Village Camps.  14 Rue de la Morâche,  1260 Nyon, Switzerland  Tel: +41 22 990 9400  Fax: +41 22 990 9494

A Message from the Directors

Nick Tranter, Director
Outdoor Education Division
Village Camps S.A.

For more than 30 years Village Camps has been working in partnership with the international school community to provide children with outdoor learning opportunities. This depth of Village Camps experience enables us to be able to offer high quality programmes which have enormous potential for children and teachers alike.

Our programmes are designed to maximise the opportunity of being in an outdoor learning setting. Students are challenged with new and demanding activities which are facilitated to help them develop and improve both intra- and inter-personal skills. Physical challenges of life in the outdoors helps develop self-reliance and personal responsibility. Interdependence between participants is encouraged through the need to share and work together during adventurous activities and the residential experience. Improved self-esteem and self-perception occurs through facilitated goal-setting and children exceeding their own expectations.

Anthony Bell,
MSc Outdoor Education
Programme Director
 

Since its development in the 1960's the outdoor sector has gone through a number of changes. Many programmes that are offered in the outdoors have become purely recreational or adventure, others are of specific nature fieldwork type. Here at Village Camps we believe in maintaining a balanced approach to Outdoor Education. We incorporate adventure activities into an outdoor programme that has environmental education as an equally important goal. Learning about humanity's place and responsibilities in maintaining a healthy planet is a key aim of our programme, and is combined throughout. Examples of this include developing an understanding of human impact and geological principles during rock climbing, learning about both natural and human geographical features during orienteering, and the value of fresh water during a river descent. (For more on these connections see the programme / activities details section).

Our goal is to help children to value our world and each other, learn skills they will need to contribute positively in their society, and understand the needs of both humanity and of our planet. People often refer to the risks of an outdoor programme for children. Some are real, and are managed accordingly, some are perceived, but not real risks and are a very useful learning opportunity. We feel that one of the biggest risks is that future society, guided by today's children, does not have learning opportunities in how to take responsibility for itself and its actions.

Outdoor Learning: Responsibility, Understanding and Action

What makes our Outdoor Learning programme the first choice for international schools?

Our programme - Your choice

Our Outdoor Learning programmes combine three areas of interaction, adventure, the natural environment and personal & social growth. Within this structure there is flexibility to suit the needs of each group, indeed even for individuals. Each programme can be adapted to fulfill specific curriculum topics and a school's requirement to contribute towards children's physical, social and psychological development (e.g. the IB Student Profile). The focus of any of our programmes is determined through a combination of requirements determined by teachers and parents along with the experience and expertise of Village Camps staff.

Recently, in partnership with various international schools, we have been developing an even more flexible model to allow for children to be included in activity groups which are programmed to follow various levels of activities during the same week. This more graduated programme allows the outdoor learning environment to be set at a level which takes into account children's previous experience of outdoor activities and their level of physical preparedness. This aspect of our programme has been received with enthusiasm by those schools involved and we look forward to offering this graduated programme to more schools in the near future.

Our up and coming season will also see increased emphasis of Roots and Shoots and more connection with the Jane Goodall Institute within our programme. More details of this can be found on the Roots and Shoots page.

Ways in which Village Camps Outdoor Learning programmes that can contribute to your school curriculum

• Primary years programme: Activities to run alongside 'Units of Enquiry' within the classroom. Develop the characteristics identified in The Student Profile.

• Middle years programme: Introduce and develop topics in your school's curriculum, e.g. humanities, social studies. Address the following required 'Areas of Interaction': Environment, Health & Social Education, Approaches to Learning, Community Service, Homo Faber.

• IB credits for the CAS programme.

The staff

We take great care in selecting staff that best suit the needs of international school students. Our staff are therefore highly skilled, experienced in working with children, and come from many countries around the world. The combination of our activities, philosophies and knowledgeable staff is why our programmes are so successful!

Our staff are typically graduates and always have a passion for working and living in the outdoors. As in most international educational organisations there is a percentage of staff who turn over each year. We typically have at least half of our staff who are with us for number of years which shows great commitment to working in this field of education. A number of staff have been campers themselves or at one time attended international schools themselves. In addition to these characteristics they often have formal training as either teachers or outdoor educators, and they attend regular training weeks organised by Village Camps at the start of each season. Specialist staff also have experience, training and qualification specific to their area of expertise.

The facilitation, leadership and supervision

From a Village Camps perspective this actually begins prior to the group arriving at camp. It includes our staff studying the suggested programme proposed for the groups, making out detailed route plans, preparing lesson plans and materials, completing safety audits and risk assessments and becoming familiar with the details of the individuals in their groups (we are advised in advance of medical, dietary and health needs of individuals by the school prior to arrival).

Our programmes run from wake-up until bedtime. During this time the children will follow a pre-determined programme of outdoor experiences and challenges accompanied by their group facilitator. Each facilitator will typically have up to 12 children in his/her group and the groups are usually determined by the school to maximise the learning potential of the programme.

The facilitator leads the same group of children for the whole week, giving the opportunity for the children and leader to develop a close rapport. This is an important element of our programme as the processing of each activity is central to making the most of the outdoor experience.

Another role of the facilitator is to help the children make the most appropriate choices for the their own health and well being. This will include eating well, dressing appropriately, setting activity goals and limits and advising on choices of behaviour which will allow them to make the most of their visit.

In addition to this high quality level of facilitation there are our activity specialist who organise and teach specific parts of our programme. This may be our Living with Nature guide or a Mountain Biking instructor. Also each school group has a designated Village Camps staff member who is responsible for organisation of the week and working with the school trip organiser to ensure the best experience for the children and accompanying adults.

In addition to our programme staff, our centres are maintained and managed by people committed to making the children's visit a comfortable and safe one. All of our programme staff have first aid training and often some are health professionals. Both of our Outdoor Learning Centres are within minutes of local health facilities.