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BALLS CALLS TIME ON RED TAPE AROUND SCHOOL TRIPS
13 February 2009
Ed Balls today signalled the end of the red tape culture that can surround school visits as he announced the first 65 organisations to be awarded a Quality Badge for the provision of learning outside the classroom experiences.
The Children’s Secretary congratulated the first successful applicants, who will offer schools the guarantee of a high quality learning experience for pupils as well as the assurance that the necessary risk management processes are in place. The Quality Badge scheme is part of the Government’s £4.5m Out and About package which, along with the badges, provides guidance and information for teachers on how to plan and organise high quality activities that enhance teaching in subject areas.Ed Balls said he wanted to see as many children as possible taking part in learning outside the classroom as part of their school lives and called on teachers to use the scheme to make informed decisions about suitable venues.Under the scheme, organisations will display the badge as a signal to schools that their venue has met the required standard, so teachers do not need to carry out their own risk or quality assessments.Ed Balls said:“Educational visits are among the most memorable experiences in a child’s school life. I want to see schools taking advantage of the opportunities that learning outside the classroom provides to bring subjects to life.“Quality Badges offer teachers a guarantee that not only is a venue providing the sort of educational value that they can build on in class long after the visit but they also have the appropriate risk management structures in place.“I am pleased that the Quality Badge scheme has been welcomed by a wide range of organisations, including local authorities and teacher unions. It is a significant victory in our battle to move away from the misguided perception that learning outside the classroom is a potential minefield for teachers.“Tens of thousands of children take part in learning outside the classroom every day. I am determined that no child should miss out on these vital experiences because of unnecessary red tape or because of a cotton wool culture that discourages all kinds of risk. “I want to see teachers using Quality Badges as practical decision making tool. It should ensure that many more young people have memorable, exciting and valuable learning outside the classroom experiences.”To gain the Quality Badge, low risk providers such as museums and places of worship complete an online self assessment and are subject to spot checks to ensure the quality of their systems. All higher risk providers such as adventurous activity centres and farms will be checked by independent industry assessors before they are awarded the Badge.Chris Keates, General Secretary of teaching union NASUWT, said:“The award of the Quality Badge should give schools greater confidence in planning LOtC activities for pupils, but without adding burdens onto schools.“Health, safety and quality educational experiences are vitally important considerations for schools, parents and pupils. Organisations that receive the Quality Badge award will need to demonstrate that they can help schools to keep pupils safe and, at the same time, deliver educational experiences of the highest possible standards of quality. “The Quality Badge should mean that schools no longer have to gamble on their choice of provider of LOtC experiences. Instead, schools should be able to choose a provider with confidence and in the knowledge that they have been awarded the Quality Badge.“No activity is ever risk free. However, the integrity of the Quality Badge means that providers holding the badge must be those that manage risk properly, comply with good practice and statutory provisions on health and safety, and are committed to working constructively with schools to give every pupil the best possible educational experience.”The Quality Badge was developed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Badges are awarded by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom. For more information about the Quality Badge scheme, visit http://www.lotcqualitybadge.org.ukEditor's Notes
This press notice relates to 'England'
1. The Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto was launched in November 2006, making eight specific pledges to expanding access to educational opportunities outside the classroom for all three to 19-year-olds. 2. The Manifesto includes: • Out and About package:
o Advice, guidance, resources and training modules to support schools, colleges, early years providers and youth groups provide learning outside the classroom opportunties. It will be available at http://www.lotc.org.uk
o The package aims to breakdown barriers to pupils getting out and about without compromising on the safety and wellbeing of young people – with ‘how to’ guidance, including planning learning into the curriculum and information on where to go and who can help. • The Quality Badge brings together a number of existing schemes that cover safety primarily; puts the emphasis on the quality of teaching and learning provided (of which risk management is a part); and offers a quality standard for sectors that hitherto have not had a scheme at all (e.g. museums and galleries, field study centres). It will go live in January 2009 and is currently being piloted. The first badges were awarded in January 2009, with the new Council for the Learning Outside the Classroom acting as the awarding body and assessing each organisation against quality and safety criteria. Organisations can register their interest now online with details available at: http://www.lotcqualitybadge.org.uk/
For lower risk activities, such as in churches or theatres, there is an online self evaluation, registration and payment system with sample quality assurance visits – Route 1. For higher risk activities – Route 2, there are 5 Awarding Bodies (School Travel Forum (STF), Expedition Providers Association (EPA), Farming (CEVAS managed by Farming & Countryside Education - FACE), Natural Environment (Field Studies Council) and Adventurous Activities (AAIAC). These bodies run schemes already and are revising them to include the Quality Badge criteria. Both routes have exactly the same quality criteria, they differ on safety criteria and requirements. DCSF has just appointed a contractor to manage the Quality Badge scheme – details to be released soon, once contract signed. • Council for Learning Outside the Classroom to be launched in March 2009. The interim board, announced in October is chaired by John Stevenson, Director of the Group for Education in Museums. The independent body will take over implementing the Manifesto; decide on membership criteria; recruit its members and elect a permanent Board and Chairman.
Other members of the interim Board: Fiona Forrest (Arts Council); Lindsay Newton (Assistant Director of Children’s Services, Dudley); Ian Park (Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel); Phil Revell (National Governors’ Association); Patrick Roache (NASUWT); Tony Thomas (Field Studies Council); Randall Williams (AVIUS).
The interim council has been developed from the Learning Outside the Classroom National Advisory Group, set up after the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto was published in November 2006. It represented all the key players from the school workforce, governors, parents, young people and local authorities; the ‘providers’ of learning outside the classroom are grouped into 8 sectors – arts and creativity, built environment, heritage, natural environment, sacred spaces, adventurous activity, farming & countryside, school grounds and early year
Contact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Press Notice 2009/0033
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