Badge of learning

We can all recognise learning outside the classroom ( LOtC): the crocodile of young people in fluorescent waistcoats; harassed teachers bravely holding back traffic as children dawdle across the road with little sense of urgency; young people sucking pencils and grasping clip boards, chattering around galleries and museums; the matinee audience bubbling with excited children, many of whom may be making their first visit to the theatre. What you may be less aware of are the challenges that organising high-quality learning experiences outside the classroom present to schools and their staff. The use of places other than the classroom for teaching and learning does not necessarily play as major a role in the curriculum as we would ideally wish. Despite a recent OFSTED report endorsing the value of such experiences (October 2008), many schools still remain cautious; curriculum time is preciously guarded and some senior managers have become risk-averse. Time-consuming bureaucracy has also been a barrier to participation, and there have been few agencies to go to for objective help and support. LOtC providers, in their turn, face an uphill struggle to sustain their education offer. Heritage sites, cultural organisations and places of worship frequently rely on the active participation of young people to realise their wider aims, not to mention meet the conditions of some of their external funding. Building the confidence of local users in an education programme takes time. Building new relationships with schools further afield is an even slower process.

Responsive action
Over the past two years, the Department of Children Schools and Families (DCSF) has invested considerable time, energy and resources in order to establish a more secure position for LOtC, initially through establishing a clear and accessible Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto in 2006. A year later, a number of sectors came together to develop a wider LOtC support package: natural environment, adventurous activities, farming and countryside, sacred spaces, arts and creativity, heritage, school grounds and built environment. With the help of contractors CfBT and PricewaterhouseCoopers, a detailed school support package was launched on the ‘Out and About’ section of the LOtC website, and from the end of January the first LOtC Quality Badges will be awarded. Arts Council England has been fully involved at all stages of this process, initially through the establishment of an Arts and Creativity Sector Partnership, and shortly afterwards through commissioning CapeUK to lead on the arts and creativity sector consultation and follow up work on the development of the Quality Badge.

Why a ‘Quality Badge?’
The Quality Badge is designed to help recognise high quality provision of LOtC, and to set a national standard to measure and evaluate against. It provides a framework for providers working in partnership with schools and youth groups, and aims to reduce red tape for schools, making Badge holders a more attractive prospect for teachers organising learning experiences beyond the classroom door. It also aims to enable organisations to refine their quality assurance practice so that they are confident of providing the best possible educational experiences for young people. Badges are awarded by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, a new over-arching body supported by the DCSF.

Is this good news?
This high profile initiative aims to make learning more relevant and activities in non-school settings safer and more effective. The creative and cultural sectors already have a well-developed approach to quality assurance and should find the acquisition of the badge straightforward, particularly as the scheme seems both manageable and affordable. Many remain wary, however. Establishing the value of working in partnership has been a battle hard won. Will the introduction of a system defining schools as users and external organisations as providers make it harder for us to work in our preferred collaborative way? Where will the mentoring come from if, on completing the self-assessment process, an organisation feels it does not make the grade? Self-employed practitioners don’t fit neatly into this scheme. Will they be disadvantaged? Should individuals be ‘badged’?

Individuals
Artists working in education arrive at this point in their careers through diverse routes. Many have great flair and aptitude for helping children learn. There is considerable government pressure to train and accredit all individuals who work with children. Within some spheres of the cultural sector, dance in particular, there is a great deal of research being done to devise a way of training and accrediting dancers who wish to work in education. Creative Partnerships is formalising training for their new ‘creative agent’ roles. In the fullness of time, will we face a situation where the craftsman or woman is prevented from working alongside young people because they do not have the requisite qualification or badge? Or is this in fact a desirable step in the professionalisation of our work?

Applying for the Badge
The Badge is available to organisations providing learning outside the classroom experiences for young people from 0 to 19 in both formal and informal educational contexts. There are two routes to the Quality Badge. Route 1 is for those organisations whose activities are considered relatively low risk, such as theatres, art galleries, museums, places of worship and environmental centres. Organisations which have a significant risk management aspect may need to proceed through Route 2. More details are on the website.
In order to achieve the Quality Badge, an organisation will need to demonstrate that it understands and values learning outside the classroom, that it maintains effective partnerships with its users and that it can support and enable effective learning to take place. Online self-assessment is accessed via the website. A sample of organisations will receive a quality assurance visit from an assessor.