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Outdoor Education

Asked by Ben Obese-JectyConservativeDepartment for EducationTabled Answered 1 July 2026UIN 12538

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing legislation that mirrors the Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill.

Answered by Georgia Gould

The government recognises outdoor opportunities as a valuable part of the childhood experiences we want all children and young people to have.

Our Enrichment Framework, published on 15 June, sets an expectation that all schools and colleges should offer a broad and well-rounded enrichment offer. Access to nature, outdoors and adventure, including residentials and camps, is specifically identified as one of the five areas that offers should cover as a minimum and highlights examples of offers including residentials.

We are supporting the provision of more opportunities through the £132 million Every Child Can programme and will be supporting 400 schools in deprived areas to develop offers in line with the benchmarks through our £22.5 million Enrichment Enhancement Programme. We will also be working to grow provision in areas where access is limited, working with Baroness Grey-Thompson as enrichment ambassador for this area.

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