About Sandwell's Residential Education Service

We run four specialist residential education centres and provide a unique range of adventurous, outdoor and creative arts experiences for groups of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

Who is it for?

The service is available to groups from all over the UK and beyond:

  • school groups: from Key Stage 1 to further education
  • employers: staff team development, apprentices and early careers 
  • non-school groups, such as Girlguiding, Scouts, Young Carers, and sports teams.

We exist to provide opportunities for Sandwell children, young people and adults to lead happier and more successful lives. 

What we do

Schools:

We create exciting learning moments in memorable places and translate them in to lessons for life.  Delivery is tailored to meet the specific learning needs and outcomes for your group, with every visit providing an opportunity to:

  • Develop resilience, confidence & independence
  • Know how to keep physically and emotionally healthy
  • Become more environmentally aware
  • Support students’ achievement.
Employers: 

Taking memorable shared experiences in neutral environments back to the workplace can bring positive change to the culture of your organisation.  Whether it's a facilitated review on a mountainside, collaborating on an original piece of art, or maybe it's just time for your team to get out and do something fun together  - we'll work with you to align our programme to your organisational values. 

Groups:

We offer tailor-made programmes, self-programmed / self-catered 'venue hire', and also the chance to add elements of our provision to support your aims.  Our full range of creative and expressive arts, and outdoor adventure is available.  

Where are the centres?

We have venues in Shropshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Snowdonia:

  • Edgmond Hall Centre for Outdoor Learning – Shropshire
  • Frank Chapman Outdoor Education Centre – Worcestershire
  • Ingestre Hall Residential Arts Centre – Staffordshire
  • Plas Gwynant Outdoor Education Centre – Snowdonia

Why Visit Sandwell's Centres?

  • Sole occupancy makes them ideal places to focus on your own group’s shared experiences.
  • We focus on the importance of the whole residential experience - a warm welcome, great food, strong focus on outcomes, developing positive relationships and prosocial experiences.
  • Small, welcoming centres become your home for the visit.  We pride ourselves on our sense of community and commitment to each visitor. 
  • Subsidised programmes for Sandwell groups
  • Tailor-made learning experiences.  Programmes are designed to meet specific learning needs, and planned so that learning is embedded and reinfoced back at school or the workplace. 
  • A 5 year action research project concluded that "... a residential learning experience provides opportunities and benefits/impacts that cannot be achieved in any other context or setting."  

Further information and contact details are available on the dedicated Sandwell Residential Education Service website