The recently published report by the Department for Education into Character Education (August 2017) could be viewed as an exercise in re-branding but I think there is more to take from it than that.  The reference to character traits in the report such as resilience, self-esteem and confidence, communication skills, self-regulation, perseverance and motivation, respect, tolerance and empathy, may lead an outdoor learning professional to think that they might be at the heart of a school’s approach to delivering Character Education.  Think again!  The survey of schools behind the report makes little to no reference to outdoor learning.
 

We like what we’ve got thank you

We’ve come to know and trust the licensing regime and value the role its inspectors play.  I am clear that the sector has benefited hugely through the development of an intelligent approach to risk management and legislation compliance.  We don’t want to lose the culture that AALA has brought to the sector and any new regime needs to continue to bring the same rigour and developmental benefits to the sector.

A good deal of time and energy over the last few years has gone into seeking to influence national government and policymakers with a view to expanding outdoor learning's impact on U.K. society.  This has seen some tremendous progress in some areas, probably most notably in Scotland with the adoption of the curriculum for excellence and the role Outdoor Learning plays in this.

There continues to be a significant amount of effort directed towards drawing on research to influence policy and certainly much research funding relating to the outdoors has been spent in support of this.  More recently though I believe there is an increasing recognition of the need to strengthen the 'third leg of the research, policy & practice stool'.  A recognition that there is a very real need to identify and develop the use of good practice in a growing use of outdoor learning.  The Natural Connections project has been probably the most significant indicator of this changing emphasis.