The great outdoors

Outdoor education means getting wet, cold or scared and should be avoided, some think. For others, it means enjoying the wonders of the outdoors and the opportunities that can be found there. Dane Oliver is one of the latter

Since the early 1960s, when I started teaching, some recognised the value in taking children into the outdoors and offering opportunities for them to improve their understanding of themselves and their contribution to each other and the environment. Success was not just determined by scoring more goals or tries. Satisfaction could also be gained by coping in the wet, by helping to look after your friends and by doing something that you thought was beyond your abilities. It helped young people to realise that effort and determination were crucial factors in achieving success. Examples of this process are well documented in the accounts of the outward bound movement.

As teachers, we also found that by sharing these experiences with children and young people, it opened up a whole new range of relationships, many of which have lasted a lifetime. Doing things, getting wet, cold, excited, exhilarated or even sad together, gave teachers a strong foundation for helping their charges to develop emotionally as people.

If we were diligent about our responsibilities and the trust vested in us by parents, we went on courses and ensured that we were trained and assessed as competent in the activities that we were leading. Eventually, headteachers became aware of their accountabilities and put in place approval and monitoring systems to satisfy themselves that reasonable care was being exercised.

Fears of failure
However, following a number of child deaths on these outdoor activities, most emanating from negligence, the number of schools involved in outdoor education reduced. Headteachers became more reluctant to take the risk. Local authorities became even more wary. In some cases, the general concern gave an excuse for headteachers or local authorities to stop activities in which they had no belief. Safety became an excuse for not doing anything.

Two major changes came into force:
• almost overnight, there were fewer training opportunities for teachers. It became difficult for teachers to become qualified to lead adventure activities; and
• the introduction of Ofsted inspections and the publication of SATs changed the priorities for schools. League tables and public inspection reports became major considerations for both the state and the independent sectors.

Two of the outcomes were:
• a great increase in adventure activities being offered by commercial providers as less was done by teachers; and
• following the Lyme Bay tragedy, the Government brought in the Adventure Licensing Authority (ALA) in an attempt to reassure parents that certain high-risk activities would be led by centres that had been externally inspected for their safety competence.

Along the way, we have lost the intrinsic value of these activities for young people. Everything was put down to safety consideration. Safety became the excuse for not doing anything. The objective evidence supports the view that what was a well-led activity in the 1960s is still a well-led activity today. The responsibilities are no different. The basic responsibilities of the employer are:
• to document the operational practice that is required of the employee;
• to ensure that the employee is competent for the responsibility asked of them;
• to ensure that each venture is risk-assessed and is appropriate for the age ability and aptitude of the group. (There is little doubt that this aspect requires more documentation now than in the past, but the essence is the same.) Best practice requires that each school has an educational visits co-ordinator (EVC) to oversee this aspect and to ensure consistent standards of employer approval; and
• to monitor the delivery so that the employer has evidence that the required operational practice is observed, even on a sampling basis.

Doing things properly
For twenty-one years, I was responsible for training leaders and for approving all adventure activity ventures in 1,000 schools and 700 youth groups. I have assessed and trained Gold mountain expeditions for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for 40 years. On an average of 100,000 educational visits per year, we did not have a single successful prosecution for negligence. As an employer, we ran a tight and clear programme that enabled leaders to know exactly what was expected of them. This gave them confidence and the numbers involved speak for themselves. On a national basis, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is evidence of what can be achieved with young people of all abilities if care is taken in ensuring that leaders care and are competent.

And currently?
At long last, there does seem to be a reawakening by our political masters of how we help children to develop. It is not just a matter of testing a narrow range of academic subjects to produce a set of tables.

At the end of the last academic year, Mick Waters left the QCA after four years as director of curriculum to take on the role of professor of education at a university. He was asked: “In a results-driven culture, have we lost sight of the need to value childhood?” He replied: “The accountability framework is so demanding with schools pitched against each other. The danger is that children become ‘currency’ that can bring us ‘scores’. We all know of children who have their last year in primary school spoiled by over-emphasis on the narrow diet of the tests. Children should go places, make things, sing, play, look closely at their world, meet fascinating people and learn about themselves. We risk preparing for the future to the extent we overlook the present that all children deserve... a joyful childhood.”

At long last, we have a growing emphasis on the quality of the learning experience outside the classroom, rather than a simple attention to physical safety. Understandably, safety will always be paramount in a parent’s list of priorities. This is nothing new as it is embedded in our duty of care for our children.

Forward planning
We now have a quality badge scheme that should enable headteachers and leaders to have more confidence in the quality of the learning that is provided by an external provider.

The current Adventure Activity Licensing Scheme (AALS) covers a number of key activities where it is perceived that there is a significant risk if not managed properly. However, this is purely a safety-led scheme and does not make judgements about the quality of teaching and learning where they do not specifically impact on safety. The quality badge plugs this gap. There are six criteria for applicants to be judged against, of which only one is safety. This is a positive step for the quality of the learning, but there are reservations over higher risk activities.

We are fast approaching the development and creation of a full National Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, with eight sectors to continue developing. It is to be hoped that headteachers will encourage their teaching staff to broaden the learning opportunities for children and include the outdoors as part of it. At the same time, headteachers must continue to be mindful of their responsibilities as employers.

Dane Oliver provides safety audit advice for schools and outdoor centres across Europe, maintains a close working relationship with the DCSF and has acted as a technical expert for the Crown Prosecution Service. For more information on the learning outside the classroom strategy, visit www.lotc.org.uk.

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