Working with you to develop programmes and your team

Personal and Youth Development

Beliefs

We passionately believe that children and young people should be given opportunities to take charge of their own lives, to make mistakes and to learn from them, initially through play and then through progressive programmes of incrementally increasing uncertainty and risk.

Employers globally, report that many new recruits and graduates lack key skills such as communication, working with others, leadership and resilience.

Today, more than ever, these qualities are needed in the workplace – but their acquisition is not always included in formal education. Demands are placed on young people to take on new responsibilities, learn new skills, and do more with less. Coping mechanisms are needed to sustain good health, energy and high-performance whilst under pressure and throughout on-going change.

We can work with you to implement programmes which will help you accelerate the acquisition of these skills by using the natural environment as a catalyst for changing behaviour. We have twenty years experience of doing this.

Also, certain pupils might need a different kind of intervention other than the usual way in which a school might deal with poor behaviour. Our programmes will encourage pupils to confront certain situations and learn to respond to them in a different, more positive way to that which they are used to doing.

We believe that people learn best by doing – by having real life experiences, being challenged and stretched, intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially. Outdoor education projects but more especially ones which culminate in a journey are extremely powerful vehicles for facilitating the personal development of young people.

Recent research revealed that 80% of teachers confirmed their Outdoor Education experience had significantly improved their students’ overall performance. Of particular note was student progress in the development of communication skills; improvement in ability to work together as a team and increase in self confidence.

How can we help?

Our projects are based around using the outdoors as a vehicle for the personal and social development of young people.

  • Activity based sessions e.g. climbing, canoeing, walking, orienteering.
  • Half or full day teambuilding events.
  • Problem solving and development training.
  • The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
  • Alternative curriculum programmes.
  • Wilderness based expeditions.
  • Outdoor education elements of GCSE PE.
  • Group residential visits.
Safety

Management of risk is paramount – our guiding principal is that we facilitate children and young people in managing their own safety through understanding principles such as risk versus benefit – the bubble of safety is allowed to become larger as young people become more adept at managing the risk within that bubble.

We work to the Outdoor Education Panel’s National Guidance and with carefully selected facilitators, instructors and associate companies who are licensed, where appropriate by the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority.

Bookings are made on the basis that you agree with our philosophy around benefit / risk and that the programme meets with your consent before its delivery.

Get in Touch

and benefit from our adventure development pr ogramme

Initial consultations are free of charge. We understand that you want to know that we are right for you, so let’s meet for a chat and a cup of tea, and work out what we can do for you.

“…they realise that they have to work together and do things like listen, follow advice, take responsibility for themselves and others. They really do start feeling good about themselves.”

“We are looking to develop self reliance, resilience, confidence, responsibility, the ability to make the right choices, but also the fortitude to live with the consequences of the wrong ones.”

“The big challenge is in with coping with life away from civilisation and solving the daily problems that living in the wilderness throws at you. The group soon learns to take responsibility and work together.”

“Our job as leaders is to anticipate the hazards, keeping everyone safe, but ensuring that things seem on the edge when they need to be to give the team new challenges to work on. People learn by being exposed to new situations and being allowed to have a go.”