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About Us
Plas Pencelli is a Swindon owned Outdoor Education
Centre based on the edge of the Brecon Beacons of South Wales. Historically it has had many links with
Wiltshire schools which continues and they still represent one of our largest
user groups. The Centre specializes in
providing residential, outdoor education courses for young people from 9 years
up to adulthood. Apart from working with
schools we are also regularly involved in the training of youth groups,
teachers, management groups, members of the public on recreational courses and
those seeking to specialize and gain National Governing Body Awards. The pool of specialist outdoor staff also
allows involvement in a range of specialist and advisory ventures including the
current role of outdoor educational advisory service for Swindon Borough
Council.
Outdoor Education Plas Pencelli provides programmes of Outdoor Education that make a unique and powerful contribution to each individual’s broad education and development. Using a variety of instructional methods adapted to a range of individual learning styles within a challenging environment each course also focuses on many specific learning objectives within the National Curriculum. In particular the disciplines of Citizenship, Physical Education and Personal, Social and Health Education are particularly well visited. Achievement is centred on 4 main areas: personal development; relationships; social skills and appreciation of the natural environment. Throughout each course a high priority is placed on Health and Safety. Outdoor Health & Safety The Centre complies with current legislation on the operation of outdoor activity centres. This involves compulsory annual inspection by the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) on behalf of the Health & Safety Executive. In brief this looks closely at the staff used, the procedures employed, the activities undertaken and the facilities and equipment used. Further background information is available on the website www.aala.org.uk. This information may be useful for parents. Meanwhile the Department for Education and Skills has issued generic guidance to schools on educational visits. Much of this guidance overlaps with the work of AALA. Again Plas Pencelli uses this valuable source of guidance. In terms of activities there is great emphasis placed on LEA advice and also advice by technical advisors. The staff pool at Plas Pencelli contains sufficiently experienced and qualified staff that most technical aspects can be covered “in house”. A wide range of risk assessments covering more than a hundred locations are held. The staff we deploy are subject to Swindon Borough Council recruitment systems and are selected, trained and approved in a systematic manner. Daily activity is monitored, directed and reviewed by a tight management structure. All outdoor equipment used is chosen, inspected and maintained in accordance with guidelines laid down by the EEC. National governing body guidelines are used when running activities. From a safety perspective Plas Pencelli monitors and controls the risks that visitors are subject to from the point of arrival until the point of departure. Additionally group organizers will also want to consider and take steps to control the risks associated with coach travel and supervising young people in a residential setting. Visiting staff retain pastoral care of their students, particularly so overnight. It is suggested that these areas would normally be risk assessed by leaders. Centre
Recognition Plas
Pencelli is a Licensed Provider under the terms of The Activity Centres (Young
Persons’ Safety) Act 1995. This is a
statutory requirement and is achieved by adopting sound principles and systems
of establishing and managing adequate levels of safety whilst moving in and
around the outdoor environment. The
Centre receives rigorous annual inspections to ensure that we conform to
current safety standards in the Outdoor sector.
Plas Pencelli is also a Welsh
Canoeing Association approved Centre for the instruction of Canoeing and a Mountain Leader Training England
approved Centre for Mountain and Rock Climbing Training. Additionally British Cave Association courses are also run from the Centre. Staffing The professional
staff at the Centre are all well qualified leaders with a wide range of
expertise and experience of instructing and leading groups in a range of
outdoor activities. They are not just
outdoor leaders but are attuned to the outdoor educational philosophy that the
Centre promotes. By developing good
group and individual professional relationships they are able to play an
effective part in personal and social development. Staff fully comply with the requirements of
the activities licensing authority and are approved to run activities within
the safety frameworks set out by Swindon Borough Council. You can be confident that a high level of
safety is maintained on all the courses we run.
For further details please see the licensing authority’s website – www.aala.org.
Our outdoor Leaders are also assisted in their roles by a team of
Assistants. These are usually young
people spending a year or so at the Centre.
