12.Subsection (1) of section 6B requires the Scottish Ministers to provide guidance to education authorities and managers of grant-aided schools about their duty to provide residential outdoor education. Subsection (2) in turn requires education authorities and managers of grant-aided schools to have regard to this guidance.
13.Subsection (3) provides that guidance must be issued within three months of section 1 coming into force. Section 4(2) provides that section 1 will come into force on such day as the Scottish Ministers, by regulations, appoint.
14.Subsection (4) lists 11 matters that must be covered in the guidance and Scottish Ministers may include other matters that they consider appropriate, that list being non-exhaustive. Subsection (6) provides for the Scottish Ministers to revise the guidance, and requires the Scottish Ministers to publish any such revised guidance. Subsection (7) provides that subsections (2) and (4) apply to revised guidance as well as the original guidance.
15.Subsection (8) requires the Scottish Ministers to consult education authorities, managers of grant-aided schools, trade unions representing employees of public and grant-aided schools, employees of public and grant-aided schools who are not represented by trade unions, pupils, parents, providers of residential outdoor education or their representatives, other voluntary organisations as the Scottish Ministers think appropriate, along with any other persons that the Scottish Ministers think appropriate, before preparing such guidance. This might include, for example, representatives of outdoor education establishments who would be providing residential outdoor education, representatives of teachers and parents, school leaders and other relevant decision makers within education authorities and grant-aided schools.
16.Subsection (9) defines “trade union” for the purposes of subsection (8)(c).
Commentary on Sections Section 6B – Guidance on residential outdoor education