The Herald:

In recent weeks, everyone has seemed eager to talk about the need to put young people first as we try, over the coming months and years, to recover from the damage done by this terrible pandemic.

Unfortunately, a great deal of that talk looks unlikely to be transformed into tangible changes and real actions, not least because of the wildly misguided obsessing over 'catching up with lost learning'. It's easy to say that kids are our priority, but it seems much harder to really mean it – especially when it’s so much easier to just lock them up in classrooms and pretend that all will be well.

But there was a glimmer of light yesterday with the launch of a new campaign that really could help to ‘build back better’. A coalition of organisations has come together to call for a new focus on residential outdoor education for Scotland’s kids. 

The document lists a variety of benefits from this sort of experience, from increased confidence and team-working skills to better mental health. Having taken part in many residential trips as a child – both through school and the Scouts - and been involved in them as a teacher, I agree whole-heartedly, and was particularly pleased to see that the campaign has already attracted support from all five of Scotland’s main political parties.

READ MORE: Scots pupils to have the 'right' to outdoor activity in new plan to fight mental health concerns

It’s great to see politicians supporting the campaign and starting to talk about the changes that are needed, but – as ever - we need more than just talk. It’s easy to bash out press releases but it’s equally easy to forget all about it once attention moves elsewhere or once the votes have been counted. We need to go beyond snappy sound-bites and campaign-friendly posturing and actually turn ambition into reality.

How? By making access to these sorts of experiences not just a general aspiration, but an actual, enforceable entitlement for every single young person in Scotland. We need to give them the right to these experiences, and then make sure we do whatever is needed to protect that commitment.

The Herald:

I believe that should mean giving every single pupil in Scotland the right to at least one residential trip by the end of primary school, followed at least two more such trips throughout their time at secondary.

Crucially, I believe that these trips should be free for all pupils, regardless of their background. We wouldn’t tolerate, or even contemplate, a scenario in which some pupils were expected to pay for English or maths classes, because those areas are seen as absolutely central to schooling and the development of young people. I see no good reason for residential outdoor learning to be treated any differently.

One possible consequence of such plans would be the need to expand residential provision in Scotland, probably on a fairly unprecedented scale. Might we need more centres dotted all across the length and breadth of the country? Perhaps we’d be forced to train and employ lots more staff to operate them? Those don’t sound like draw-backs to me – they sound like the very definition of an added bonus.

READ MORE: Scotland's outdoor learning centres given £2m to help survive coronavirus pandemic

Over the last few years we have seen outdoor centres such as Netherurd closed. Blairvadach Centre was only saved after a public outcry and a u-turn from Glasgow City Council, who had wanted to close it to save just £134,000. Other centres remain in a precarious position, despite the injection of emergency funding from the Scottish Government. It’s impossible to accurately measure the damage that such loses would do, because it is equally impossible to quantify the enormous value of the experiences they offer.

So enough is enough. Scotland, with its mountains and moors and lochs and islands, and its huge well of ambition and expertise, should be able to ensure that all of its young people benefit from residential outdoor learning experiences.  It’s just a matter of priorities, and it’s time that ours changed.