Learning Away

Can you please introduce yourself and explain your role in this campaign?

I'm Kim Somerville, coordinator of the national campaigns for Learning Away. Learning Away is a Consortium of organisations united in their commitment to provide more residentials for more school children. The lead organisation on the Consortium is the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom

The following interview was conducted with Kim Somerville, Coordinator of the National Campaigns for Learning Away, at YHA Castleford.

What inspired this first of a kind report?

Residentials are often the most memorable experience of students’ school days; for their teachers, they are rewarding, if exhausting. Learning Away’s initial research report (produced in June 2015) stated that they “provide opportunities and benefits/impacts that cannot be achieved in any other educational context or setting” and “the combination of activities and shared experience of living and learning with others makes a residential a unique learning opportunity.” They have even been described by teachers as “worth half a term in school”. The Consortium felt that surely if residential experiences have this type of powerful impact, all children - regardless of their background - should be entitled to benefit from them during their time at school.

What we didn’t know (until now) is whether some children and young people have access to these unique learning opportunities and others don’t. We also didn’t have evidence about the quality of these experiences, and what type of residentials are provided. Our new study: ‘The state of school residentials in England: 2017’ by education ‘think tank’ LKMco endeavours to answer these questions. The study found that far too many children are missing out on these powerful learning and life experiences, with only one in five children experiencing a residential every year. More worryingly still, the study found a picture of patchy and inequitable access with young people in in the poorest areas the least likely to participate. Furthermore, only around half of teachers said they believed the residentials they delivered were affordable to all pupils

What is a longitudinal study and what was involved in gathering this data?

A longitudinal study is a research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables (e.g. the number of residentials taking place in England) over long periods of time. This will allow us to track any changes in the scale and quality of residential delivery over time.

The study draws from the Evolve database used to organise trips by approximately 25,000 schools. It is also based on the findings of a survey with teachers testing the quality of residentials according to the ‘Brilliant Residentials’ principles.

What were the strengths and weaknesses of residential provision identified by the teacher survey?

Strengths

The teacher survey found that the design and planning of residentials is an area of strength for schools. Teachers who organise residentials know what they hope to achieve from them and why they are important. This offers some assurance that the investment from parents and schools in residentials is focussed on meeting students’ abilities and learning needs.

Weaknesses

However, the survey found that too many residentials are not valued as an essential part of schools core offer to all students but are seen as an added optional extra. Yet we know from our previous research that residentials are a powerful learning tool to aid attainment in schools and should be fully integrated into the curriculum.

Only around half of teachers said they believed the residentials they delivered were affordable to all pupils.Not all teachers want to use structured approaches to evaluation, however some who wish to do so are not sure how to go about doing so.

What are the ‘Brilliant Residentials’ principles?

Strengths

Brilliant Residentials are school trips with at least one overnight stay, which are:

Fully integrated with the school curriculum and ethos
Evaluated rigorously

The report tells us that a positive relationship is fostered between pupils and teachers during residential experiences, why is this important?

In our initial research (involving 60 Learning Away schools) schools saw a boost in relationships between staff and students, and between groups of students, both during and after their residentials. Spending extended time together in a variety of contexts is a key factor.

Residentials provide opportunities to break down existing barriers and hierarchies – for example, students and staff often spend informal time together; students take on leadership roles.
Students and teachers take part in different challenges and activities than cannot take place in school. A significant number will be new to everyone, and the teacher is not automatically the expert: residentials are a leveller.
Students see different qualities in each other, which impacts on their interpersonal relationships both on residential and back at school; existing power relationships are changed.
Students learn specific social skills that help them make and maintain strong relationships with peers and adults.

Why should schools have more autumn and winter residentials?

Here are six benefits of taking students on winter residentials supported by the evidence collected through the Learning Away programme.

Benefit 1: Boost resilience and wellbeing

Residentials improve students’ resilience, self-confidence and wellbeing. Students are more willing to try something new and ask for help, push themselves and participate in class. Imagine teaching a class with more self-belief for the rest of the school year after going on a winter residential.

87% of secondary students felt more confident to try new things after a residential

Benefit 2: Increase engagement with learning

Residentials improve students’ engagement with learning, including positive changes in behaviour and attendance. Going on a winter residential will give them a passion for learning which can live on throughout the year. 72% of primary pupils said that their behaviour at school is better after a residential and 71% of secondary pupils felt more strongly motivated to learn.

Benefit 3: Embed learning back in school

Going on winter residentials allows time for learning and development to be embedded back in school. We know residentials have a long term impact on students’ progress and attainment when followed up on their return to school. 77% of pupils said the way they were taught on the residential will help them do better in the subject in question.

