LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM (No. 2)

That this House celebrates the crucial role of learning outside the classroom in inspiring young people and supporting their academic attainment; notes that these experiences are becoming increasingly recognised as an important, irreplaceable part of understanding the real world, as well as being an excellent opportunity for team building and personal development; further notes with regret that in recent years children and young people have increasingly been denied the chance to undertake learning outside the classroom; further notes that there are currently a number of barriers for schools organising trips including fears over health and safety, lack of status of learning outside the classroom in Ofsted inspections and bureaucratic rules tying teachers to the classroom; praises the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge which provides a national accreditation combining the essential elements of provision - learning and safety - into one Quality Badge for all types of Learning Outside the Classroom provider organisations; further notes that the Quality Badge reduces the red tape associated with learning outside the classroom, making it easier for teachers and other education providers to incorporate learning outside the classroom into the everyday; and calls on the Government to ensure that awareness of the Quality Badge is raised among schools across the country and forOfsted to specifically evaluate the provision of and access to outdoor learning within its new inspection framework.