Residential visits offer intensive learning experiences which provide a focus for learning both before and after the visit itself.
Spending time away from the home environment gives children and young people opportunities to live more independently alongside others, learning new social skills, making decisions and sharing free time. They are often able to take more individual and group ownership of learning.
Getting started
Residential experiences can include using outdoor centres or youth hostels and activities such as camping, bivouacking, snow-holing or sailing.
The duration of a residential visit offers a unique form of intensive experience which encourages children and young people to engage with staff and peers at a deeper level and build relationships.
In order to maximise the benefits of residential experiences, careful planning and preparation, including work undertaken with children and young people before and after the residential experience, is key to the relevance, coherence, breadth and depth of learning.
Experiences and outcomes
During residential experiences there will be many opportunities to deliver the experiences and outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence, particularly those which cannot easily be achieved in the local community. For example, comparing and contrasting local communities with communities within or close to the residential setting is outlined in the experiences and outcomes for social studies.
In self-catering contexts, planning and preparation which involves buying and cooking food clearly resonates with promoting healthy eating.
Choosing providers and partners
Ensuring that partners and providers have a good understanding of the educational aspects of the experiences that they offer is key to ensuring a good quality learning experience for children and young people.
Many providers, in particular residential outdoor centres, are aware of Curriculum for Excellence and many are able to explain the ways in which they can add, for example, depth and relevance to all areas of the curriculum.
There is reference to partnership working and the use of residential experiences in the guidance document Curriculum for Excellence through Outdoor Learning.
Insurance and accreditation
Insurance and accreditation are also issues which should be considered, and many local authorities have their own approval processes in place which need to be completed before an external provider can be used. It is very important to ensure that any 'adventurous activity' provision is covered by a licence from the Adventure Activities Licensing Service (AALS).
More information on activities and accreditation can be found in our health and safety guides, and also on the AALS website. The latter will allow you to search nationally for providers which hold a licence, and also the type of licensable activities they are able to provide. Please note that not all activities are subject to licensing.
Finding providers
Some authorities operate their own residential centres and there is also a range of charitable and private providers across the country, many of which specialise in working with school groups and young people.
You can contact your local authority to find out more or you can view a map tool on the website of the Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres which highlights details of its members. There are also other centres which advertise through alternative means.
Supporting transitions
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Craig Hamilton, Depute Headteacher at Springburn Academy, explains how a transitions and mentoring programme has developed through working in partnership with The Outward Bound Trust.
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