AUSCAMP - CHARNWOOD

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Why Offer Outdoor Education Program

Outdoor education provides schools with the opportunity to have a real impact on a student's life. Through well-run programs you can help students develop skills that will take them through life. Skills like communication, problem solving, being confident with others, being comfortable with themselves, accepting challenges, developing the ability to assess and make informed decisions about risk. The list is extensive. Through outdoor education schools can provide a different type of platform for learning. It also provides highlights in students' school life. If I look back to my school days I can remember the individual highlights and challenges I faced on my school camps and in sport. Do I remember the maths or English lessons. not really. (but I do remember the great maths and English teachers who were on my camps). It is also important that schools do what they can to encourage all students to attend these programs. Students at year 5 to 9 are still learning. Maybe I come from the 'old school' but I believe that they are not old enough and do not really have the history or understanding to make informed decisions about whether they want to go on a program or not. Just because something is difficult does not mean that it is bad.

Who runs your school's outdoor education program?

Many schools sub-contract out their outdoor education programs to commercial operators (Commercial operator includes non profit, charity and community organizations!!!) The actual answer to the question is, the school is ultimately responsible for the product that is presented to the students. This includes content, preparation and safety. The school, teachers, parents and students have to feel comfortable and confident that they will listen be listened to and what they say and request will be followed through. Yes we might run your program from a delivery and logistic point of view but the school should have a great involvement in the development. Another issue is. who at the school is in charge? Is it the year level coordinator or the head of PE., perhaps it is the Principal. Any of these are appropriate if you have an overall picture of where you are heading from the start to the finish. Consider this, most schools have one person in charge of maths and English. it just makes sense to have one person in charge of outdoor education as well, after all, it is in the curriculum therefore it must have value.

What Do Programs Cost?

How much do you want to spend? Ski programs can cost as much as $200 plus per day. A basic camp costs around $200 plus for 4 nights but that is just food and accommodation. no transport, no activities, just what the school staff can put together. The questions that need to be addressed first are the educational ones. what do you want the students to achieve? Is what you are offering age appropriate? Is the program sequential over a number of years? What activities would best fit the year level? After you have worked out some of these questions then you look at cost. It is always better to offer a fantastic 5 day program than a weak 7 day program.

Where Do You Go?

Residential or camping? Base camp or journey? Bus tour or Interstate theme park trip by aeroplane. Do you choose based on what the staff wants or what the students need? A good guideline for Melbourne based schools is the following: within one to one and a half hour there are a lot of camps, most are set up for primary students and they do them well. Two to three hours from Melbourne your options increase, you have residential camps in rural and bush environments with the scope to do many different adventure based activities. These really suit upper primary and secondary students. You also have the camping and low risk journey programs available in many of our State and National Parks. Three hours plus you have the really good stuff. expeditions, wilderness, fantastic campsites in great locations. This is where you take older (year 8 and above) students.

In Summary

I always find it interesting that the schools that are held up as role models (or in some cases most envied) generally have good results, insist on uniforms, have high expectations of behaviour, have compulsory sport and also have compulsory extensive outdoor education programs.