IOL Alba / Scotland

Update: 03/07/2024

The Education, Children and Young People Committee are calling for your views. The Call for Views will run until Wednesday 4th September 2024.

The Bill was introduced on 20 June 2024

Liz Smith MSP introduced this Member’s Bill on 20th June 2024. It will establish that all pupils in state and grant-aided schools will have the chance to experience at least four nights and five days of residential outdoor education during their school career.

It will go now go to Stage 1. This means the Bill is given to a lead committee which is responsible for examining a bill. It hears from experts, organisations, and members of the public about what the bill would do. It then writes a report about what it has heard and giving its own view of the Bill.

This Stage 1 report usually makes a recommendation about whether the Parliament should support the Bill’s general principles. All of this may take a few months.

The Parliament then debates the Bill and decides whether it should go on to Stage 2, or be rejected. Full details of the process can be found here.

Overview

At the moment, schools do not have to provide residential outdoor education. Some schools do provide it for pupils, but many do not, especially for children and young people in deprived areas where costs can be a burden. The cost of these trips can mean schools cannot provide them.

The aim of this Bill is to change this so that all school pupils get the chance to have four nights and five days residential outdoor education. The Scottish Ministers must ensure that there is funding to allow this to happen.
Residential outdoor education can take place in many settings, including:

• outdoor centres
• youth hostels
• camps
• sailing boats

It can involve activities such as:

• learning about nature and the outdoors
• adventurous activities
• personal development
• teamwork
• curricular subjects (such as biology and geography)

The Bill does not cover pupils who attend independent schools. However, where local authorities pay the fees of children and young people attending an independent school, they must consider whether the pupil will be provided a residential outdoor education experience.

Read the rest of the Bill's overview

Why the Bill was created?

Liz Smith MSP believes that outdoor education is one of the most valuable and rewarding learning experiences that a school pupil can have.
 
In particular, she believes that a residential outdoor education, where a pupil can be in an environment very far removed from their usual everyday situations can be life-changing.

Liz Smith MSP also thinks that residential outdoor education can help young people develop lifelong connections to the natural environment and increases their self-esteem, self-reliance, confidence and resilience. She believes that these experiences help them to learn about what it means to be part of a team, enhance their leadership skills and find out about the importance of valuing friendship.

The Member is worried that there has been a decline in the number of outdoor education centres in Scotland over recent years. She is concerned that this, and budget constraints, mean that many young people do not have access to residential outdoor education.

The Member is also worried about the ongoing effect of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the physical and mental wellbeing of young people.

Read more about why this Bill has been created in the policy memorandum posted 20 June 2024.