See the letter below I received from the Education Secretary after writing to him about outdoor centres. Below this is further information on the campaign to help save our outdoor education centres.
Response-202000088315Letter from Scottish Adventure Activity Forum on the #SaveYourOutdoorCentres campaign:
#SaveYourOutdoorCentres Campaign
2nd October 2020
Dear Richard Lochhead MSP, Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science
On behalf of Katie Docherty, Neil Wightwick, and all the outdoor education centre providers thank you very much for your time in the meeting yesterday and your interest in the issues we presented. It was good to have the opportunity to meet with you personally to explain the issues the centres face, the importance of ensuring the centres do not close as once closed they will not reopen, and to talk through the support required from the Scottish Government.
The campaign has one simple objective: to save Scotland’s outdoor education centres. As discussed yesterday without support from the Scottish Government we will see over half of the 36 centres in Scotland close, and over 400 skilled, qualified and dedicated staff, all based in rural communities, will be made redundant.
The solution we propose is to activate and repurpose our staff to work with children and young people in schools whilst our centres are unable to run residential courses. This meets the growing social and emotional needs of young people post lockdown and helps them develop the resilience to cope with the increasingly unpredictable and uncertain world. And this secures the financial sustainability of the organisations that run the outdoor centres and therefore ensure centres to not close.
We touched on how any funding might be targeted and distributed, but I appreciate we did not discuss this in detail. As a sector we have some strong views on how this might happen in a way that achieves the principle objective of saving the outdoor education centres. It is essential that any funding support can be implemented quickly and would be direct to the centre providers. Whilst we fully support the general principle of devolved decision making in education, in this instance this would slow the process considerably and would mean that any funding does not achieve it’s principle objective of securing the future provision of outdoor residential experiences for Scotland’s young people. This does not mean that there cannot be a rigorous application process and appropriate due diligence. We are very happy to discuss this further with yourself or officials should, as we sincerely hope will happen, the Scottish Government provide the financial support requested.
Colleagues and I are very happy to answer any further questions you may have or provide any further information you and/or your officials require. Please do just let us know.
Thank you for your commitment to speak with the Deputy First Minister, Ministers in Finance, and Scottish Government officials to try and find a positive solution to the challenges we face. As I said yesterday, ultimately together we must ensure that future generations of young people have the opportunity to benefit from transformational outdoor residential experience for decades to come.
Aside from supporting the campaign, I wrote to Fife Council and the Scottish Government insisting urgent action is taken to help save outdoor education centres at risk of closure due to the covid crisis.
I specifically asked Fife Council if it has put in place or is it planning to put in place a recovery plan for outdoor education venues run by Fife Council or paid for through Fife Council, and also asked if the council has looked at what support they can give organisations such as Scouts Scotland who are based in Fife at Fordell Firs and are widely used by Fife schools and Fife groups. The response from the CEO of Fife Council is included at the end.
Many organisations in the sector have told me about how outdoor learning is a key part of their youth work, but the coronavirus crisis has left the sector in critical need of financial support.
The sector is yet to receive the urgent support it requires to prevent the permanent closure of many of Scotland’s outdoor residential centres. With no residential overnight trips taking place, the main income stream is cut off for most centres.
Organisations are having to make difficult decisions about whether or not to close their outdoor education centres as a result of the pandemic exacerbating financial difficulties. On top of those that have already closed, there is still a risk many further centres across Scotland could close for good.
The Scottish Government need to come forward with a recovery plan for organisations like Scouts Scotland and Girlguiding Scotland given both are saying their outdoor facilities are at risk of closure. The survival of outdoor education is essential and the Scottish Government, working with local authorities, must do everything it can to ensure that survival.
Reponse from Fife Council CEO:
Dear Alex
Thank you for your letter of 15 September 2020 outlining concerns around the ongoing provision of outdoor education for schools and youth groups during these uncertain times.
It is accurate that there are significant concerns within the sector generally about the difficulties that residential centres are facing. Local Authorities have been very active in raising the profile of learning outdoors through the Scottish Advisory Panel for Outdoor Education (SAPOE) and successfully completed a number of projects over the past few months with the support of Scottish Government funding including:
· Writing and producing an online training module for teaching staff (launched 17 September)
· Writing and producing an online training module for support/youth staff (launch date 19 October)
· Written guidance to support the return to residential outdoor centres and a supporting document OE Centres – Fit for the Future
As you are aware Fife Council funds the Outdoor Education Fife team and runs the non-residential outdoor education centre at Lochore Meadows. During initial lockdown the centre closed and staff were redeployed to support other council services. As a non-residential facility the centre was able to re-open on a limited basis on 15 July delivering watersports sessions and bike hire. The centre has just started to engage with the first school groups and this will increase over the next few months in line with government guidance. Fife Council continues to support Lochore Meadows OEC and outdoor learning for schools and groups throughout Fife via Outdoor Education Fife.
In relation to other providers around Fife that provide activity for schools and youth groups. During the early stages of the lockdown Fife Council engaged with local providers including Fordell Firs, Ecology Centre and Ardroy OEC to update providers on local decisions and guidance and to work in partnership where possible to provide outdoor learning opportunities. A couple of examples of this were a shared programme between Outdoor Education Fife and Fordell Firs delivering an activity programme for children in care during the summer holidays. We have also worked closely with Ardroy OEC as they plan to deliver programmes in Fife for the schools that have had to postpone their residential visit.
To date, the Council has not received any requests for financial assistance from outdoor education centres, such as Fordell Firs. Fife Council values the impact that outdoor education can have on the lives of young people and adults and continues to work in partnership to create opportunities and support staff to deliver learning outdoors.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you require any further information.
