Over 60 delegates from safety centres as far away as Edinburgh, North Wales and Cornwall converged on Birmingham last week for the first conference of the new Safety Centre Alliance.

Safety Centres are full size indoor street scenes with features including working road crossings, houses, canals, railways and trains. They are used to deliver safety and citizenship messages to young people and the wider community though experiential learning programmes.

Meeting at the West Midlands Fire Service’s own Safeside – the latest safety village to open – delegates agreed the need for a new network to facilitate support, networking and development between permanent interactive safety centres in the UK and to support those wishing to set up new centres. The Alliance also to promote and represent safety centres to relevant bodies and more widely to the media.

Delegates heard details of exciting new centres being planned for London and Gloucester. Action plans for joint working were drawn up in areas such as evaluation of educational outcomes and in the development of new programmes for different user groups such as secondary schools and adults with special needs. The Alliance will lobby government for funding that recognises the cost-effective role played by Safety Centres in harm reduction in local communities, and as most centres rely on volunteers to staff visits, workshops and training on recruitment and retention are also planned.

Alliance Secretary Rob Hattersley, Education Co-ordinator at Safeside said: “We were thrilled with such a fantastic turnout from centres across the UK, demonstrating the clear need for the Alliance. We now have some exciting plans for joint working and support between centres, as well as making the case for safety centres nationally as a cost-effective use of public funds.”

The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC) is a national charity dedicated to championing the benefits of high quality learning experiences beyond the classroom for all young people aged 0-19 years. It is the Council’s firm belief that learning outside the classroom (LOtC) is a powerful tool in education, helping young people relate what they learn in school to their lives outside it.

Since taking over responsibility for the LOtC Manifesto in April 2009, our focus has been to drive forward the LOtC agenda by:

• Improving the quality of LOtC activities through the Quality Badge Scheme
• Developing partnerships and influencing policy and practice
• Supporting educational establishments through the Out and About Package

We are now proud to announce the date of our first annual conference with an exciting and engaging programme including:

• Influential speakers from education correspondent and writer, Hilary Wilce, to Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Health and Safety Executive who will be talking on ‘Demystifying Health and Safety and its impacts on LOtC’
• The Council’s first AGM and elections to the Board of Trustees
• An open debate on barriers to learning outside the classroom
• A variety of practical and supportive LOtC workshops
• Quality Badge ‘Ask the Expert’ sessions and

The announcement and presentation of the national and regional winners of the LOtC Awards in Excellence and Innovation 2009 in association with TUI – Student Division.

Our national conference is aimed at a broad audience including headteachers, governors, directors of Children’s Services, LOtC providers, teachers, outdoor education advisors and other interested parties. However, spaces will be limited. Guarantee your place at the conference by booking early. Book online here.