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Educational Visits
 
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' A life without adventure is likely to be unsatisfactory. A life without limits on adventure is likely to be short. ' - Bertrand Russell


Introduction to Educational Visits

Welcome to Educational Visits, where you will find useful Government information and LEA resources to support activity, teaching and learning in this area.

The following passage is an extract from Governor News, Spring Term 2004, by Taff Bowles, East Riding of Yorkshire Council Educational Visits Consultant.

I believe passionately in the value of Outdoor Education, and I am convinced that school visits provide enormous potential benefits to pupils, not to mention staff as well!

Perhaps more than anything else, school visits help to bring education to LIFE, and they have an impact that is seldom achieved through other means.

The effect on self-esteem and motivation, and the development of personal and social skills, is sometimes quite remarkable.

Quotation marks
The effect on self-esteem and motivation, and the development of personal and social skills, is sometimes quite remarkable.
Quotation marks
- Taff Bowles, E.V. Consultant

The importance of improving the health and fitness of our young people is also so vital.

Consider, for example, that 'Obesity and Unfitness' is the official cause of 30000 deaths per year in the UK (all ages), according to the National Audit Office.

Obesity in under 15s has tripled in the last 10 years and is widely regarded as the biggest single cause of premature death for the current schoolleaving generation.

Whilst parents might prevent their children from canoeing, through fears of drowning, they might well be exposing them to a much higher risk!

Indeed, another valuable role of Outdoor Education is to teach young people how to assess and manage risks sensibly.

As a Headteacher from Cheshire stated, "Risk taking is a part of growing up, and an unavoidable element of every adult’s life and employment."

"Learning about risk in a controlled environment allows our children to cope with the hazards they face when they leave the parental home to make their own way in the world."

"If we attempt to banish risk for a child’s life, we banish an excitement that he or she will endeavour to find elsewhere". (from The Daily Telegraph 10th June 1998)

Whilst teachers and governors may, understandably, have increasing concerns about the pervading 'culture of blame', and may feel inhibited and restricted by the fear of litigation, it is important to evaluate the real risks involved, and balance the costs and benefits of inaction.

The figures below make interesting reading!

Accidental or sudden death amongst young people (younger than 19 years old) per annum
Road traffic accidents698
Suffocation139
Suicide109
Poisoning124 (a quarter from taking Class 'A' drugs)
Homicide48
Adventure Activities1 (on a school visit)


These statistics should be particularly encouraging, given that there is an estimated 8-10 million pupil days of activity on educational visits every year in the UK.

It is vital that all those involved in the planning and leadership of school visits - including governing bodies - carry out their responsibilities professionally, acknowledging and fulfilling their duties for the health, safety and welfare of everyone in their care.

It must be recognised that if those responsible for school visits follow accepted policies and practices, take reasonable precautions, and make sensible judgements, they have nothing to fear.

Accidents may still happen, indeed, risks can never be eliminated, but, if reasonable precautions and measures have been taken, those in charge cannot be held responsible.

I hope that governors and teachers are not disheartened by the few, exceptional cases that reach the headlines.

On the contrary, I hope that both can be encouraged, and that schools from the East Riding continue to organise a wealth of visits that will continue to enrich and enhance the education of our young people.

Notes on Accessing Resources

The resources, in the majority of cases, have been written by professional educators working within the East Riding of Yorkshire LEA, or by national education bodies such as the Department for Education Standards.

Please use the menu on the left of the page to access the various sub-sections of this area, with some links able to expand to show more links to pages where a "plus" icon is visible.

Here you will find useful and relevant information, and teaching and learning resources where appropriate.

The individual resources or 'objects' are shown in a horizontal panel, which includes information relating to the use of the item, and also the file size, so you can make the choice as to what you download, depending on the specification of your Internet connection.

Just click on the title of the resource to open, or right-click to save directly to your computer via the "Save target as..." option.

The majority of the teaching and learning resources are designed to be downloaded, and then saved, altered and repurposed to suit the requirements of the lesson or individual user.

Please refer to our copyright policy (the link is in the panel at the foot of the page).

Please use the addresses provided at the foot of this page to contact us if you would like more information, or you would like to contribute information or resources for publication on the site.


If you require information or resources for this subject area please contact:

Taff Bowles, Educational Visits Consultant
Tel: (01482) 392417
E-mail: taff.bowles@eastriding.gov.uk

School Improvement Service,
Room FT44,
County Hall,
Beverley,
HU17 9BA.


Other main areas of the site:
Educators & School Staff Index
Young People Index
Parents Index
Governors Index
Learning Partnerships Index
Adult Education Index
 
 
Links to areas related to Educational Visits
 
Click to access ROVER Online - the Record of Visits in the East Riding online system
Click to access ROVER Online - the Record of Visits in the East Riding online system
Click to find out how you can acquire Wildspace nature reserve resources
© EAST RIDING of YORKSHIRE COUNCIL, County Hall, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire. HU17 9BA.
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