Ham Hill - Award Winning Educational Site

South Somerset District Council’s Ham Hill Country Park is one of the first organisations in the country to be awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge, recognising it as a provider of quality, safely managed educational experiences for young people.

The Quality Badge is a brand new scheme, combining for the first time high quality learning and safety into one easily recognisable badge for all organisations providing learning outside experiences.

Grace Hall, Education and Access Officer for South Somerset District Council said, “I am immensely proud that Ham Hill Country Park has been awarded the Quality Badge. It’s a real stamp of approval that the wide range of educational sessions we offer young people are recognised as being of high quality. We always work closely with local schools and other educational groups to make sure we are providing exactly the right experience for their group in a safe learning environment.”

The Quality Badge was developed as part of the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto, a national initiative to ensure young people are given more opportunities to have these experiences as part of the curriculum. The Quality Badge scheme is part of the Government’s £4.5m Out and About package which, in addition to the badges, provides guidance and information to teachers on how to plan and organise high quality activities. The badge is designed to make it easier for teachers to identify providers of quality educational visits. Organisations will display the badge to show schools that their venue has met required standards, so teachers do not need to carry out their own risk or quality assessments.

The Quality Badge was developed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Badges are awarded by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom.