Activity Centre Training and Assessment, Nationally Recognised Qualifications, Job Development

Robinwood Activity Centre have held the ‘Investor in People Award’ since Autumn 2000. This is a nationally recognised indicator of good practice in staff training and development.

Robinwood won a National Training Award for the quality and effectiveness of our group leader training programme. We then went on to become overall winners of the ‘Investors in People National Training Award for a Small Business’.

Robinwood offer a wide range of training and development opportunities as follows:

• Staff induction course
• The first session
• Ongoing staff development
• National Governing Body Awards

Staff induction course

All instructor staff take part in a staff induction course lasting around 4 weeks, before they take charge of any groups of children. By the end of the initial training course instructors will have been trained and assessed to look after a group of children throughout a Robinwood course. They will be able to lead some activity sessions:

• hill walking
• raft building
• archery
• night line
• problem solving
• piranha pool
• caving
• bouldering
• assault course
• low ropes course
• orienteering

and to assist with others some examples are as follows:

• climbing and abseiling
• stream walking
• open canoeing
• zip wire
• trapeze
• team challenge

The induction course includes training and assessment for the following N.G.B. qualifications: B.C.U. open canoeing 2 star and canoe safety test, G.N.A.S. archery leader award and mountain and outdoor first aid.

Many other nationally recognised qualifications will be offered within on-going training, once your employment period has started.

Full board and accommodation is provided free of charge throughout the induction training course, but you are not paid for the hours involved throughout your induction training. An advance on wages can be provided, if required, during this training period.

Some initial 'core induction training' takes place with all new staff together, based at the Alston centre. The new staff teams then split up to do centre specific training based at the centre they will be working at.

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The first season

Additional training is offered throughout the first season working as a group leader at Robinwood, including many activity session observations with one to one feedback. One to one feedback on activity sessions gives a great opportunity to improve soft skill across the range of adventure and team work activities offered at Robinwood.

Robinwood run an 'introduction to climbing course', an 'introduction to hill walking course' and an 'intermediate canoeing course' providing expert training, advice and encouragement to help staff progress from their induction course to higher level nationally recognised qualifications.

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Ongoing staff development

Robinwood Activity Centre makes a commitment to offer staff training on an on-going basis throughout your employment. As well as activity based ‘hard skills’ we also offer training in more child centred ‘soft skills’.

Training and development is offered to each member of staff at a level appropriate for them. There are regular opportunities to discuss and review your training needs. We see our staff team as the single most important factor in the success of Robinwood Activity Centre and we are therefore concerned to ensure that they receive the best training and development programme we can offer.

The on-going training programme at Robinwood also includes taking part in canoeing, climbing and other outdoor activities under the guidance of our senior staff and independent experts. Training offered will give staff the opportunity to improve their personal skills in a range of activities, as well as to learn about instructing groups of children in these activities.

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National Governing Body Awards

Training at Robinwood offers the opportunity to gain a fantastic range of national governing body qualifications. Staff can take any of the following awards when they have achieved the appropriate standard, with no extra charges made.

• Canoeing
  B.C.U. awards for Open Canoeing
  All star awards. Canoe safety award. All coach and trainee coach awards from the level 2 trainee coach upwards (1 or 2 day at each level)
• Climbing
  Single Pitch Award Training Course (2 day)
  Single Pitch Award Assessment (2 day)
• Hill Walking
  Walking Group Leader Training Course (3 day)
  Walking Group Leader Assessment Course (3 day)
• Archery
  GNAS Leader Award (4 day)
• First Aid
  Mountain & Outdoor First Aid (2 day)
  First Aid at Work (4 day)

NGB courses for which an additional commitment is required
Robinwood will also pay for the following higher level courses, as long as you make a commitment to remain working for Robinwood for at least one year after taking the course;

• Mountain Leader Training (6 days)
• Mountain Leader Assessment (5 days)
• Mountain Instructor Award Training (9 days)
• Mountain Instructor Award Assessment (5 days)

Higher level canoeing, climbing and hill walking assessments can take a bit longer to achieve, but you have the ideal situation at Robinwood to build up the experience (and log book hours) you need. Robinwood not only pays for and organises the courses, we also arrange and pay for all national governing body memberships, registrations and log books required for the courses.

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