Meeting your responsibilities as an Outdoor Learning Professional
Outdoor Professionals are responsible for compliance with a range of
requirements, including employers' policies and procedures, safeguarding,
data protection, first aid, insurance and legal requirements. If you are
looking to keep up-to-date as an instructor, working self-employed, or
managing a business, the following resources can support you in providing
safe activities and effective learning in the outdoors.
Safeguarding and Duty of Care
Outdoor professionals are expected to be up-to-date on key duty of care
issues where children, young people and adults at risk are in your care,
using your services, or exposed to your activities.
Core training and CPD topics include:
- Child Protection
- Safeguarding Adults
- Equality & Diversity
- Mental Wellbeing
- Serious Youth Violence
- Female Genital Mutilation Awareness
- Child Exploitation
- The Prevent Duty
- Health and Safety
- Food Hygiene & Safety
- Practical Guide to the GDPR
- Display Screen Equipment
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Disclosure and Barring Service
The Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions each year by
processing and issuing DBS checks for England, Wales, the Channel
Islands and the Isle of Man. A similar but different service operates in
Northern Ireland
and
Scotland.
A DBS Check can be:
-
a basic check, which shows unspent convictions and conditional
cautions
-
a standard check, which shows spent and unspent convictions,
cautions, reprimands and final warnings (FREE for volunteers)
-
an enhanced check, which shows the same as a standard check plus any
information held by local police that’s considered relevant to the
role
-
an enhanced check with barred lists, which shows the same as an
enhanced check plus whether the applicant is on the list of people
barred from doing the role
The type of DBS check depends on your role. Find out which DBS check is
right for you or your staff. https://www.gov.uk/find-out-dbs-check
DBS Basic Check
Follow this link to request a basic check for yourself.
DBS Enhanced Check
If you volunteer, are employed or self-employed, ask the organisation
you’re working with to get an enhanced or enhanced with barred lists
check for you,
where the role is eligible.
A number of organisations offer an DBS Enhanced Check service, such as
DBS Check Online,
UCheck,
Disclosure Services,
Personnel Checks,
Online DBS,
Due Diligence Checking,
Online Disclosures, and
The BMC (Member Service).
The DBS does not have access to criminal records that are held overseas.
How you go about getting a criminal record check varies from country to
country.
Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.
DBS Update Service
Subscribe to the online
DBS Update Service
to keep your standard or enhanced DBS certificates up-to-date and allow
employers to check a certificate if given permission.
First Aid
First Aid Competence is an essential part of operating as an outdoor
learning professional. The IOL Statement of Good Practice describes four
bands of Outdoor First Aid (OFA) training, each band describing a
different set of competencies for First Aid in an Outdoor Learning
context.
Alignment with the IOL Statement of Good Practice is on a voluntary
basis. The Institute encourages:
-
Providers of First Aid Training and First Aid Awarding Bodies
to self declare that their course content and delivery is aligned
with the relevant band described in this statement.
-
Employers, National Governing Bodies of sport, and other
interested parties
to refer to the bands described in this statement where it
simplifies the definition of a required level of First Aid
Competence.
-
Outdoor Professionals (instructors, teachers, leaders and
coaches)
to use the Statement of Good Practice on Outdoor First Aid and list
of IOL Approved Courses to assist them in identifying appropriate
First Aid training to match their practice.
IOL Guidance
View the
IOL Guidance on Outdoor First Aidand the expected content of courses and qualities of the trainers to
meet with the requirements from the Institute, employers and governing
bodies.
Finding an Outdoor First Aid Course
View current
First Aid Courses
being run by IOL Members on the events page.
View current
IOL Accredited Courses
where you can be assured that the course is well designed, delivered by
knowledgeable trainers and fit for outdoor learning professionals.
Insurance
Adequate liability cover is strongly advised as an outdoor professional,
either held directly or through your employer or the organisation you
are working with.
-
Public Liability cover protects you in the event that you are
legally liable for loss, death or injury to a third party or damage
to a third party’s property.
-
Professional Indemnity cover protects you if you are legally
liable for damages and claimant’s costs and expenses for claims
arising out of the conduct of your business.
-
Employers’ Liability provides cover in the event of death or
injury to an employee for which you are legally liable.
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