How to plan the perfect residential school trip

Benefits of residential school trips

If you’re a teacher looking to organise a residential school trip, it’s important to have all the compelling facts and figures you need to get buy-ins from your cohort and the parents of your students. Showing off the benefits of these experiences will make this much easier for you.

Personal and social development

Through the mixing of friendship groups and the importance of team work in the majority of activities undertaken on these trips, students will find that their ability to negotiate and collaborate, especially with those they may not have a relationship with already, improve significantly. Even their relationships with themselves can be drastically improved through these experiences.

Learning Away initiative found that 78% of KS2 pupils felt more confident to try new things after a residential experience, with 84% of secondary students reported to have improved relationships with their peers. They found that residential experiences developed a learning community that impacted on socialisation, maturation and pro-active learning behaviours that were still found to be present in the classroom long after the residential!

We have also had direct feedback from teachers over the years that the teachers themselves taking part in activities and overcoming their own fears often shows their students that it’s okay to be vulnerable and show your emotions.

One research paper also detailed the value of improved collaborative skills and strengthened interpersonal relationships that extended far beyond the trip itself. Teachers reported having learnt more about the children in four days than they would have in six months at school!

Another paper claimed that students “gained a greater sense of self, developed an enhanced understanding of the outdoors and appreciated the contrast the natural environment gave them to explore new opportunities”.

A group taking part in Crate Stacking, a common team building activity on school residentials

Mental health and wellbeing

It’s not a surprise that being outdoors and getting active can boost mental health. We are, after all, evolved from hunter gatherers who would spend almost all their time outdoors, using problem-solving and social skills to secure their next meal as a group.

Unfortunately, according to Mind, nearly a third of 16-24 year-olds in the UK reported some evidence of depression or anxiety. This figure is also disproportionately higher for those growing up on a lower income bracket.

However, studies have found that just 20 minutes in the outdoors can reduce cortisol levels (the body’s main stress hormone), which suggests that residential trips in the outdoors can actually help manage stress and anxiety for children more effectively. Others also find that there’s a link between the exposure to nature and the increased positive emotions and reduced risk of depression through boosts in self-esteem and life satisfaction.

With outdoor activities and those found on school residential trips often involving teamwork and social interactions, feelings of isolation are often found to be reduced significantly too. The Institute for Outdoor Learning found that shared outdoor experiences promote social bonding and emotional resilience, particularly in children and young people.

Two students work together to solve an outdoor teamwork puzzle

Academic benefits

It might be hard to believe, but the effect of these outdoor learning experiences on academic success is pretty astounding.

A Learning Away comparative research study looked at the impact of residential experiences on the academic progress and attainment of Year 6 pupils. The study found that when residential trips incorporate curriculum content from their school, such as creative writing and geography, there was a significant positive effect.

They also said that the experiences supported students in overcoming unanticipated challenges, enabling them to achieve their expected results in SATs. Interestingly, similar pupils who went on residentials after their SATs underachieved.

A group of students with activity instructors working together to blast rockets outside

Lifelong impact

We love the way that the Institute for Outdoor Learning explain the lifelong benefits of outdoor learning:

🧑‍🧒 Intrapersonal: building confidence through engagement with new activities and nature, which can result in lasting involvement and outdoor competence. Gaining knowledge and skills through hands-on experiences, character building, resilience and developing a positive attitude towards taking risks.

🫂Interpersonal: outdoor learning gives a safe, encouraging and compassionate environment to work on social skills as well as learn to appreciate the importance of diversity and valuing others.

🏘️ Societal: through learning outdoors and acquiring new skills, it can develop a sense of belonging that can lead to young people engaging more in their local community, leading to learning and work opportunities.

🌍 Global: being outdoors and learning about yourself within it and your relationship to it can ultimately foster a connection to the planet, learning to appreciate biodiversity and sustainability.

Overcoming barriers

Financial barriers

It’s no secret that funding in the education sector isn’t where we’d all like it to be. This can often result in school residential trips being put in the ‘non-essential’ expense list and being postponed until the finances allow.

It’s also no secret that living in poverty and disadvantaged communities can considerably limit students’ opportunities. According to The Centre for Education and Youth, schools serving disadvantaged communities ran far fewer residential trips for their pupils and even when they do, only a third of teachers are confident that their pupils could all afford to participate.

Physical barriers

And speaking of barriers. Another all-too-common barrier both financially and physically is the one preventing those with disabilities from accessing the same school trip as their peers.

It’s not uncommon for schools to either leave children out of experiences or cancel trips altogether, purely due to the added cost of making a residential trip accessible. The Childhood Trust’s SEND report from 2023 and The Guardian article on school trips and disability are just a couple of examples exploring multiple scenarios in which this has happened.

Both options in these scenarios (leaving a child out or cancelling the entire trip) are heartbreaking for all involved and simply widen the privilege gap further.

A mixed ability group ready to start their canoeing activity at Calvert Exmoor

What’s the solution?

We know that you want to deliver an outstanding residential school trip and that you want to ensure the equity and inclusion of all students involved. As a teacher, it’s in your very nature.

While we can’t feign to know all the answers, we do have some.

⓵ Choose venues that are physically accessible 

And we mean really accessible. Some centres may not have the capability to fully integrate those with disabilities in with the rest of their cohort. In these situations, those students will often be separated and be given a different product entirely than their peers.

Centres with full accessibility, built with these groups in mind are your way forward. Even if you are a mainstream school class, those two or three children who often need that extra support will thrive in a place that caters to all abilities.

Some accessible activity centres that are worth considering include: Calvert Exmoor, Calvert Lakes, Calvert Kielder and Bendrigg.

⓶ Choose venues that will incorporate your curriculum 

As you’ve seen from the research, incorporating your own curriculum into the trip will significantly improve your students’ learning. Choose a venue that will take this into account and work with you to create a bespoke and tailored programme.

⓷ Look into funding opportunities

Whether it’s you or your team searching for funding opportunities for the school or simply asking the residential venue you choose about funding opportunities, this can help you overcome the obstacle of cost and hopefully make the experience financially accessible for all.

The Outward Bound Trust, for example, are well-known in the outdoor education world for providing funding towards young people accessing their courses.

As a centre, Calvert Exmoor have an array of funding opportunities for prospective bookings. For example, they’ve recently been taking part in the UK Youth programme, which allows them to offer fully-funded places to schools from areas of high economic deprivation.

They also have a bursary scheme that allows them to offer discounts of varying sizes to school groups who book with us for residential experiences.

Summary

We now know the benefits of a school residential, we know the barriers that could be in the way and how we can overcome these, but here’s a nice succinct list summarising how to use these tips to plan the perfect residential experience:

• Choose a venue that: is fully accessible, has funding options and will incorporate your current curriculum (as well as holding all the necessary accreditations)
• Use local area to your advantage: choose a location that could present more learning opportunities e.g. near a beach, by a river, near a historical town
• Student reflections: before, during and after the residential, students can set learning objectives and reflect on their experiences, which will enhance their learning further

If you’d like to hear about how Calvert Exmoor can help you plan your perfect School Residential, you can read more here and get in touch with us using the form below.