What qualifications do you need to become a qualified bushcraft instructor in the UK?

[Tony]

All the mainstream bushcraft schools have insurance without a governing body, they have for years and years without a qualification, just experience, skill and knowledge. those that teach bushcraft as a business that are not insured should be shot (not literally).
All of the schools I would attend are insured and do not have a piece of paper that qualified them for that insurance.

 

[John Fenna]

Insurance without the membership of The Institute for Outdoor Learning costs just shy of £1000, about 2/3 of that with membership.
As a level 4 canoe coach teaching "wilderness canoe camping skills" my insurance comes as part of my membership of the WCA ....
go figure!

 

[_mark_]

There are no validated, fixed syllabus, nationally recognized qualifications required to be a Bushcraft instructor in the UK.

 

[shona]

Funny how they're not signing up in their droves to pay the £3,000 per instructor, for the privilege of being
assessed as fit, by self appointed adjudicators.

It's the self-appointed bit that gets me - who (apart from themselves, of course) decided that the adjudicators are fit to adjudicate?

It also seems to me to be extremely arrogant that said self-appointed adjudicators require instructors from existing long-established schools with good reputations (and who very likely have a broader skill base than the "adjudicator") to undergo an assessment to join the ranks of the "accredited". Can they seriously see themselves asking Ray Mears for example to prove to them that he can build an A-frame shelter to their standards? And paying them for the priviledge of course... but I'm sure that financial gain and perceived power/advantage over competitors has nothing to do with it.

.

 

[Paullyfuzz]

Bushcraft skills put aside as there are no quals other than proven experience, IMHO I think you would need a minimum of a 4 day+ first aid course, food hygene course, public liabilty insurance and I'm pretty sure If you want to take under 18's you would have to be licensed by AALA, ( Adventurous Activities Licencing Authority ), and of course crb checked

 

[johnboy]

Bushcraft skills put aside as there are no quals other than proven experience, IMHO I think you would need a minimum of a 4 day+ first aid course, food hygene course, public liabilty insurance and I'm pretty sure If you want to take under 18's you would have to be licensed by AALA, ( Adventurous Activities Licencing Authority ), and of course crb checked

The AALA do not cover 'Bushcraft' type activities.

 

[Toddy]

They do for courses where bushcraft is an element for youth groups.
I googled and this was the first one that came up.
http://www.mountainandwater.co.uk/edraft.htm

No connection, there are loads like this.
My Disclosure Scotland is a requirement if I'm working with youth groups or vulnerable adults, I would suspect that the equivalent is needed elsewhere too

cheers,
Toddy

 

[johnboy]

They do for courses where bushcraft is an element for youth groups.
I googled and this was the first one that came up.
http://www.mountainandwater.co.uk/edraft.htm

No connection, there are loads like this.
My Disclosure Scotland is a requirement if I'm working with youth groups or vulnerable adults, I would suspect that the equivalent is needed elsewhere too

cheers,
Toddy

Mary,

I'm not sure you've picked a good example there. The activity they are running is heavily water based.

Water based activites would fall under the remit of AALA.

Plus the centre you've highlighted seems to run a wide variety of 'Traditional outdoor pursuits'. To do so to under 18's in the UK means they would have to be AALA accredited, to comply with the relavent legal requirements.

As per the OP I don't think generic lowland 'bushcraft' type of activity would require any accreditation from the AALA.

Looking into the AALA guidelines I'd say trekking would be the activity strand most likely to cover 'Bushcraft'

AALA describes trekking thus:

Trekking
Trekking is journeying on foot, horse or pedal cycle or skiing over terrain which is moorland or more than 600 metres above sea level; and from which it would take more than 30 minutes travelling time to reach any accessible road or refuge; but it does not include skiing on a prepared and marked-out ski-run.The most familiar trekking activities include hill walking, mountaineering, fell running, orienteering, pony trekking, off-road cycling and off-piste skiing.

In your example of a interesting activity combining raft building and some bushcraft.

The rafting element would fall under the remit of AALA because again to quote:

rafts (including those which are inflatable or which are improvised from various materials but excluding those propelled by means of a motor or towed by a motor-boat);


HTH

John

 

[Toddy]

I think it's back to define bushcraft again.

