Character education and intervention programmes

Coventry Outdoors offers a series of 12-week programmes, each session lasting a full day. Programmes are aimed at children and young people with a broad range of issues, ranging from mainstream with everyday basic social and emotional issues, low confidence, and low self-esteem, through to those with deeper issues such as behavioural and SEMH. Each programme is designed to enhance mental health and wellbeing, through focusing on personal development and character education whilst also equipping children and young people with new skills and qualifications.

Challenge Week

Each programme will focus on developing a set of key Outdoor Education skills over 11 weeks with the final week (week 12) being set as a challenge day! Participants will have to use all their developed skills and knowledge to complete the tasks set and complete the challenge as a team!

Awards/Qualifications

Participants will achieve recognised awards based on the challenges completed, such as the John Muir award, Sports Leaders UK and other National Governing Body Qualifications.

Programmes are designed to support the development of soft skills including: 

• Communication 
• Problem solving 
• Dependability
• Critical thinking
• Creativity
• Perseverance
• Reflective learning
• Teamwork 
• Organisation 
• Positive attitude 
• Adaptability 
• Conflict resolution 
• Resilience
• Decision making

This 12-week intervention programme is designed to help develop emotional intelligence in its participants. Emotional Intelligence is the ability to identify, evaluate, control and express emotions, and to be able to read and respond appropriately. This course will focus on developing: 

• Motivation: Pushing yourself to meet the goals you have set. 
• Emotional Literacy: Recognising your own feelings and the feelings of other 
• Managing emotions: Being able to control your emotions effectively 
• Developing empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others
• Motivation: Pushing yourself to meet the goals you have set

The challenge day will place pupils in an extreme situation where they use their whit, teamwork and new skills to ensure all members of their team make it back to civilisation safely. Students will have to locate, assess injury and rescue a member of their team from the wilderness bringing them to safety.

Activities include: 

• Team Building Challenges
• Ghillie Suit Challenge
• Combat Archery 
• Principles of First Aid 
• Compass & Map 
• Following Trails 
• Rescue Search & Evasion
• Build a log lean-to 
• Rescue Challenge

Trauma Informed Social and Emotional Learning is an approach to promote our pupil’s social-emotional development whilst creating a safe and reliable environment where pupils who have experienced trauma and adverse childhood experiences feel supported. In order to do this, students will;

• Explore their strengths and identities
• Develop meaningful positive relationships
• Provide positive experiences, and learning opportunities to support more formal learning
• Facilitate pupils to engage positively with challenging and new scenarios;
  • Positive experiences 
  • Mindfulness activities
  • Self Regulation and Self Care
  • Emotion Coaching

For the challenge participants will be placed in teams, and will have to work together to complete tasks, using limited items of their choice, on the Ultimate Survival Challenge. Students will have to select a number of resources from a central store to complete a series of tasks and challenges to complete Project Survival.

Activities include: 

• Tools and sharps
• Basket and container making
• Cooking utensils 
• Build a log lean-to 
• Free standing Ridge Shelter 
• Making a Bender Shelter 
• Building a campfire 
• Water acquisition 
• Pre-historic fire
• Campfire cooking
• Making cordage
• Primitive bow making 
• Combat archery
• Trapping

Woodland Enterprise is a child and young person initiated activity which is directly linked to developing students. Independence, responsibility and teamwork skills are key elements of the enterprise. The project is designed to enrich the curriculum further and give children the opportunity to experience real-life problems. 

Traditional woodland craft can also be known as ‘woodsmanship’ which means working with trees, forests and tools in a way that communities going back thousands of years would recognise. Traditional craft and green wood sessions will involve woodwork without the use of nails and screws - and with a focus on hand tools. 

• Experience work expectations first-hand 
• Understand how an employing organisation functions 
• Appreciate expectations that employees will have of fellow workers 
• Experience social relationships in the working environment 
• Gain self-confidence, skills and knowledge needed for adult life 
• Increase self-esteem and self-worth

Students will spend 12 weeks making several useable and saleable items that they can take away at the end of the course. These could include, a chair, table, spoon and butter knife or a piece of jewellery made from sourced materials or smelted metal. This provides students with an opportunity to gain work experience in a non-threatening environment.

Activities include: 

• Tools and sharps 
• Splitting and cutting 
• Wood carving - carving a utensil 
• Making a stool 
• Joints and pegs 
• Splitting hazel and willow 
• Wattle fencing 
• Daubb and cobb 
• Green wood framing 
• Table production 

For more information e-mail outdooreducation@coventry.gov.uk