The impact of outdoor education on students’ personal development

Author: Kit Preston, Outdoor education manager

When the Ofsted Inspection framework was revised to include Personal Development as an area for assessment, it was widely well received. Few education professionals would argue that: schools support pupils to develop in many diverse aspects of life.

We are fortunate to offer outdoor education as a key service to schools and have many longstanding relationships with schools, who value the positive impact a residential experience has for their students. Most cited by children and staff alike are the gains in confidence, resilience and self-belief. There is an obvious link between this anecdotal evidence and the areas of personal development that Ofsted is particularly looking for:

• Developing pupils’ character, giving them qualities they need to flourish in society
• Developing pupils’ confidence and resilience so that they can keep themselves mentally healthy

As an outdoor education centre manager, I have been privileged to attend many leaver assemblies and it is humbling as an outdoor professional to hear about the happy memories that children have of their visit to Standon Bowers and our other centres. 

As the leaders and teachers who regularly use our service appreciate, a residential experience offers so much more than the opportunity to participate in an adventurous activity. Whilst many children love the chance to scale the climbing wall or navigate the high ropes course, the attributes of perseverance, risk taking and teamwork, which all the activities promote and require, are often more longer lasting and transferrable for success in everyday life. For many children, some of key learning comes from the incidental aspects of a residential visit. This includes independently choosing appropriate clothing for each different activity and weather, time keeping and ensuring that they are in the right place at the right time, conversation with peers over a shared meal, and making their bed and being responsible for their own belongings. These incidental activities can be new experiences for many children, and are valuable opportunities for children to develop confidence, character and resilience.

Developing a personal development passport 

In 2023 Standon Bowers celebrated its 50th Anniversary as an outdoor education centre. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all that has been accomplished for children during those 50 years and whilst we are proud of the traditions of our wonderful centre, we are outward looking and recognise the importance of evolving our practice to meet the needs of the children and the young people that our provision serves. 

We are therefore delighted to be involved in a multi-organisation project between Entrust Outdoors and Staffordshire University Academies Trust. Colleagues from both organisations have formed a working group with the intent of devising a Personal Development passport to enhance provision and to improve pupil outcomes. This will include key skills and experiences which schools consider important to access before the children leave their setting. 

It is intended that identified aspects of the personal development passport will be delivered during children’s residential visit. These will typically be the skills and experiences which schools consider worthwhile but more difficult to facilitate. Skills and experiences such as stargazing, sleeping in a tent which you’ve pitched yourself, and eating a meal cooked on a campfire. A clear understanding of the personal development curriculum which schools are delivering and the criteria to offer good or better provision, has enabled staff to explicitly signpost opportunities for character development. A shared language and understanding of the values which an outdoor experience can promote, and foster is resulting in a better experience for all visiting pupils. Through conversation with education colleagues within the group, we have refined our booking process to include information gathering about the school values of each setting. This enables us to make explicit reference to the school’s values during the planned activities and through direction of the incidental learning activities. We are excited to move forward with the project and the creation of the Personal Development passport. 

To our longstanding and new customers, we look forward to welcome you to Standon Bowers. Find out more about our outdoor residential and day visits: Outdoor Education | Entrust (entrust-ed.co.uk)