Your Educational Visits Digest

14th November 2024

Welcome/Croeso to the EVOLVE Advice Digest!

Whilst the team are attending the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom Conference today, I have been left in charge of the digest. I hope you find the digest useful. Did you know we also print and post the EVC Magazine for free, sign up to receive the next issue here.

In this issue, we look at:

National Guidance updates
New British Standard: Managing risk for youth and school groups
High Quality Outdoor Learning – FULLY REVISED
2024 Yearbook out now
Schools raise £12k with easyfundraising
EuroSpace STEM inspection visit offer
CPD

We’d love to hear your ideas for content you’d like to see in the Digest. Email marketing@evolveadvice.co.uk with your feedback.

Jake

Advice and guidance

Latest OEAP National Guidance updates

In October, five national guidance documents were translated into Welsh language. The following guidance was also updated

1c Status remit and rationale – now includes reference to HSE endorsement of national guidance and references the new British Standard BS ISO 31031:2024

5.3b How to write an establishment visit policy – section added to cover personnel matters such as planning and preparation time, and behavioural expectations

6o FAQs Allergies and anaphylaxis – added the 14 food allergens and external links for signposting

7.1r Overseas Visits – updated in light of BS 31031:2024 Managing risk for youth and school groups (see below)

For a full list of new and updated guidance, and details of the changes, click the button below.

OEAP NATIONAL GUIDANCE UPDATES

New British Standard: Managing risk for youth and school groups

EVOLVE Advice has produced a policy briefing about ISO 31031:2024, which you can read here. https://www.evolveadvice.co.uk/latest-news/2024/briefing-iso-310312024

The Standard was published by the International Organization for Standards (ISO) on 16 October, and almost immediately adopted as a British Standard. It sets out best practices in safety and management of educational visits. It does not replace UK legislation or National Guidance. Some OEAP documents have since been updated in light of the publication of BS ISO 31031:2024.

High Quality Outdoor Learning – FULLY REVISED

The excellent reference guide: High Quality Outdoor Learning, is being relaunched on #GlobalOutdoorLearningDay, 21 November. This fully updated version is produced by the Institute for Outdoor Learning, with the support of independent experts in the field.

The guide is suitable for schools and other settings that deliver outdoor learning. It includes a set of key outcomes of outdoor learning, each with a range of quality indicators.

HQOL is designed to help you evaluate and then set about improving, or further improving, the quality of outdoor learning.

Clearly outline the benefits and outcomes of high quality outdoor learning
Recognise and evaluate high quality outdoor learning
Focuses on the delivery of high quality outdoor learning – what it looks like and how to achieve it

LEARN MORE

2024 Yearbook out now

The latest Learning Outside the Classroom Yearbook is now available here. We’re proud to support this annual guide to all things educational visits.

Check out our feature on page 72 - where we explain what Educational Visits Advisers do and how they can support you at all stages of your planning and delivery.

It's great to see EVCs from our school community in here too, sharing their experience and advice for other EVCs.

view of the aisle of an airplane with an airsteward at the end of the aisle. People are sitting on the plane.

Grants and funding

Schools raise £12k with easyfundraising

We’ve added lots of new funding opportunities for In just one year since we launched the partnership between EVOLVE Advice and easyfundraising, 196 schools have signed up to get donations from retailers, raising a total of £12,209 to help fund their educational visits.

Congratulations to our top fundraisers, Linwood School, Bournemouth who’ve raised an amazing £878, and Red Hall Primary School, who have 101 supporters raising money for them!

www.evolveadvice.co.uk/easyfundraising

NEW webinar to watch on demand: ‘How easyfundraising works’.

News and opportunities

EuroSpace STEM inspection visit offer

If you’re interested in taking a group to EuroSpace Center, Belgium, Visions in Education is offering STEM teachers an action-packed inspection weekend for just £99, which is refunded in full if you book with them in 2025 or 2026.

The residential STEM Discovery tour takes place from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th January 2025. It includes on-site accommodation at Euro Space Centre, as well as 7 hours of activities, simulations and workshops each day.

For further information, or to request a booking form, please message info@visionsineducation.co.uk or call 01444 810399

Teacher inspection visits are a great way to understand what an attraction has to offer and what you need to consider for your group’s visit. It’s also a great way to get to know the travel company and work out if they’re the right fit for you.

Training and CPD

Free CPD –sign up for the next in our STAGED series of webinars

Our next set of webinars focuses on:

Your responsibilities when organising self-led visits https://www.evolveadvice.co.uk/webinars/2024/self-led-visits

Medical, health and wellbeing needs on educational visits https://www.evolveadvice.co.uk/webinars/2024/health

Behaviour and educational visits https://www.evolveadvice.co.uk/webinars/2024/behaviour

See more webinars https://www.evolveadvice.co.uk/webinars

Watch previous webinars on demand: https://www.evolveadvice.co.uk/videos

*STAGED = Staffing; Travel; Activity; Group; Environment; Distance

Spread the word

This Evolve Advice Digest is available to all EVCs, Visit Leaders, SLT and anyone else involved in educational visits. If you know someone who would benefit from receiving news and updates from us, please share this link so they can sign up.

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Featured Training

Live learning day

Join us in February for a full-day, face-to-face training event for EVCs and Visit Leaders.

11 February 2025 | 09:00-17:00 | Friends House, London, NW1 2BJ

This isn’t a conference or a training course, it’s an intensive CPD Day with multiple courses running simultaneously offering essential role-based training and additional skills courses to support your professional development as EVCs and Visit Leaders.

Courses on offer

Core role training:

Initial EVC Training
EVC Revalidation
Visit Leader Training

Skills courses:

Snowsport Visits Training
Risk Management for Educational Visits
Visit Emergencies
EVOLVE Systems Training

Choose to complete 1, 2, or 3 courses in one day. Build on your own experience of educational visits, and share good practice and effective strategies for keeping young people safe on trips and visits.

Educational visits training and development

EVOLVE Advice provides EVC Training; Visit Leader Training and e-learning; Snowsport Visits Training and Risk Assessment for Educational Visits.

FIND COURSES