I know of many schools who routiinely make coracles with their students, rafts with youth groups, burn walks, all as part of the activity set called bushcraft.

It's a 'very' wide remit there are no edges.

cheers,
M

 

[johnboy]

I think it's back to define bushcraft again.

I know of many schools who routiinely make coracles with their students, rafts with youth groups, burn walks, all as part of the activity set called bushcraft.

It's a 'very' wide remit there are no edges.

cheers,
M

We may be talking at cross purposes. As I understand the legislation.

If a commercial provider is offering water based activities to U18's that fall within the remit of AALA then the provider needs to be AALA licenced.

I would suspect that part of that licencing would be a review of safety systems and ensuring that staff instructing had an appropriate water safety qualification.

In the context of the OP then no AALA registration is required for that activity set to be delivered to U18's.

 

[dasy2k1]

For under 18s a cureent CRB would be required...
other than that unless you fall into the AALA remit just a certificate of public liability insurance...

recommended things would be :
Decent first aid cert
set of wood beads

(hoping to get the last one myself in a year or 2 )

 

[BOD]

As long as there is a practical component.

21 days in the environment they proposed to teach in. 5 days food. 2 blades of choice. 1 set of appropriate clothes and footwear. 3 litres of water. Nothing else. Navigate w/o compass to pick up point 5 days walk away.

Otherwise bushcraft will be like PADI

 

[johnboy]

set of wood beads

(hoping to get the last one myself in a year or 2 )

Wood beads??? Please explain....

As long as there is a practical component.

21 days in the environment they proposed to teach in. 5 days food. 2 blades of choice. 1 set of appropriate clothes and footwear. 3 litres of water. Nothing else. Navigate w/o compass to pick up point 5 days walk away.

Otherwise bushcraft will be like PADI

So as an Instructor I'd need to be able to do that??

 

[BOD]

I think the beads are so you look sort of rustic or spiritual etc.

As for the 21 day practical I think it is important to be able to walk the talk.

When I was manager of a coral reef survey programme and also recreationally, I was amazed how many dive instructors and divemasters were poor divers and often out of their depth, so to speak, while some crusties I know with basic qualifications, or none in one case, were simply ace. Hence the reference to PADI.

Maybe 14 days then. Bob Cooper gets his best students to do 200 km in the Pilbara in W Australia going from water hole to waterhole unescorted. And they pay for the privilege! No food. Now that's instruction.

Wood beads??? Please explain....



So as an Instructor I'd need to be able to do that??

 

[johnboy]

I think the beads are so you look sort of rustic or spiritual etc.

As for the 21 day practical I think it is important to be able to walk the talk.

When I was manager of a coral reef survey programme and also recreationally, I was amazed how many dive instructors and divemasters were poor divers and often out of their depth, so to speak, while some crusties I know with basic qualifications, or none in one case, were simply ace. Hence the reference to PADI.

Maybe 14 days then. Bob Cooper gets his best students to do 200 km in the Pilbara in W Australia going from water hole to waterhole unescorted. And they pay for the privilege! No food. Now that's instruction.

Ok I see the beads would act as some sort of talisman...

Bod you seem to be advocating some form of assessment for those wanting to instruct? I'm not sure traveling from water hole to water hole would be practical for the UK but I get your drift.

Understand about your PADI analogy..

 

[Chris G]

A very interesting thread & thanks for starting it. I'll keep my thoughts to myself for the timebeing, but I look forward to reading more as other add to the thread.

Chris

 

[John Fenna]

Wood Beads as in "Scout Leader"?

 

[johnboy]

A very interesting thread & thanks for starting it. I'll keep my thoughts to myself for the timebeing, but I look forward to reading more as other add to the thread.

Chris

No problem... I'd be interested to hear your perspective as I assume from your Avatar line you're training to become a Bushcraft instructor in the UK.

 

[Chris G]

Indeed I am.

 

[dasy2k1]

yep.... mainly saying that because done well a lot of the training covers how to actually teach skills to people of all ages ina fun way.....

i dont really know any other courses that teach that