CLOtC website update – Regional Conferences 2009
During April and May 2009, the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC) hosted a series of regional conferences aimed at raising the profile of learning outside the classroom (LOtC). Spanning the country from Bristol to Leeds, and Birmingham to Peterborough, over 400 delegates attended the events representing schools, Early Years settings, local authorities, governors, and a range of provider organisations spanning all 10 LOtC sectors.
Presentations were varied and engaging including an overview of the Council from the Chief Executive, Beth Gardner; case studies from Quality Badge holders; a review of the Teaching Outside the Classroom programme and summaries of important research and supporting evidence from both the DCSF and Ofsted. Delegates also welcomed the opportunity to learn more about the Out and About Package for schools based on the LOtC website, and the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge scheme.
This was the first opportunity for many of the delegates to hear about the work of the Council, and its key priorities for 2009. The Quality Badge remains an important area of work for the Council and its partners as we work together to promote and develop a system to promote high quality LOtC. The Council is also working to develop a baseline research project in order to measure the current level of LOtC across the country, and to provide a framework from which to analyse trends year on year. The Out and About package on the website continues to develop, with plans for a new Flash Wizard under construction to provide a bespoke route through the website for different users. Finally, communications work is crucial to the success of LOtC, and delegates were challenged to use their local and regional networks to spread the LOtC message by considering the following questions:
- How can YOU promote the benefits of LOtC for young people?
- How can YOU raise the quality of provision amongst local providers of LOtC?
- How can YOU raise awareness of the Out and About package on the LOtC website, and the access to free resources to support teachers and other professionals to develop a LOtC integrated curriculum?
One of the main reasons for this series of conferences was to engage more widely with practitioners on the ground to obtain your ideas and see how you would like to work in partnership with us in order to mainstream and develop Learning Outside the Classroom for the benefit of young people. We are very interested in what you think the Council should be doing, and how you would like to see it working for you to take Learning Outside the Classroom forward. As the Council starts to put together its Strategic Plan for the future, the conferences enabled a wide range of people to feed in their ideas to this process. The Q&A sessions and lively group discussions offered participants the chance to engage with the Council and its partners, express support and concerns and provide feedback which will contribute to the development of the Council’s Strategic Plan. Feedback from the discussion sessions and specific questions asked on the evaluation forms is being collated, and key themes emerging include:
- The need to develop sustainable sources of funding to move forward with Learning Outside the Classroom developments into the next decade and beyond.
- The demand for curriculum planning materials to assist educational professionals to integrate LOtC as a key learning mechanism, particularly in light of the new secondary curriculum and the primary curriculum review.
- A sustained focus on communication with schools to promote the importance of developing LOtC as part of an integrated curriculum, showing examples of how this can be achieved in practice.
Feedback will continue to be collected from stakeholders to inform the development of the draft Strategic Plan, which will be available to members for consultation in early 2010.
The Council would like to thank everyone for their involvement and looks forward to welcoming some of you back at the Annual Conference in December 2009. Copies of all the presentations are now available to download: