Richard Holden, Member of Parliament for North West Durham, has welcomed that a clear road to reopening for outdoor education centres has been set out.
The Outdoor Learning All-Party Parliamentary Group (OLAPPG) has welcomed publication of guidance for educational visits by the Department for Education in England. Richard is a key member of the OLAPPG and has been working with the Department for Education and the APPG to campaign for the reopening of educational visits.
New guidance has now stated that outdoor learning single day educational visits can be reintroduced by schools from Step Two in the Government’s roadmap (no earlier than April 12th) and schools are also able to reintroduce domestic residential trips from Step 3 in the roadmap (no earlier than May 17th). Many outdoor education centres rely on residential school trips for the vast majority of their business and have seen serious financial difficulties as a result of the restrictions that have been in place for the past year and the school closures. Centres can also now do outdoor activities with family groups.
Commenting, Richard Holden, Member of Parliament for North West Durham, said:
“I am delighted that clarification has been set out to establish when outdoor education centres can be reopen – this follows months of hard work with the Outdoor Learning APPG and I hope the news is welcomed by the sector as they are able to look forward to reopening and welcoming visitors back.
“The guidance is also welcome news for school children, who returned to school in March, as they will now be able to benefit from outdoor education, which is an incredibly important part of learning for children – it is good for their social development, their confidence, their skills and their mental and physical health.
“I want to thank the Department for Education and the Government for working with us on this really important campaign and I know that the clarified guidance will be a huge relief for the outdoor education sector, schools, pupils and parents.”
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