Scotland’s outdoor education sector is calling on the government to support residential centres or face losing them forever after it advised schools overnight trips should not take place until at last Spring next year.
The sector has come together and launched a petition to ask the Scottish government to review its decision not to provide financial support to outdoor education centres while they remain unable to operate as normal due to the impact of Covid-19.
On 14 August, the Scottish government issued advice to local authorities that school residential trips should not take place until at least the spring term in 2021. But outdoor education specialists are warning that, with no financial support package in place, many outdoor centres will have to close.
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Already, Girlguiding Scotland’s centre - Nertherurd House - has been forced to shut.
Martin Davidson, director of the Outward Bound Trust in Scotland, said: “This decision is catastrophic for both young people and for outdoor centres.
“The school residential has been a feature of Scottish education for years. It is highly valued by teachers, it develops self-confidence and helps with mental health and wellbeing. It creates memories of a lifetime for millions of young people.
“These fabulous experiences will come to an end as the Scottish government has decided not to support outdoor residential centres. While the government has supported many sectors to ensure their survival and enable them to adapt, residential centres are unable to operate and remain in lock-down.”
Jane Campbell Morrison, chair of the Scottish Adventure Activity Forum, also issued a plea for residential experiences not to become another thing young people “have to lose”.
She said: “It is vital that the Scottish government provide support for outdoor residential centres because this would enable outdoor education specialists to support schools and teachers getting pupils benefitting from being active in the outdoors. We already work with thousands of teachers every year to help deliver the outcomes related to Curriculum for Excellence.”
The #SaveYourOutdoorCentres campaign is urging all people in Scotland who have benefited from a residential experience over the years, as well as teachers, youth workers, and any parents, to write to their MSPs and the government.
