How can climbing wall use in schools help boost student grades?
Having a climbing wall in a school can help improve children's grades. Benefits to health, academic performance & social skills can also be seen. And as such, encourages a number of different career pathways.
Improvements to physical & mental wellbeing
Children regularly participating in climbing wall activities can experience improvements in balance, agility & coordination.
Good for teaching scientific concepts. For example, forces involved in falling. Or use of pulleys to enhance pulling power.
Promotion of general health & fitness. Wall climbing is offered as a GCSE option. Moreover, children who find traditional sports difficult can often excel at climbing wall activities.
Better development of fine & gross motor skills. Climbing walls enhance many muscle groups in the body. e.g. core, legs, shoulder, arms & back. Climbing walls also develop fine motor skills such as handwriting & for small movement.
Improved decision-making skills. Children will need to work out how to navigate to the top of the wall. In order to do this successfully, they will need to make a number of decisions in the process.
Enhancement of problem solving skills. Puzzles are not dissimilar to climbing walls.
Children will need to work out which stones to step on & how they can successfully navigate to the top. One way to challenge kids in different ways is to change the location of stepping stones every week. Presenting them with a fresh challenge each time.
Increased focus & concentration. Navigating up a climbing wall requires 100% focus & attention. Which is also important for a child’s learning throughout school. Thus, climbing walls help children to focus on the task in hand. Rather than drifting to another activity. Overall, this improves the child’s learning.
Better perseverance. It is true that kids beginning rock climbing may find the task difficult. However, it is a good task to promote perseverance within children. Ensuring they use maximum effort to reach the end goal of reaching the top of the wall.
Higher level of confidence. It is fair to say that when you learn a new skill, it makes you feel more confident. Carrying out a climbing wall activity can encourage children to partake in other activities.
Stress relieving. Climbing walls are good for children feeling down or stressed out. It allows them to forget their problems & concentrate on the task in hand. The exercise can also help reduce stress levels.
Good for children with disabilities. Climbing walls can help with spatial perception, coordination & balance. Teaching of goal setting, communication, problem solving & planning skills are also developed. Children that have problems with gross or fine motor problems have opportunities to be part of a group. As well as develop new friendships & leadership skills in an inclusive setting. Cerebral palsy is a condition that can affect movement. Such as walking & doing exercise. Improvements can be seen in the ability to walk, jump, stand & run. As a result of three months of wall climbing. For children that suffer from sensory integration dysfunction, climbing walls provide a tactile environment. As such, climbing walls have colourful & varied shaped holds. Helping enhance interest & providing visual stimulation.
Improvements for career prospects
Climbing walls can offer a better route into taking up rock climbing as a more serious pursuit. Climbing walls can really inspire some children to take up climbing or outdoor activities as a career. One way this can be achieved may be to do the National Climbing Award Scheme.
GCSE options are available for climbing wall activities. However, not many people are aware of this. And this can inspire some students to take greater interest in the outdoor activities sector in general. There are a lot of careers available which are within the outdoor industries sector. For example:
Instruction
Access to industrial ropes
Business & marketing
Retail work
Jobs requiring general knowledge of climbing & equipment involved in it
A child that has developed an interest in climbing may want to further this by carrying out a recognised qualification such as the National Climbing Award Scheme. This is a level 5 scheme which teaches basic climbing & bouldering skills. Which extend right through to high performance levels. However, involvement in clubs, competitions & youth meets can further stimulate interest.
Improves academic performance & social skills
Did you know that climbing walls are good for boosting academic performance of children? Particularly those at a disadvantage? Climbing walls are also good for boosting children's social skills. Moreover, research conducted by Newcastle University, NatCen Social Research & ASK Research discovered that rock climbing activities:
Encourage children to achieve more around age 11
Experienced improvements in behaviour, social & emotional wellbeing
Improved likelihood of allowing children to achieve level 5 in Maths
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds achieved better key stage 2 results after attending after school sports clubs
Summary
Studies have shown that children who regularly participate in climbing wall activities experience improvements in overall health. As well as academic performance & social skills. Climbing wall activities promote a range of benefits for physical & mental health. Such as development of fine/gross motor skills, stress relief & better focus/concentration. Amongst many other benefits.
Climbing wall activities are also particularly effective for children with disabilities. For example, improvements in walking, jumping, standing & running can be seen in children with cerebral palsy as a result of being involved in climbing wall activity.
