Outdoor learning week bill expected to reach next stage as funding secured

A bill promising every school pupil a week of residential outdoor learning is expected to reach stage two after securing more funding.

The Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) bill was at risk of falling unless the government tabled a financial resolution by the end of this week.

It won majority support when it was first put forward by Conservative MSP Liz Smith, who estimated it would cost up to £40m a year.

Children’s minister Natalie Don-Innes originally said the proposals were unaffordable, however ministers are now expected to announce that they will agree to more funding which will allow the legislation to proceed.

There had been concerns that the government was going to thwart the will of parliament.

Opposition politicians had warned that would be a democratic outrage.

Don-Innes will make a statement to parliament on Wednesday afternoon where she is expected to confirm her willingness to allow the bill to progress to stage two.

At stage two, any MSP can propose changes to a bill. These amendments are debated and later decided on by a committee.

The proposed new law would mean every pupil in Scotland is entitled to four nights and five days of outdoor education.

Liz Smith previously told BBC Scotland how she believed the experience of outdoor education could be transformative for children.

At the time, she said: “I think we should be trying to level up, to ensure that young people, whoever they are, whatever their background, whatever their family circumstances, they should have that opportunity.

“The statistics we have show that if they have participated in residential outdoor education, their attendance is better, their behaviour is better, their self-discipline is better.

“But there is a postcode lottery in provision of residential outdoor education, with research for the University of Edinburgh stating that just a third of secondary schools and only a quarter of primary schools offer this type of experience.”

One of the biggest problems facing the bill is that the experience does not come cheap.

Smith estimates the policy would cost between £25m and £40m a year.

The minister for children previously told MSPs that ringfencing cash for outdoor education could be to the detriment of other activities.

Don-Innes added: “Where would you seek to cut funding from in education? Would it be our teachers, our schools, would it be nurseries or our colleges?”

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) also raised concerns over the practicalities of the policy.

It questioned the impact on staffing, the costs of transport and what it would mean for schools’ ability to take part in other trips relating to geography, history or the arts.