The EVC Magazine Spring 2025 - Flipbook - Page 32
SAFETY STANDARDs
WHAT’S BEHIND THE BADGE?
How do you assess quality when it comes to
choosing providers and venues? And what
do the various badges that providers display
mean for your educational visits?
Visit Leaders and staff approving educational visits
need robust ways of assessing the standards offered
by new providers and whether current providers are
maintaining their level of provision. This is a critical part
of your risk management for visits, but it can be difficult
to know where to start.
You may be familiar with some acronyms or badges
displayed by providers, but it’s not always easy to
know what to look for when choosing a provider.
Understanding what each badge means and how the
different schemes work together will give you greater
confidence and could help to reduce the amount of
checks you need to do yourself.
CHECKING CREDENTIALS
While a licence from the Adventure Activities
Licensing Authority (AALA) is a legal requirement, it
isn’t compulsory for providers to hold non-statutory
assessments such as the LOtC Quality Badge or
AdventureMark. These credentials are a useful way
of identifying providers who have proactively sought
external recognition for the quality and safety of their
provision. If a provider doesn’t have these awards,
you will have to do more checks and will need to be
prepared to make the case for choosing them over
another provider for your visit.
SAFETY IS NEVER 100% GUARANTEED
When assessing quality and safety for an educational
visit, it’s vital to remember that there are no guarantees.
Accidents can happen even with the most safetyconscious provider. However, looking out for the
following badges or licences can help you with decisions
that could reduce risk.
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Adventure Activities Licensing
Authority (AALA) Licence:
Required by law for any operator
providing outdoor climbing
activities on natural rock
(climbing, abseiling, coasteering,
etc.), caving in natural cave systems
and watersports on flowing, tidal and open
waters. Since 2007 the scheme has been run
by Adventure RMS and overseen by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE). Valid for up to three
years, but not necessarily for that long.
AdventureMark
A non-statutory safety scheme
designed by the Adventure
Activities Industry Advisory
Committee (AAIAC). A provider
with the AdventureMark has
chosen to engage in an external
assessment of their procedures and practices.
The assessment is on-site and looks primarily
at safety procedures, but also considers
educational merits. Valid for two years.
Learning Outside the
Classroom (LOtC) Quality
Badge
Recognised by the Department
for Education (DfE) and the
Outdoor Education Advisers’
Panel (OEAP), this is the industry
signpost for quality provision. Any provider
holding this badge is also thinking about
how they deliver from an educational point
of view. It covers all types of learning outside
the classroom, indoor and outdoor. Valid for
two years.
See also OEAP National
Guidance at oeapng.info:
• 4.4f Checklist – Assessing
a Provider
• 4.4g Selecting External
Providers and Facilities
• 4.4h Using External
Providers
