1) The Provider has a process in place to assist users to pl

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It is good practice to produce documented guidance for the client to make it clear what

you are responsible for and what the client is responsible for. This can becommunicated in different ways: through written information sheets, website

information, brochure copy or telephone conversations and reinforced on arrival.

Whichever method is chosen, it is important that there is two way communication

between the provider and the client. It is also important that you have evidence that the

client understands and accepts the division of responsibility. This might be through the

client’s signature on a booking form or other documentation.

Examples of what might be covered in your guidance are:

● A clear indication of when your staff are responsible for the supervision of

participants and when visiting staff are responsible. (Although it will normally be the

case that your staff take responsibility during activities, you should be aware that visiting

group leaders cannot delegate their overarching duty of care, even when responsibility

is shared with a provider.)

● Whether there an expectation that a visiting member of staff is present during

activities.

● For residential providers, whose responsibility it is to supervise evening activities and

what expectations there are for visiting staff to share in overnight emergency cover.

● Expectations on participants’ standards of behaviour and visiting staff’s responsibility

for pastoral care.

● Who is responsible for what in terms of participants’ learning. Visiting staff will

normally retain overall responsibility, with the provider’s role being to support and

facilitate the learning. You will need to have evidence of how that support is offered in

pre-event planning terms, through the event itself and in post-event follow up.

This can be done in a number of different ways. There should always be an opportunity

for clients to visit the site before the event. If such a visit takes place, that is an ideal

opportunity to agree learning objectives in a face to face meeting.

In the case of repeat visits, clients will often not feel the need to carry out a pre- event

visit. In this case, a telephone conversation or a written list of learning objectives can

perform the same function. It will often be helpful to the client if you produce a list of the

range of learning objectives that can typically be achieved by the programmes you are

able to offer.

Whichever approach to capturing learning objectives is used, you will need to show that

these are recorded and disseminated to staff who will be working with the client.

Some clients will have very specific objectives. They might wish to cover specific

aspects of the curriculum. They might wish to tackle process issues such as easing the

transition from primary to secondary education. They might have a group of participants who need to work effectively in a team. They might want to focus on activity skills. In

these cases, agreeing and recording the objectives is relatively easy.

However, other clients will be convinced of the value of adventurous activities but

consider that powerful learning frequently happens without the need to focus specifically

on learning objectives. In this case, you should at the very least provide evidence that

you have discussed learning objectives with the client. It will usually be possible to gain

the client’s agreement to a generic statement of objectives that embodies their

understanding of the potential benefits. This does not have to be a long document.

One paragraph or a simple list will often be enough.

To help to persuade these clients of the merits of being more specific, you might find it

helpful to know that there is strong research evidence on the importance of closely

relating the structure and format of programmes to the goals they are seeking to

achieve. The recent OFSTED report says “Learning outside the classroom was most

successful when it was an integral element of long-term curriculum planning and closely

linked to classroom activities.”

A menu of possible activities for the client to choose from is easy enough to achieve.

However, it must be more than a menu of activities. It must also link the activities with

learning objectives.

Activities can be used with a range of different learning objectives in mind. For

example, a rock climbing session might be used to develop self-confidence, to

encourage responsibility for each other, to serve a team building function, as a skills

coaching session or as a means of delivering aspects of the curriculum or Every Child

Matters outcomes.

Differentiating between these objectives might not change the core activity of climbing

but it may well influence the way the activity is staffed, introduced, structured and

reviewed. You should be able to show that the way the session is run is responsive to

the objectives and that staff do not simply deliver a standard session but modify their

approach to take account of the client’s learning objectives.

It is not necessary to go into a great deal of depth in a menu of activities linked to

learning objectives. However, you will need to ensure that typical learning outcomes

are associated with each of the activity choices. This might be done by a simple form of

cross-referencing, where each of the activities on the list of those available has a crossreference

to the possible learning objectives that can be achieved through that activity.Tailoring the experience to the objectives can in many cases be done most effectively

through a post-activity review. Effective reviewing is one of the most powerful tools we

have in turning an activity session into a powerful and lasting learning experience. It

would be good evidence if your menu included choices on the use of reviewing or other

tools that can help to focus participants’ awareness on learning outcomes.