Climbing walls are good for enhancing children’s career prospects by encouraging kids to take it up as a more serious pursuit or as a career. The outdoor industries sector is ripe with opportunities.
Climbing walls are good for improving academic performance & social skills. Particularly amongst disadvantaged children. Recent studies have shown that improvements can be seen in higher achievement, behaviour, social & emotional wellbeing. Moreover, it has been shown that regular wall climbing may increase the likelihood of children achieving a level 5 in Maths & better key stage 2 results.
What technical services are offered by North East Outdoor Activities?
We work with climbing businesses in multiple ways. And are able to provide a range of advice & support. Even on a one-to-one basis. We aim to provide you with everything you need to run a successful business. We are independent. So can offer certain benefits over bigger organisations. e.g. offering new & innovative ideas. We possess a good knowledge of industry regulations. And have experience in a range of different sectors. E.g.
⦁ Design & construction
⦁ Maintenance
⦁ Assessment
⦁ Training services
PPE Inspections
PPE equipment or equipment used to lift or maintain a load requires regular inspection. Two regulations gover this:
⦁ Lifting Operations & Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER)
⦁ Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)
A written inspection report should be provided every 6 months by a competent person.
At North East Outdoor Activities, we offer a fully bespoke service. With all legal issues covered. Offering you peace of mind for you & your customers. Our experienced team of assessors can achieve this.
All items stored at your premises can be catalogued. We can advise the best way to store equipment. So that it’s lifespan is kept to a premium. And all records are kept for a minimum of 10 years.
Our service is fully flexible. We understand that completing inspections can be disruptive. Which is why we try as much as possible to work around you & your customers in an efficient way. Reducing disruption to your day to day operations.
Film crew safety
In recent years, the popularity of travel & tourism has increased. More & more UK residents are taking holidays & exploring in their own country. Rather than going abroad. It is true that outdoor shows have risen in popularity. e.g. Countryfile & Springwatch. TV production staff are increasingly put into more dangerous situations when filming. For example, having to abseil or paddle down a stream. Every environment is different. Meaning that risks are always changing. Resultantly, it is important to keep your staff safe. We can work with your team, ensuring they always work safely. And we are able to provide ongoing advice about both safe use of equipment. And safe navigation of hazardous environments.
What does our package include?
⦁ Trained staff can work in your location. We even work in overseas locations
⦁ Helping provide your staff capture the perfect shot by exposing them to different situations. Even notoriously difficult ones
⦁ Advising on activity, environments & location
⦁ Providing extra staff when necessary
⦁ Providing equipment where required (e.g. helmets, wet suits & canoes)
⦁ We are all qualified first aiders
Roped rescue training
We provide training in rescue management. Our staff are highly qualified and experienced in rope techniques. And are also qualified first aiders. We aim to equip you with the skills needed so that you can rescue in a range of situations. E.g. light summer or heavy winter.
Roped rescue training covers a number of topics. Including:
⦁ Anchors
⦁ Rigging systems
⦁ Casualty transfer to stretcher/ Pitagor
⦁ Management of crag rescue
⦁ Lower & hoist
⦁ Equipment management
⦁ Role of the Crag Master
⦁ Barrow Boy
⦁ Back roping
⦁ Ghyll rescues
Bespoke rope rescue training
Do you have certain requirements which are not covered in our syllabus? We can tailor our programmes to your exact requirements. However, this doesn’t mean that our experience will not be delivered in the same way.
In the UK, there is a range of different industries in operation. We can attend your location & tailor the course just for you. Equipping you with the knowledge of how to perform rescues in hazardous locations around your business.
We also offer a range of health & safety qualifications.
Climbing wall inspections
When was an inspoection last conducted for your climbing wall? Regular inspections of your climbing wall ensure the safety of all your customers as well as your own peace of mind.
We can assess in detail the condition of your climbing wall. We look at the bracing, condition & attachment of all holds & climbing surfaces. Load cells or hydra draw can be used to test all anchor points. EN standards complience will also be reviewed. Once we have inspected the wall, we will produce a written report. Which will outline any potential problems with your facility.
Are any of our technical services of interest to you?
Due to the highly bespoke nature of our technical services, we do not offer a one-off price. Contact North East OA today using our on-line form for a bespoke quote. A member of our team will be in touch as soon as possible.
