Todds Leap are delighted to announce we are now professionally recognised, through Adventuremark, BAPA Membership and LOTC Accreditation as a safe, quality outdoor activity provider
British Activity Providers Association Members
Todds Leap is the first activity centre in Northern Ireland to become an accredited member of BAPA.
It is set to provide quality assurance, puts safety as the highest priority and ensure a quality experience.
The British Activity Providers Association is the trade association for private sector providers of activity holidays and courses in the UK. Member centres have all agreed to abide by the BAPA Code of Practice and are committed to high standards of safety, value for money and customer service.
The BAPA mission statement is “Assuring Quality and Safety in the Activity Industry” by:
- Adopting appropriate safety standards
- Opening centres to independent inspection
- Promoting a commitment to ongoing staff training
- Sharing pertinent information with members
- Representation on appropriate national bodies
- Acting as the voice of the private activity sector
BAPA Quality Insurance
The British Activity Providers Association was formed by a number of responsible activity centre operators in 1986.
With the express intent of establishing operating guidelines for an ‘industry’ that otherwise had no specific controlling regulations.
Since that time, successive committees of elected members have developed a Code of Practice, Activity Guidelines and an Inspection Scheme. BAPA sets the standard for Quality, Safety and Value for activity centres and residential and day camp providers.
The BAPA Code of Practice lays down standards for areas such as accommodation, activity equipment, environmental responsibility, health and safety, insurance and learning support.
The BAPA scheme is an approved route to both the new national Adventure mark accreditation and the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge.
Adventuremark
Adventure mark is a non-statutory safety scheme devised by the Adventure Activity Industry Advisory Committee
It is a provider of adventurous activities that are outside the scope of the Adventure Activity Licensing regulations (Northern Ireland is out of scope of licensing which leaves activity centres in Northern Ireland vulnerable to litigation and rogue business competitors).
Adventure mark allows providers to demonstrate to their customers or users that the provider’s arrangements for managing the potential risks of adventure activities have been inspected and found to meet the necessary standards of good practice in the adventure activity industry.
Learning outside the classroom
The LOtC Quality Badge provides for the first time a national award combining the essential elements of provision – learning and safety – into one accreditation scheme.
This scheme caters to ALL types of learning outside the classroom provider organisation catering to children and young people throughout the UK. The scheme is managed and developed by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom.
The LOtC Quality Badge reduces the red tape associated with learning outside the classroom, making it easier for teachers and other education providers to incorporate LOtC into the everyday curriculum. This increases the likelihood of children having the opportunity to have wider educational experiences which directly benefit their educational attainment and social and emotional development.
In summary BAHA membership is an indication to schools, parents and other customers that the centre / operator is taking its responsibilities seriously and should have a safe operation, providing value for money and an enjoyable and beneficial experience.
OCN
Todds Leap has recently been recognised as an official OCN centre which allows us to deliver nationally recognised qualifications.
The Open College Network Northern Ireland (OCN NI) is one of the leading Awarding Organisations based in Northern Ireland. They are regulated by CCEA (for Qualifications offered in NI) and Ofqual (for Qualifications offered in England) to develop and award professional and technical qualifications from Entry Level up to and including Level 5 across all sector areas.
Working with OCN NI will enable Todds Leap to offer our learners:
- Registration on a nationally recognised programme of learning
- To complete qualifications at their own pace and recognise achievement every step of the way
- To accumulate credits towards nationally recognised qualifications
- Receive a certificate confirming their qualification and the number of credits achieved
The OCN approval will allow us to work with the Princes Trust Get Started programme along with other local organisations and community groups in the coming months. This is an exciting step forward for our work in LEAP.
