EVCs and senior school leaders came together for the National Educational Visits Conference in London, hosted by reporter and presenter, Louise Beale.
The event, which took place at the British Library in London on Thursday 13th June, was organised by EVOLVE Advice and featured a range of speakers, workshops and panel discussions about learning beyond the classroom.
School Travel Organiser was the official media partner.
Funding advice, inclusivity, risk management and progressive school trips were some of the topics covered throughout the day, as well as a panel discussion about the future of educational visits.
During the panels sessions, a range of people spoke positively about the impact of educational visits. Gill Harvey, external affairs director of the School Travel Forum, said that their statistics show that the number of overseas visits has grown since the pandemic with teachers doing “everything they can to get students out there and learning outside the classroom.”
Eddie Aylett, principal of the Bower Park Academy in Romford said: “Funding is a challenge but I believe in inclusive education and I am really passionate about my students having experiences outside of the classroom to enhance the curriculum.”
World record-breaking mountaineer Rhys Jones spoke to attendees about his own inspiration as a child and how aged 11, a Scouts meeting sparked a lifelong ambition to climb Mount Everest, a dream he achieved on his 20th birthday. “I can trace my journey back to one particular moment which demonstrates how one hour can make such a difference.”
Thanking EVCs and teachers for what they do, Rhys added: “Sometimes we don’t realise the impact that one lesson, trip or day out can have on a young person.”
Other sessions throughout the day included advice about funding educational visits, understanding your legal responsibilities, and how to create progressive residentials.
Angela Bailey, EVC at the Arts and Media School in Islington, came to the conference for ideas and advice. She told us: “Our headteacher is very keen on getting children learning outside the classroom and it was one of the things Ofsted highlighted when they inspected our school.”
Reflecting on the conference, Louise Beale who currently presents the Channel 5 News, said: “What has been really inspiring today is to hear how much is going on in his sector and how much people want to do. Everyone here is so keen to make educational visits happen.”
