Close to the edge of the cliffs in St Abbs Berwickshire stands a White House. It was in that House that the Trefoil School had its beginnings. The volunteers who gathered there had no idea that they would be the founders of a Charity which would touch the lives of so many people over the next 70 years. What this group had in common was that they were all Guides. On the declaration of War with Germany in 1939 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ the Guides had volunteered their services to the City of Edinburgh in order to help a group of "special evacuees". These evacuees were in the language of the times "physically handicapped" Children. None of the Children had been at School or in Hospital and therefore no provision for their evacuation had been made and it fell to these volunteers to provide a Home and to care for them.

Conditions were primitive with Camping Equipment being used for cooking and the provision of bedding and furniture. The privations of the War were only just beginning however shortages of most necessities were becoming manifest including "Blackout material". The initial population of Children was around 20, who were aged from 6-16 years of age. For more information on evacuees in WW2 please visit http://www.tnunn.ndo.co.uk/evacuees.

Trefoil then moved in October 1939 to Cowdenknowes which is located below Black Hill and on the Banks of the Leader Water. The House provided rather more appropriate accommodation with "real beds" and white sheets! The move to Cowdenknowes solved a number of the issues related to wheelchair access and the demand for manouvering room for wheelchairs etc. The House also afforded more general spaces for use as classrooms and storage.

It was here that the teaching commenced in earnest and the early recognition that life skills training was just as important as academic achievement. The pupils presented thier own challenges which were not just academic. Very few of the Children were accustomed to the discipline of the classroom as their experience of school was limited. The volunteer teachers although lacking in skills were very enthusiastic and unhindered by pre-conceptions of life in the classroom. This led to what we would now describe as experiential learning. The school was subject to inspection by the Education Dept just after they moved in and it was felt that a more conventional approach was required and in November the first fully accredited Teacher arrived, Miss Roberts.

Practical skills were taught as part of the syllabus as it was felt that these provided a practical way of developing those Children with learning difficulties and encouraging a sense of achievement.

Mary A Crawford the Assistant Guider in Charge at the time wrote " Our hockey games, our sports, our hikes and picnics, our dramatic performances were events everyone could join in, but those things did not just happen automatically-the framework of our life together was planned to give a normal life to the boys and girls, and it was planned thus because all members of Staff had promised 'to be a friend to all, and a sister to every other Guide' and were prepared to take some trouble to carry out this promise in action". This quote epitomises the Trefoil approach to 'normalising' the life experiences of Children and Young People which guides or Mission today.

In 1944 most of the evacuees left however the value of Trefoil as a School and its Mission had been clearly established. A Committee was established to look at the long-term future of the School. It was at this time that the name Trefoil School was adopted in recognition of the contibution by the Guides in establishing the School and their continued support. The School motto of "Undaunted" was approved along with the Trefoil Guide Badge.

The Committee decided that a more permanent accommodation solution had to be provided and they took a short-term lease on Polkemmet House Whitburn in 1945.

In the words of one of the pupils, "When we turned off the dreary road on the day of our arrival, we entered a domain which, compared with the country around, might have been (and indeed was, by someone) described as 'like fairyland'. The drive twisted down the brae to the bridge over the Almond, and we saw green lawns shaded by green trees, sloping gently down to the banks of the stream and, opposite, crowning the slope, the long, low pleasant house that was to be our home."

New premises were identified 1948 and the Fundraising effort commenced and came to a succesful conclusion in 1950. Following a great deal of planning the move took place in 1951. The main House was occupied by the School and the Stables (West Lodge) became Staff accommodation. The East Lodge Cottage became the Gardeners Residence and the Field was rented by the Guides for use as a Camp Site.

The whole estate was some 22 acres comprising of the House, Stables, Gardeners Cottage, Guide Field, Walled Garden and Orchard. A number of alterations to the Gardens took place in order to make them accessible but at last Trefoil had a home of its own. The pupils had a large estate in which to roam and let off steam.

Just as importantly the site gave Trefoil a very tangible presence which supported their much needed fundraising efforts.

The work of Trefoil School continued to develop and their 'care model' came under scrutiny in the 1960's from other countries including the USA and Japan. The Trefoil approach to the "all round" development of Children with Special Needs was an example to all of best practice.

Trefoil House built up a loyal group of volunteers and supporters within Edinburgh initially and then throughout Scotland.

In the 1970's Social Care and Educational Reforms placed the responsibility for the education of Children with "Special Needs" in the sphere of the Local Authorities. The finance to support this initiative folowed the individual child and therefore the aspiration of Local Authorities was to keep the Children within their own areas. Clearly this was of benefit to the Children however it meant that Trefoil lost most of its revenue income virtually overnight.

An alternative use of the House as a Holiday Centre was agreed and the Trefoil Holiday Centre opened its doors in 1976. Initially this provided a good alternative to the School both interms of income but more importantly function. This allowed the same client to access relatively inexpensive Holidays in an environment that was sympathetic to their needs. The Staff were attuned to these needs and had the carer skills to support the clients. Gradually this changed and the legislation related to the provision of Care Services began to restrict the range of dependant clients using Trefoil.

Attempts to gain Care Home Registration failed and in the face of a competitive market with more barrier free accommodation available Trefoil began to decline. The fabric of the House required more attention as it aged and together with valiant attempts to subsidise the service users it began to erode the Capital Reserves. The situation was compounded by the infrastructure of the Trefoil building, the large dormitory rooms did not meet the expectations of the potential guests and regardless of the level of subsidy the demand continued to decline.

The situation prevailed until 2002 when the Board decided to close the House and let it under a lease arrangement to the City of Edinburgh Council. The Council renovated the House and utilised it as a Care of the Elderly facility which immediately reversed the loss of income and provided much needed improvements to the House. The improvement in quality of life for the residents improved overnight as they were moved from hospital wards to the beautiful environment out at Trefoil. The reservations of the Council regarding the location and access to public transport disappeared after the first few months. The Council remained in residence until the end of 2007.

Please find the Trefoil Constitutional Documents available for download using Adobe. The Constitution was revised following a series of discussions within the Trefoil Board and consultation with our Members. The aim was to produce a Constitution which supported the activities of the Charity not only by providing best practice in terms of Governance but which also reflected the true intent and spirit of Trefoil.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator has also agreed the changes. For the sake of completeness the current audited accounts of the Charity are also available for download.