Forest school is a learning initiativewhere children leave the classroom tohave weekly sessions in woodlands orother outdoor settings, led by speciallytrained teachers. By their very nature,forest school programmes require athoughtful approach to balancing risksand benefits. The activities on offer mayinclude building dens, using knives andtools, and fire-based activities, withchildren being given significant choiceand control over what they do. Theapproach, developed in Scandinavia, isspreading throughout the UK (inWorcestershire over 300 settings arerunning programmes). It is often takenup in early years settings, and is alsoused by primary and secondary schoolsas a way of reconnecting disaffected ordisengaged children with learning.

Do not allow the danger of making a mistake to inhibit your initiative to the point of “ nothing ventured, nothing gained.” It is much healthier to expect to make mistakes, take a few good risks now and then, and take your medicine when you lose. Cold War shoe banging. This blends a Daniel Silva’s art inclusion with a John Grisham legal thriller.The final section dealing with dueling courtroom dramas brings genuine suspense to a relatively bloodless, but thoroughly gripping, tale. Archer reinforces his position as a master storyteller." - Publishers Weekly Young people of all ages benefit fromreal life ‘hands on’ experiences; whenthey can see, hear, touch and explorethe world around them and haveopportunities to experience challengeand adventure. When tryouts for the team were announced, Tanya doubted that she could quality, but she thought : nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The role of guidanceLocal authorities and employers should provide guidanceon how risks and benefits should be assessed and managedin different circumstances, including situations whereexternal agencies such as adventurous activity providersare used. The second, Poppleton v Trustees ofthe Portsmouth Youth ActivitiesCommittee, involved a man who fellfrom an indoor bouldering wall afterattempting to jump from one part of thestructure to another. The man sued theoperator and was awarded damages,but the case was overturned onappeal. The Court of Appeal took theview that there were inherent andobvious risks that did not need to bebrought to users’ attention and did notrequire special training or supervision.

no pain, no gain

Her husband was one of those unfortunate men, called speculators. He believed that to gain thousands, thousands must be put in jeopardy—“ nothing ventured, nothing gained,” was his rule, and he practiced it to perfection. What are the risks?Teachers can be forgiven for believing that childrenregularly come to serious harm on outings and activities.The media can sometimes appear to give that impression.Yet the reality is that visits and activities are by any measurecomparatively safe. Minor accidents and upsets are notuncommon – and should not be ignored – but again, there isnothing to suggest these are any more frequent than ineveryday life. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE)supports over 275,000 people aged14-24 in a programme that, accordingto the charity, “aims to instil a spirit ofadventure, and have a lasting impacton young people’s behaviours, skillsand life chances”. A key part of itsprogramme is for participants to carryout an unaccompanied expedition thatmust be completed through theparticipants’ own physical efforts. TheDofE’s Expedition Handbook is clearthat “adventure and discovery alwaysinvolve some measure of risk”, thatexpeditions should involve respondingto a challenge, and that one of thebenefits of doing an expedition is thatparticipants learn to manage risk.While the initial level of challenge isdetermined by the team, “the weatherand the demanding surroundings inwhich the expedition takes placealways necessitates the teamresponding to a series of unforeseenchallenges.” The Expedition Guide alsostates that, of all the qualities entailedin the safety and well-being ofparticipants doing DofE expeditions,“that of sound judgement is the mostimportant. Sound judgement, alongwith responsibility and maturity, arisesfrom effective training coupled withprogressive and varied experience overa period of time. It cannot developunless there are opportunities toexercise judgement.”

Review activity programmes andoutdoor initiatives and draw up explicitstatements about the benefits ofparticipation, including life skills andcompetences as well as curriculumbenefits. Ensure these benefits arewidely disseminated, discussed andunderstood. Because adventurous activities makedemands on children and young people– physically and emotionally – theycannot be entirely risk-free. Indeed inmost cases, at the heart of the offer ismeaningful engagement with real risk –not perceived risk (as in the harnessedzip wire) but real risk, in whichparticipants take a degree ofresponsibility for what happens. His Clifton Chronicles ( This Was a Man, 2017, etc.) complete, the indefatigable Archer launches a new series that follows a well-born police officer from his first assignment to (spoiler alert) his appointment as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police some volumes down the road. I just like to try anything and I figured nothing ventured, nothing gained,” said Holly, 36, who works at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada. ( The Chronicle Herald)

Nothing Ventured

Wherever possible, rules that were inplace simply to regulate rather than toprotect were removed. The childrenand staff wrote the risk assessmentstogether – for the play equipment, theplayground and ultimately forsnowballing. The aim was to enablechildren and staff to enjoy takingacceptable risks, and to understandthe reasons for any safeguards thatwere in place. Myths and confusion are not the onlyproblems. Trees really are being cutdown, hanging baskets are beingremoved and schools are banningplayground games, all because of amisguided grasp by some individuals ofthe concept of health and safety.Although the climate is improving, thereare still unnecessary barriers to givingchildren and young people the kinds oflearning opportunities that will fostertheir competences and resilience, andgive them a greater sense ofresponsibility for their actions. A suspenseful, professional-grade north country procedural whose heroine, a deft mix of compassion and attitude, would be welcome to return and tie up the gaping loose end Box leaves. The unrelenting cold makes this the perfect beach read. Why doesadventure matter?Few would disagree with the view that parents, teachersand others who look after children need to take a morebalanced approach to risk. Adventurous activities are a keyresponse to this plea to redress the balance around risk.They are amongst the most engaging, enjoyable andrewarding learning activities that children and young peoplecan do, inside or outside the classroom. They can buildconfidence, offer new experiences, provide insights intocharacter and even transform lives. They have the power todo this precisely because they are up-front in their goal oftaking children beyond their existing competences: theymake explicit demands on those who take part.

The form has, according to KathleenNicol, Training & Quality Manager atEnable Scotland, made a realdifference to the approach of staff. Shesays: “Usually the penny drops aboutthe advantages of risk taking and theimportance of not wrapping people upin cotton wool.” Harry is called to talk about his role within the force and it happens to be within the art crime section when he remarks about a painting. His comments do not go down well because he makes a discovery that they had a forgery. He is then catapulted into the Art & Antiques unit in Scotland Yard and a detective is born…Such materials should be helpful andsupportive. However, guidance can onlygo so far, and can never deal fully withall the possible circumstances andsituations that may arise on a visit orduring an activity. Indeed too muchguidance, at too great a level of detail,can be counterproductive, because itcan reinforce a distorted approach torisk management that focuses ontechnical compliance rather than criticalthinking and proactive problem solving.According to Marcus Bailie, Head ofInspection at the Adventure ActivitiesLicensing Service, when things gowrong, the primary questions posed inany resulting inquiry, whether conductedinternally or by the courts or regulators,are ‘what happened on the day?’ and‘was it reasonable?’. However, certain translations of Herodotus 7.9 include "if nothing is ventured in life, then nothing is gained". Suggesting either the phrase or something similar stretches to even before 960AD. It will take skill and tenacity for William to solve the crime, and along the way he will encounter many who will change his life, from Miles Faulkner, a crooked art collector, and his influential lawyer – who bends the law to the point of breaking – to research assistant Beth Rainsford, a woman with secrets who he falls hopelessly in love with . . .