They learn
new skills and gain experience in working with young people in the outdoors. Many
go on to become outdoor leaders in their own right. Courses All
activities are overseen by the management team on a daily basis. Each programme
is individually designed and visiting staff are invited to make contact before
their visit to discuss aims and preferences. Each course broadly focuses on
sound outdoor educational principles but visiting staff will also want to
introduce their own particular aims for their students which are likely to be
complimentary in nature. The aim is to create as many positive learning
experiences as the course length permits. Instructors
make use of many different venues for different venues for different outdoor
activities. To use the best ones Centre minibuses are used for travel. Venues are chosen taking into account the
age, experience and needs of the students, group dynamics and anticipated
learning outcomes. Courses are also flexible to account for changes in the
weather, other local conditions and logistics. Students
are encouraged to take an active role during their stay at Plas Pencelli. They are given a number of responsibilities. These
include making packed lunches, clearing up after meals, house duties,
organizing group lunch crates and flasks and helping prepare and put away group
activity equipment. Reviewing is very
important to the aims of each week. The
process is on-going and is the focus of at least one staff meeting each day. Staff
Responsibilities Activities
and venues are continually monitored by the management team. Centre Staff are
assigned responsibility to discharge their duties safely and effectively. Their plans for each day are discussed
formally within a staff meeting and are always subject to veto by the
management team. This applies particularly to the choice of activity and venue. There is a
degree of transferability of responsibility between Centre staff and Visiting
staff during the stay of a group. The body of responsibility for the students
when on activities rests with the Centre staff. As it is not expected that
Visiting staff are experienced in any of the outdoor activities pursued any
other arrangement wouldn’t be logical. However, it is suggested that visiting
staff should be enthusiastic and supportive of the work done by Plas Pencelli
staff. Visiting staff will also want to be involved in issues to do with
student behaviour. The
Instructor will discuss with the Visiting member of staff their role on any
specific day. Schools benefit
tremendously from the shared experience between staff and students. It is
highly desirable that at least one member of Visiting staff accompanies each
activity group during the day. If this
is not possible we will always ensure that there are at least 2 responsible
adults with every activity group. The evening
session is coordinated by a Plas Pencelli Instructor with the help of
Assistants and Visiting staff. At 9.15
pm Visiting staff take welfare responsibility for their students until 9am the
next day. A member of the Plas Pencelli
staff will be in residence every night undertaking security duties and is also
available in case of domestic crisis.
For more serious incidents a member of the management team will be on
call and reside locally. Equipment All
protective clothing and safety equipment conforms to European Safety
Standards. Equipment is subject to
regular checking which is recorded for Health and Safety purposes. Students are encouraged to take some
responsibility for their own and loaned equipment. This involves hanging equipment in the areas
provided and a responsibility for paying for all lost or damaged
equipment. All safety equipment is
checked immediately before activities to ensure it is fitted and worn properly. General
Health and Safety The Centre
has a comprehensive Health and Safety Policy which assures the safety and
well-being of all persons within the Centre environment as well as identifying
managerial responsibilities and attributing specific responsibilities to
appropriate members of staff.
Instructors are responsible for the safety of students and visiting
teachers within their care during activity time, and also for specific stores
of equipment. Plas Pencelli maintains an
up to date record of all accidents, and this helps in the process of
continually updating risk assessments.
The accident record book is available for inspection. Each group
that visits the Centre is briefed on fire evacuation procedures and a fire
drill is carried out. Fire alarm
checking is recorded. Parental consent
forms are sent to schools prior to the visit.
These indicate any medical or dietary requirements which may be
relevant, swimming ability, past experience and emergency contact details. These should be returned to the Centre at
least two weeks before the course commences so that any necessary preparations
can be made. Insurance Plas
Pencelli holds full public and employers’ liability insurance. However, you are advised to take out personal
‘trip’ insurance for all members of your party for the duration of your visit. Current
advice from the DfES recommends: “the
group leader should write to the parents to tell them which responsibilities
the LEA/School accepts and the scope of any insurance cover the school is to
arrange”. Relatively
inexpensive travel insurance for groups visiting Plas Pencelli can be arranged
by party leaders through a number of companies including:- Endsleigh Insurance, FREEPOST, |
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