Edsential provide EVOLVE Educational Visits advice and Guidance service – a one stop solution for educational visit approval, supporting schools in planning and monitoring and auditing educational visits both locally and overseas. Our team of friendly specialist outdoor education advisors will ensure school staff are happy and confident in the delivery of activities, whilst safeguarding schools in the knowledge that they have exceed statutory requirements and best practice for risk management and training.
We provide comprehensive Learning Outside the Classroom opportunities to staff, governors, pupils and parents. All of our provision has been designed to ensure that it has the most impact for schools leaders and ensures maximum engagement with children to develop their love for learning. Delivery and training not only supports core curriculum knowledge and application, but also supports young peoples’ social, emotional and personal development.
Learning outside the classroom (LOtC) is one of the most powerful learning tools at your disposal. Our CPD programmes are delivered by qualified teachers and practitioners that are experts in the field of outdoor leaning. With a broad offer ranging from Health and Safety planning and support to bespoke curriculum planning.
Our CPD programmes will support you to explore new ways to engage young people to support your curriculum and give you the skills and confidence to integrate Outdoor learning as part of your regular delivery. Covering pedagogic approaches to learning along with the essential Health and safety support to ensure fun engaging curriculums for all.
Let us support you by delivering exciting and engaging learning outdoor activities that will enrich your curriculum. We promise to raise the engagement of young people and improve their physical, social, emotional and academic development.
We will work with you to ensure that what we deliver supports your classroom delivery.Allowing young people direct hands on application of skills, whilst learning about things that are relevant to them in the world around them. Through experiential and pupil led activity, young people will increase their confidence, self-esteem, and develop a love for learning, giving each young person the time, space and support to achieve and shine.
Our LOtC team offers a one stop shop to support you in all aspects of Health and Safety for learning outside the classroom activities. Our Health and Safety training programmes will give staff the confidence when planning and delivering visits, in knowledge that they are not only meeting but exceeding national guidance and more importantly keeping Young people and staff safe.
Edsential currently provide the EVOLVE system along with technical advice, guidance and training for Wirral, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Cheshire East Councils, ensuring that schools meet their legal duty in the planning and delivery of Educational visits.
This service is available to non-maintained schools. Our specialised support will ensure your school meets the statutory and risk management obligations and are guided to maintain best practice in LOtC..
I lead the Edsential LOtC team with a strong belief in the holistic approach of Outdoor learning and believe that all people both young and old, gain mentally, physically and emotionally through engaging and learning in the natural environment. I am passionate about alternative ways of learning and naturally curious and keen to encourage active and experiential learning.
With 16 Years of management experience in using the outdoors as a unique engagement tool with groups, including young peoples Crisis intervention through to family engagement. I am an avid believer in the power of outdoor learning and personal change.
If you would like to find out more on how the Learning Outside the Classroom and Visits Advisory Team can support you and your staff, please contact: Bethan Cooper-Weston on 0151 541 2170 or email bethan.cooper@edsential.co.uk
I am usually found in the mountains, on the water or in the woodland delivering high quality LOTC opportunities to children and adults. I firmly believe that the outdoor environment provides everyone with an opportunity to experience broader horizons and to explore learning through a new dimension, equipping children with the skills needed to flourish in the future of tomorrow.
I have 20 years of teaching experience, working in primary schools as a class teacher and at outdoor education centres, delivering high quality learning experiences for children of all ages.
After graduating from University with a degree in Outdoor and Environmental Education, I initially spent a few years teaching at the Conway Centre in Anglesey, where I worked with a broad range of children and young adults sometimes with complex physical and emotional needs. During my time at the Conway Centre, I developed my passion for teaching children in the primary phase.
EVOLVE Log in http://evolve.edufocus.co.uk/evco10/unknown.asp
Outdoor Education Advisor Panel OEAP national Guidance https://oeapng.info/downloads/all-documents/
Learning Outside the Classroom http://www.lotc.org.uk/
Counter Terrorism Advice https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-counter-terrorism-security-office
Foreign travel advice https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
Health and Safety of Schools on Educational Visits (HASPEV) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-safety-advice-for-schools
Your username is usually your first and surname with no space, if that doesn’t work ask your EVC
If your email was registered, click forgotten my password and it will be emailed to you. When you have logged back in go to your Person icon on my profile and add your email address. Any problems contact your EVC they will be able to reset your password.
Go on to the visit form, press the orange pencil and you will be able to change the date.
Go to the visit form, press the orange pencil and you will be able to add extra dates.
Go to the Risk Assessment Box, press the blue cross button and upload attachment will pop up, you will need to manually type in the name of the document, choose the file and it will upload.
Only EVC’s and Head’s can add staff. Go to your home page, then press the dashboard button, under the Staff tab you will all your staff listed, you can add staff by pressing blue plus button, make alterations by the orange pencil button. There are also tabs for Volunteers.
An External Provider form is only to be used if you are using a provider that do not hold an LOtC Quality Badge.
If your own school staff are running an Adventurous Activity, Evolve will ask what relevant qualifications and experience that member of staff have to deliver the activity, please complete.
Go to the bottom of the visit form and you will see grey buttons saying Approve, Return, Process and Delete. Please press Approve and the system will ask you 5 questions once you have answered them it will ask you for your pin number. Your visit must have been approved by your EVC first before you can approve.
You need to delete your old students before new students from Sims. uploading
EVC training is a nationally recognised qualification and it is mandatory to attend training every three years
EVC training needs to be updated every 3 years
Visit leader training is mandatory in Halton and highly recommended in Wirral West Cheshire and Cheshire East. National guidance advises for staff leading visits to undergo Visit Leader training
For any residential or adventurous activity we require forms to be submitted 20 days in advance
We apologise for the recent changes on EVOLVE, we hope that going forward there won’t be too many more!! The changes have happened to ensure that schools provide the necessary information reducing the number of forms being returned.
“Informative and gave lots of new ideas.”
“A good balance of theory and practice. Well planned and prepared activities for staff to participate in.”
“It was great fun! We got the chance to do activities we don’t normally do like build shelters and fires. It was the best day ever.”
“I really enjoyed making bows and arrows. I learnt that I needed a bendy stick for it to work and wood from a Willow tree is the best.”
All of my children have loved the outdoor learning. It has been lovely to see my girls excited by what they have learnt and even role playing the different activities at home.