Benefit 4: Foster deeper relationships

Residentials foster deeper relationships which are sustained back in school. The sooner a teacher gets to know their pupils, the sooner they can ‘set them up for success’. Winter residentials allow relationships between staff and students to become more trusting and respectful back in the classroom. Students get to know teachers as individuals; staff gain a better understanding of their students and how to respond to them. 79% of primary pupils said they know their teacher better as a result of their residential and 84% of secondary students said they get on better with others in their class.

Benefit 5: Discover new learning opportunities

The longer nights and shorter days offer new learning opportunities on an outdoor residential. Try out star gazing, or a torch walk. The beginning of the school year is also a great time of year to kick start key subjects with inspiring hands on learning indoors.

Benefit 6: Greater return on investment

Winter residentials can also be more affordable giving schools the benefit of a greater return on investment. Why not have a sleep-over in the school hall or within the school grounds to keep costs low? Many residential providers have reduced rates or offer discounts over the winter period.

“[Residentials] provide opportunities and benefits/impacts that cannot be achieved in any other educational context or setting” and “the combination of activities and shared experience of living and learning with others makes a residential a unique learning opportunity.” They have even been described by teachers as “worth half a term in school”.

How is the spending squeeze in schools affecting residentials?

Schools have told us that the education funding crisis is only going to reduce opportunities to participate in residential activities particularly for disadvantaged pupils. We are urging schools to recognise the significant impact that residentials can have on pupils, and make sure they offer high-quality ‘Brilliant Residentials’ which are affordable for all pupils. Residentials do not have to be expensive to have a transformative impact; for example, schools can arrange a sleep over in the school hall or camp in the school grounds and still see the same benefits and impacts

What do disadvantaged students loose through non-participation in residentials?

Residentials offer a range of positive impacts and benefits to pupils. Pupils who do not have the opportunity to participate miss out on the opportunity to:

Improve their knowledge, skills and understanding;
Support their achievement;
Foster deeper relationships with peers and staff;
Improve their resilience, self-confidence and well-being;
Boost cohesion and a sense of belonging in school;
Provide opportunities to develop their leadership; and
Smooth their transition experience into a new year group.

Price, affordability, availability – how would you suggest schools overcome these key barriers to effective and equal residential provision?

Finding the right approach for funding a residential programme is highly contextual from one school to another. Each needs to find its own workable solution. Schools can draw on a range of sources to fund their residentials, including: using pupil premium and sharing resources with other schools. Funds can also be raised through additional fundraising activity such as: PTA fundraising; student fundraising activities; or securing grants. The key thing is that no pupil is left behind.

Currently residentials are an added extra, why should they become a core part of curriculum learning?

The independent evaluation of Learning Away with our original partnership 60 schools shows powerful, cumulative, positive impacts from high-quality residential learning, particularly when this learning is fully integrated with the school’s curriculum and ethos. The strength of the evaluation evidence suggests that high-quality residentials provide opportunities, impacts and benefits that are very hard to achieve in any other educational context. Given its potential, it is clear that we need to make a cultural shift away from viewing high-quality residential learning as an enrichment activity to a position where it is firmly embedded as part of each young person’s entitlement.

What would be your recommendations for schools moving forward from this report?

I am convinced that these recommendations will not only support the development of high-quality residential learning, but also encourage the shift from enrichment to entitlement.

Provide a range of inclusive residential experiences that progress throughout each phase of education and are integrated with class-based and learning outside the classroom (LOtC) activities.
The learning on residentials should be planned:With clear learning objectives based on students’ needs, ollaboratively by school staff, venue staff and students so that the experiences are embedded and reinforced once back in school.
Work closely with residential providers during the planning process to ensure the right mix of activities and delivery – both logistically and in terms of different approaches – and feel confident to ask them for flexibility.
Recognise and plan for the value of informal social time during residentials – the transformed relationships that happen during this time are crucial to residentials’ sustained impact.
Plan for rigorous evaluation as an essential part of the residential programme using both quantitative and qualitative methods that enable staff to understand, develop and confirm the value of their practice.
Develop a climate that supports healthy risk taking around learning and teaching that will encourage helpful changes to pedagogy both on residentials and back in school.
Develop staffing and support structures, and CPD, to assist teachers running residentials. The commitment of Head Teachers and senior management teams is key to effective and sustainable residential programmes, and a critical factor in successfully embedding the learning.
Look across the wider school community for residential expertise and, when appropriate, for volunteer adults and/or student leaders.
Work in partnerships with other schools to plan and deliver residential programmes, provide support and training, develop creative solutions, share equipment and resources, combine purchasing power and share findings and practice.
Develop inclusive residential programmes by investigating lower-cost residentials and using Pupil Premium to support students who would not otherwise be able to attend.
Seek opportunities to use residentials to support students through key transition points.

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