus
Even in the early days our services were always predominately providing services to encompass the amazing opportunity to deliver to those individuals or groups with additional needs, mental ill health and disabilities. The feedback and critique from our customers confirmed that our services provided many positive outcomes and had measurable effects on those with a whole range of needs. We worked with local health authorities and borough children's and young people units with referrals. The aim was to offer these services to a greater audience including both parents, professionals, groups and individuals. We delivered as a regular mobile outreach and at our own venues.
Streamlining Services
Streamlining Services. At the beginning of 2018, another strategic review re-examined all our revenue streams and efficiency in managing the growing number of brands, solutions and services we offered and we decided to make changes. In February 2018 the company retired some of our brands with the key aim to not keep diluting our services, always looking towards maximising our efforts to the areas we feel most passionately about, namely education and therapy. We also discontinued our mobile outreach services to concentrate on bringing individuals and groups to our wonderful 6.5 acre site at Poets Corner Centre.
2018 was the beginning of our alternative provision service. It started with just one young person on roll and has now grown to where we are today. We quickly recognised that a holistic approach to education and therapy was the perfect model for our alternative provision. To this day our focus, aims and objectives sit very squarely in the Education and Therapeutic sectors.
Working With The Experts
We have worked with many private individuals, professional organisations, local government and charities and trusts who tirelessly dedicate themselves to those in the community and those with additional needs. We have partnered a whole range of services with both private and public organisations. One of our strengths has always been the fantastic partnerships we have built over the years with all these type of organisations.
Right Now
We have worked with many private individuals, professional organisations, local government and charities and trusts who tirelessly dedicate themselves to those in the community and those with additional needs. We have partnered a whole range of services with both private and public organisations. One of our strengths has always been the fantastic partnerships we have built over the years with all these type of organisations. Right Now. November 2021 was our 10th birthday since becoming a C.I.C.. Within this year our School Improvement Plan was implemented to guide us towards an OFSTED registration as a Specialist Outdoor Further Education school before September 2022. This was a massive year for ADO Services, who are now in a position where our business has, after years of evolution, got into a position to offer a solid, sustainable and tangible number of services that work together holistically and where the rewards, especially in these testing times for society are of a benefit to the community, children, young people and families. ADO has also added many features and facilities to our outdoor site. These include some wonderful timber buildings, providing fully equipped classrooms that aesthetically fit very well with the woodland landscape. In September of 2022, we became a registered Independent School, and ADO River Valley was formed.
In January 2023 the company split off into two distinct services. River Valley school will be the brand name of ADO Services CIC, solely providing Specialist Outdoor Education under OFSTED registration. All our non-educational therapeutic specialist services is now being run from a sister company known as ADO Therapy.