You should think through how to respond to a number of different equality issues, both

in terms of deciding policy on responding to particular needs and also in terms of

making necessary adaptations to the facilities or the programme. First, in thinking about

disability provision, be aware that there is a range of disabilities: physical, sensory (eg

sight or hearing) and learning disabilities and that each poses different challenges.

Employers have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that people

with disabilities are not disadvantaged. Public sector organisations have an additional

duty to be proactive in ensuring that people with disabilities are treated fairly.

It is for you to decide what constitutes reasonable adjustments. If it would require

disproportionate expenditure in order to enable broader access to your particular

site,that would not be legally required. However, you might be surprised how easy it is

to make simple adaptations that enable all young people to experience the benefits of

adventure. There is a wealth of good practice in the outdoor community that you can

draw on.

It is becoming much more common for young people with disabilities to be taught in

mainstream classes and a consequent need to be able to accommodate both those

young people and, often, a dedicated carer. If the client has opted for activities which

cannot be adapted, then alternatives should be suggested.

Catering for a range of religious beliefs can also be achieved by simple adaptations.

It is no more than standard good practice to cater for specific dietary requirements and it

is not difficult to make other adaptations, for example, early breakfasts to allow

Ramadan to be observed. Varying the instructional approach is more challenging, for

example in an attempt to attract minority groups who are not conventionally attracted to

the outdoors.

However, as a minimum requirement, it is not expected that you develop proactive

programmes to tackle equality issues. You should, however, be able to show how you

would respond to clients who come to you with requests to accommodate a range of

special needs, ideally with the aim of being able to say yes if at all possible.

It is also necessary to communicate clearly to clients any constraints or prerequirements

for participation, such as being able to swim before undertaking certain

activities. As a footnote to this section, good providers are aware of the need to have equality of

expectations between male and female participants and to avoid stereotyping.

Assessing learner progress clearly relates to the learning objectives that have been

agreed for the event. How it is done will depend on those objectives. What is important

is that progress is monitored so that an appropriate level of challenge is maintained and

adaptations can be made during the event.

During a short, simple event, it would be enough that staff monitor participants’ progress

on the spot and are encouraged to modify the activity if necessary to ensure that

participants have a positive learning experience.

During a longer event or if there are very specific objectives, it might be appropriate to

conduct a formal evaluation part way through the event. This might be through a

“How’s it going?” questionnaire or by focusing a review session on overall progress

against objectives. It is not necessary to produce anything written during this process.

However, the client should be made aware of how the process works, for example by

including general guidance as to how learner progress is monitored in the pre-event

information.

There is strong research evidence on the importance of preparatory and follow up work

in achieving effective learning. Many clients work hard at integrating an adventure

based event into classroom experience through well developed preparation and follow

up.

However, this is not always the case. It is therefore expected that, at the very least, you

explain the benefits to your clients and offer support in the process. The simplest way

to achieve this would be to produce an information pack giving ideas for preparatory

work and follow up. One way of compiling this would be to gather a variety of ideas

from those of your clients who do actively carry out preparation and follow up in the

classroom.

Clearly, clients need to have the necessary practical information such as clothing

requirements that are needed in preparation for the event. It is good practice to go

further than this and produce some ideas or resources Similarly, in terms of follow up resources, you could produce a simple information sheet

suggesting a variety of ways in which participants could reflect on and consolidate the

learning in the classroom after the event. You could also produce advice on continuing

to participate in the activities sampled through clubs or other organisations.

For the badge, the minimum requirement is that you discuss preparation and follow up

with the client. If you work on the basis of the minimum requirement and do not

produce written materials, you will need to make a record of the fact that a discussion

has taken place.