Self development and aspirations
At Arran Outdoor Education Centre, we pride ourselves on being a flagship facility for the delivery of a variety of individual and personal development programmes to both secondary pupils and staff, within North Ayrshire and further afield.
Our courses have been developed over many years by experienced members of staff, including:
- those whom have held management positions at National Centres or Residential Care Centres
- ex-servicemen
- civilian volunteers
The courses we deliver are each prepared individually to suit the client’s needs. These are discussed via consultation with the client group, and finalised prior to attendance.
We focus on two principal programmes – our self development course aimed at S3 pupils and our aspirations courses for S5 and S6.
The main concept of our courses is to help prepare pupils for:
- examinations
- leaving school
- higher and further education
- starting work
- developing and maintaining a career
Course delivery
At Arran Outdoor Education Centre, our courses are delivered either as a weekend or week long duration. They are fully residential and based at the centre.
The accommodation and facilities are among the finest of any UK outdoor education centre.
What’s involved?
There is a large commitment required from each participant both in time and physical effort.
The days are long, with evening sessions that are designed to underpin the daily activities that the pupils and staff participate in. As a result, all participants need to be totally committed.
Participants are often selected by the schools after having undergone a selection process which may have included:
- writing a letter of application
- an interview
Activities
The activities are designed to:
- draw the participants out of their comfort zone
- place them in uncommon or challenging environments
Acitivities also help participants to develop mindsets and skills that can set them up for:
- future learning
- starting employment
- their future and prospective careers
Aims and outcomes
Courses are pitched at participants who may fill an ambassadorial or prefect role at school.
The aims and outcomes of the courses are to identify and develop the following:
- understanding small and large team dynamics
- discovering and learning more about themselves and peers
- identifying individual strengths and weaknesses
- developing mindsets and coping strategies to deal with being in challenging environments
- developing and promoting leadership qualities
- promoting positivism, but understanding how to deal with failure when it happens
- developing self-confidence, resilience and trust in others
Achievements
The strengthening of one’s character and individual development will promote and increase attainment – not only through a young person’s education, but also in their later life.
Through participation and engagement in our courses, we find that there is tangible success. There is a noticeable difference in behaviour and attitude from pupils and staff alike from their arrival to the day they leave.
We have had very positive feedback from schools who actively participated in our courses.
Through the daily activities and evening workshops, the students have started to identify:
- what barriers and hurdles they may face in life
- their own individual strengths and weaknesses
- strategies they can use or develop to overcome them
These achievements are consolidated by a focus on how teams work.
Many students have arrived on a Monday identifying themselves as solitary people, before leaving on Friday as leading members of a team after discovering how to ‘fit in’.
Final presentation
At the end of the course, all participants help to deliver a final presentation. On the week long course, this will often have senior staff, councillors and officers from North Ayrshire Council in attendance.
The presentations are an important part of benchmarking their success gained from the course, but also their pathways forward.
“Leaders don’t create followers – they create more leaders”
Tom Peters