Thousands of disadvantaged young people are to get access to outdoor learning opportunities away from home so they can develop vital life skills, build confidence and resilience.
New Experiences and Expand Their Horizons
The Adventures Away From Home Fund, worth £1.5 million, will allow more children and teenagers to enjoy activities they otherwise would not be able to take part in. The fund will see disadvantaged young people take part in activities to give them new experiences and expand their horizons.
Participants such as young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and young carers will be given the opportunity to try exciting new activities such as zip-lining, kayaking and cooking, supporting the development of skills like teamwork and problem solving. Outdoor learning has also been shown to increase young people’s attainment in schools and their attitudes towards learning.
This builds on last year’s scheme where over 3,500 young people had the opportunity to take part in this programme from across the country. Young people said the experiences helped them overcome their fears and prepare them for real world experiences, with one young person saying “It was only [their] second time away from home” and that “the trip was an adventure from start to finish…we loved every minute of it.”
The move to more than double this programme this year builds on Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer’s aim to give young people ‘someone to talk to, something to do and somewhere to go’, outlined in a recent keynote speech at the Onward Think Tank.
Best Start in Life
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said, “I want every young person to have the very best start in life, and that includes access to exciting opportunities that take them out of their comfort zone and expands their horizons.
“The Adventures Away from Home Programme will support 7,500 young people to take part in activities not usually available to them. It will help them develop new skills, build confidence and resilience.
“We will support one million more hours of activity for young people in youth centres and clubs to give them somewhere to go when the school day ends where they can enjoy positive activities.”
The Government also announced the next phase of the Million Hours Fund is open for applications, in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund.
Designed to create more than one million additional hours of youth centre provision in areas with high numbers of antisocial behaviour incidents, the £19 million fund will pay for additional youth workers, volunteers, venue hire and activity resources for youth clubs.
The first £3 million of the Million Hours Fund was allocated earlier this year. It helped 400 youth organisations to deliver extra provision over the summer holidays – meaning more young people could enjoy positive activities during the break.
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