Lord Young’s review on health and safety and compensation culture could herald a major and long-overdue social change - an end to the damaging effects of health and safety laws. The Countryside Alliance Foundation (TCAF) has conducted extensive research into the perception that health and safety is the main reason schools do not take young people into the outdoors to engage in practical learning. TCAF’s research found that while over 76% of teachers claimed fear of litigation was their main reason, the reality is local authorities paid out on average £293 in compensation per year over the last 10 years. The review proposes a radical simplification of the number of forms that schools have to complete before taking pupils on trips.
Such measures, hopefully, will enable our young people to engage with the countryside and re-build people’s passion for our open spaces.
Alice Barnard, The Countryside Alliance Foundation
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