Throughout all my 16 years as a secondary teacher, I was very firmly of the view that outdoor education is one of the most valuable and rewarding learning experiences that any young person can have throughout their whole school career. In particular, I felt that residential outdoor education – when young people can experience an environment very far removed from their usual everyday situations – can be life-changing.

Adventurous new experiences in the outdoors imbue young people with lifelong connections to the natural environment; they build self-esteem, self-reliance, confidence and, most importantly, resilience. 

They also help young people to learn leadership skills, the importance of valuing friendship and what it means to be part of a team. These are skills which not only enrich our own lives as individuals, but they are also the skills that employers want to see in new recruits to the workforce.

The evidence illustrating the benefits of residential outdoor education, both at home and abroad, is well documented and also compelling – so compelling that I do not believe anyone should miss out. Indeed, listening to young people whose lives have been changed as a result of outdoor education has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my entire parliamentary career and I know I am not alone in that view. 

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Last summer, I spent time at the Outward Bound school on Ullswater, along with Welsh Senedd Member Sam Rowlands, and Westminster MP Tim Farron, both of whom have similar aspirations for Wales and England. On that occasion, none of us could fail to be impressed by the young people we met, their parents and their teachers.

That is why I want to change things. 

Currently, some schools in Scotland provide residential outdoor education on a regular basis for young people (and do it very well) but many do not. Often, the intention is there but there are too many circumstances which conspire against the provision. 

So the aim of my Bill is to remove these barriers so that all young people can have the opportunity to experience at least a week of outdoor residential education during their school career.

Liz Smith MSP wants all children to experiencd outdoor education (Image: PA)

I am very conscious that one of these barriers is often cost, so I have made some suggestions to the Scottish Government about how these costs can be met via a public trust model rather than by expecting the Scottish Government and local authorities to pay the whole cost when they are already facing huge financial pressures.

Members’ Bills take time. It is almost three years since I first started researching the whole issue before I then went through the parliamentary process of a formal consultation, analysing the responses – of which there were 436 (almost unanimously positive) – engaging with various stakeholders such as local authorities, teaching unions, the outdoor education sector and parents’ groups. 

Having completed that process, I then worked with the Parliament’s first-class Bill legislation team who wrote the proposed Bill which I formally lodged in Parliament on June 20, just before recess. It will move to the Stage 1 process at the Education Committee in the autumn and I have been very encouraged by the support from colleagues and by the interest taken in the consultation stages by Scottish Government ministers.

In an age following Covid, when there is growing national concern about young people’s physical and mental health, the benefits of residential outdoor education cannot be overstated.

Furthermore, there are too many young people from some of the most deprived areas who do not get the same opportunities as their counterparts elsewhere.

As an MSP, I am determined to address this inequality, and, with this Bill, I can ensure that all young people are able to enjoy an enriched school experience, the benefits of which will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.