Glasgow's poorest to be hit by cuts in outdoor education

The outcry comes as Glasgow City Council last week announced proposals to close Blairvadach Outdoor Centre, one of several measures aimed at making savings of £42 million.

It is understood that staff at the only outdoor centre owned by the local authority were informed that the closure of Blairvadach was to be proposed – and likely to be approved – at an emergency meeting just minutes before the budget debate began.

The current proposal is for the centre to remain open until the end of June. Bookings will be cancelled for the rest of 2020/21, affecting hundreds of children across Glasgow ,who are all currently offered a one week trip to a residential centre in their last year of primary school. Activities include climbing, hill walking, orienteering, scrambling, canoeing and field studies.

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Almost 40 jobs are said to be under threat. A petition set up to save the centre on Friday has so far attracted over 6000 signatures.

Glasgow City Council told the Sunday National the proposed closure is part of a wider effort to develop a Glasgow model for outdoor education “which is more inclusive and accessible to young people in the city – including during the school day”. The Blairvadach team already delivers watersports sessions at the city’s Pinkston Watersports Centre.

On Friday Maureen McKenna, director of education, emailed all teaching staff to “remind” them that council employees they should not comment on the decision via social media “regardless of personal views”.

Experts claim the provision of outdoor residential centres across Scotland is a postcode lottery, with demand in many local authority areas outstripping supply. In Glasgow, schools are only guaranteed places at Blairvadach every two years as a result. Though other centres, run by private companies or trusts are also used, many are expensive, with no discounts offered to those eligible for free school meals, meaning those children are often unable to go. Some argue residentials should be free at the point of delivery, as was once the case.

Neil Kempe said children in Glasgow are being sold short

Dr Roger Scrutton, honorary research fellow in outdoor education at Edinburgh University, said the proposed closure of Blairvadach was “depressing and short-sighted”.

He added: “In the outdoor learning sector we have seen so many local authority residential centres close that we have become almost immune to the depressing short-sightedness that this demonstrates.

“Decisions like these are often poorly informed. The evidence indicates that the closures are financially, not educationally, driven.

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“There is overwhelmingly positive survey and research evidence that residential outdoor learning contributes massively to the personal and academic development of children and young people that is enjoyable, memorable and lasting.”

According to the Scottish Government’s Curriculum for Excellence Through Outdoor Learning all Scottish children should have teaching time outdoors. The policy document states this includes residential trips, which it says help build confidence, resilience and a sense of adventure. It also recommends better use of school grounds and local green spaces as a routine part of teaching throughout the year.

Peter Higgins, chair in outdoor environmental and sustainability education at Edinburgh University, said that while he was a strong advocate of local outdoor learning throughout the year, residential opportunities were also an essential element.

“Once you lose a place like that you’ll never get it back again,” he added.

“The outdoors is a powerful learning environment – the evidence says kids learn better outdoors. So if we want to close the attainment gap it is completely nonsensical to deny them that powerful learning environment.”

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Nick Kempe, a campaigner on outdoor access and conservation, and previous president of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, said: “Children in Glasgow are being sold short, particularly the less well off whose parents cannot afford to take them to the countryside.

“There has been a steady closure of outdoor centres across Scotland and again that has affected poorer children most.”

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said its managers were meeting staff to explore redeployment options. “In a city that prides itself on having over 90 parks and open spaces, officers are looking at alternative delivery models to maintain the benefits of outdoor learning that complements a pupil’s education.

“Glasgow is committed to exploring new, innovative and alternative ways in which to offer outdoor education opportunities that best meet the needs of our children, young people and families,” he added.