#SaveYourOutdoorCentres Campaign Statement – 25.09.2020

Firstly, thanks so much for your support for this campaign, having over 21000 signatures makes a huge difference to how the campaign is received. Thanks you again! 

We thought it was time to give you information on some of the points being made by ministers in the Scottish Government, and just how much we really need funding to keep our outdoor centres open over the coming monthd. 

We are delighted that a debate took place earlier this week in the Scottish Parliament, led by Liz Smith MSP on the future of  outdoor education centres in Scotland, and were humbled by the support shown for the residential centres by MSPs from all parties. 

However, we feel it important to make sure that the record accurately reflects the current challenges being faced by these centres. 

Whilst the Scottish and Westminster Governments have provided funding in certain areas, which is welcomed, this funding does not address the biggest challenge of all, keeping these amazing centres open. These centres are a resource which is evidenced to help to close the attainment gap, develop resilience, confidence and life skills, improve wellbeing, physical and mental health in Scotland’s children and young people. Normally we provide these experiences for 105,000 children every year.  

The issues we continue to face:

Day Visits

The Scottish Government provided a small amount of funding for the production guidance on Day Visits for schools to outdoor centres. The sector was involved in the process and this guidance is welcomed.  However this is not a solution to the challenges outdoor education centres face because:

·       Often the rurality of centres means day visits to centres are not practical

·       Day visits are a very different funding proposition and parents and schools simply do not have the funding to cover the costs at this time.

Working with schools

It is worth noting that in addition to day visits to centres, it is possible for centres to send staff into schools to compliment and help deliver meaningful outdoor learning that absolutely meets the needs of young people as we exit lockdown and we try to get education recovery right.  There is significant interest from schools for this, and providers are being innovative in thinking about how to make it happen.  The bit of the jigsaw that is missing is funding and this is what the campaign is asking the Scottish Government to support.  The sector can meet the needs of young people now, indeed the needs the Scottish Government itself has highlighted as a priority.

The end of the furlough scheme

Organisations have accessed the furlough scheme but the furlough scheme comes to an end in a matter of weeks at the end of October. With no ability to generate income a cliff edge is approaching and providers are in redundancy consultations with staff.  Without a solution much of the expertise will be lost from the sector and centres will close. It is predicted that we will lose 50% of the 36 centres we have in Scotland by mid 2021, with more to follow. Unfortunately the new funding scheme announced by Westminster for the retention of jobs on 24.09.2020 will still not solve the problems being faced by the outdoor centres, as this scheme will only make a marginal difference to the overall costs of staffing.

Third Sector Resilience Fund, Youth Work Education Recovery Fund, Loans

While 70% of residential outdoor centres are part of the third sector only a small number have been able to access money from the third sector resilience fund, the fund was only available to those who had little or no reserves at the start of this crisis. Those reserves are now long gone.  For those who were able to access the fund, that money has now been spent, the funding was emergency funding, not long term funding.

The Scottish Government has put in place £3m for Youthwork Education Recovery Fund, a step that we welcome. This fund is open to outdoor providers, however, the maximum grant available is £60k, and this simply is not enough to help us retain the residential outdoor centres until mid 2021.

Loans have been available to many businesses to sustain their cashflow in the short term, but businesses need to be able pay back the loan before they can apply for one. As we can not predict our income for the next six weeks, never mind the next six months, many outdoor education centres are not in a position to apply for a loan in the current circumstances. 

Unlike other sectors which are not able to operate normally there has been no support package available to Outdoor Residential Centres. Centres have already begun to close, and this will accelerate when the furlough scheme ends next month with 50% of Scotland’s 36 Centres likely to close and half of our 600 employees at risk of redundancy in the coming months. Without a support package these Outdoor Education Centres will be lost forever. 

When we say forever, we actually mean forever. There is a history of outdoor centres being closed with no opportunity for community buy out or similar, the buildings then being demolished or used for housing, or the land sold for redevelopment. This means that literally hundreds of thousands of young people will not be able to access the residential outdoor experience that was identified by all MSPs as being so important for Scottish children and young people, and is a core part of the fabric of Scottish education. 

We cannot emphasise enough the urgency of our situation. We ask for a meeting between the outdoor centres and Mr Swinney to take place as quickly as possible, to allow a full and frank conversation to take place and to allow greater understanding of the position of the centres and the Scottish Government.

If we wait any longer, there will be no way back to the provision that we currently have for young people. 

If you have not yet sent a letter to your MSP, there is still time to do so, and we would be so grateful if you did. Our prepared template letter is available on this link, which may make it easier to send a letter for you. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VB6whpD4wkdGbpaUhqeXu8OAKB_dfHctIGd9NpS4UHY/edit

We apologise for the long update, but we hope that this information will give you a clear picture of the current situation. 

Thank you so much again for the support and please please keep encouraging your friends, family, work colleagues, and social media contacts to sign this petition. 

#SaveYourOutdoorCentres team