15 Acres of Adventure in the Heart of Leicester

Monday 27 November 2017

2018 Instructor Vacancy

2018 Seasonal Instructing staff Vacancy

Tucked away on the city boundary LOPC has 15 acres of land where we deliver exciting, inclusive adventurous activities on land, up our multi element High Ropes course, and on our own stretch of the River Soar.  
We have 40,000 users per year, aged from 5yrs upwards of all abilities and backgrounds. Our users include:
o Schools and Colleges
o Scout, Guide and other youth based organisations
o Holiday Schemes & After School Club
o Families and individuals taking part in our Adventure Club
o Birthday Parties
o Corporate training. 
o LOPC also provides a diverse annual coach education programme for land and water activities.

Due to the success of last season we are expanding our Instructor team for 2018. We look for Instructors who complement our enthusiastic, motivated and friendly staff team. Previous experience and qualifications in the outdoors or working with children will be beneficial, though not essential. All new staff will be put on a host of National Governing Body and in-house training courses. 
What we are offering with the role:
• Thorough Induction process including nationally recognised qualifications
• Work with a diverse range of clients
• Opportunities to develop ongoing group programs
• Quality outdoor uniform and discounts on outdoor kit
• Pay ranges from £15,470 to £18,000 pro rata, dependent on qualifications and experience
• Professional development workshops
• Further opportunities to take different key roles within the organisation
• Potential for extended contracts over winter

LOPC is a non residential Centre so we cannot provide accommodation.
No C.V.s accepted. Successful applicants will be subject to 2 references and an Enhanced DBS Disclosure.
For an informal chat please contact Chris Murnin – (0116) 2681426 – deputy@lopc.co.uk

Thursday 12 October 2017

Ed Stafford, Adventurer and Star of Discovery Channel, said He is very proud to be a Patron of the the Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre.

Ed Stafford  was born in Peterborough and educated at Stoneygate School, Leicester; Uppingham in Rutland; and at Newcastle University. He then earned a position in the prestigious commissioning course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and was commissioned as a British Army Officer in July 1999.

Ed went on to command platoons in the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, gaining his Northern Ireland medal in 2000 for his tour of Crossmaglen, South Armagh. Ed's happiest military years were spent as an instructor at RTC Lichfield where he oversaw several hundred recruits through their basic training, before leaving the military as a captain in 2002.


After leaving the army, Ed used his leadership and outdoor skills as an expedition leader with the former charity Trekforce. He led groups of volunteers on community and conservation expeditions into the jungles of Belize, Guatemala and Borneo.


Ed’s next venture was an opportunity to widen his experience by taking a position as a UN contractor in Afghanistan, advising UN electoral workers on planning, logistics and security matters during the first ever presidential elections. Ed managed a team of similar contractors from Herat, in the western region of Afghanistan. During his time there, Ed’s election counting centre was rocketed by terrorists; his airport camp was mortared by improvised explosive devices that narrowly missed his un-armoured office; and the compound he was stationed in was burned to the ground when the warlord Ishmael Kahn was removed from office.


Returning to expeditions, Ed took on a new challenge – setting up extreme cold weather expeditions in Patagonia, Argentina, for the expedition company GVI. Ed was Director of Programmes in Argentina, carrying out scientific research projects and Northern Ice Cap traverses in Chile.In 2007, Ed was offered work with the BBC's Natural History Unit. Ed was contracted to fly into Guyana and manage the construction of a filming base camp in the heart of the rainforest. He became the camp's logistics manager when the film crew arrived nine weeks later to film Lost Land of the Jaguar, in which Ed briefly appears.


In Ed’s first programme with Discovery, Walking the Amazon, he undertook an 860-day trek along the Amazon River. This was the longest jungle expedition ever attempted, and the first time in history that anyone has walked this entire route. 


"His Guinness World Record-breaking feat made headlines the world over, and was described by Sir Ranulph Fiennes as "Truly extraordinary… in the top league of expeditions past and present." 


It shifted Ed's focus from managing and leading teams in dangerous environments to using his expedition skills to educate people about environmental matters, and to inspire others to achieve the seemingly impossible.


Ed’s second series with Discovery, Naked and Marooned, saw him push his limits even further, spending 60 days alone on an island with only his bare hands to keep him alive. Now he takes on a whole new challenge with Discovery - Ed Stafford: Into the Unknown - in which he seeks the truth behind mysterious satellite images of Earth’s most remote locations. 

Ed returned to Leicestershire in 2015 and now lives in Hallaton with his wife Laura and baby Ranulph. 

Ed said He is very proud to be a patron of the Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre, because this was where he learned to kayak. Ed is also an ambassador for the Scouts Association.
For more information about Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre.

Friday 5 May 2017

The New Universal Changing Room

Ok we've done it! 


Over the last few weeks we have changed our inside Wide Access Toilet into a New Universal Changing and Wet Room for both Babies and Adults.





We are so grateful for the help of Sport England who donated £9,500 and the DCR Allen Charitable Trust who donated £6,000 we have been able to add a fantastic new facility at the Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre in Leicester.



We removed the original wall and extended the room allowing us to make the original wide access toilet into a wet room and toilet facility. It has also allowed us to add a baby changing area as well.




This room adds to our other new Changing Places facility which was opened last month.

For more details about Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre.
For more details about Sport England.
For more details about DCR Allen Charitable Trust.

Friday 3 February 2017

Our After School Club are having an Open Evening



Are you looking for Childcare with a difference?


Come and visit our Open Evening at the Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre and see what we have on offer ...


Wednesday 22nd February 2017 from 4.00pm until 7.00pm

Presentations: 4:15pm, 4:45pm, 5:15pm, 6:15pm
Centre Tours:  4:30pm, 5:00pm, 5:30pm, 6:00pm, 6:30pm


Our After School Club is open to anyone aged between 5 (must be in year 1) and 16 years old, Activate Adventures is an OFSTED-registered After School Club with a difference! We offer a wide range of adventurous activities including Canoeing, Bell Boating, Raft Building, Team Games, Climbing, Zip Line, Archery, Air Rifles, and much more!


Your child can try something new, develop their skills and make new friends. The After School Club is run by fully qualified Instructors, who have all had enhanced DBS disclosures. 
Monday to Friday during term time from 3.30pm – 6pm.
Prices start from as little as £6 for the After School Club and £35 for Holiday Scheme Days.

Children in Kayaks

Children on the High Ropes Course

Children doing a Gardening session

Childres doing a climbing session


If you would like to come along, please register your interest by email asc@lopc.co.uk 
or calling the centre 0116 268 1426



Thursday 2 February 2017

Changing Places, Changing Lives.

Sometimes you just need to change one thing to open up a world of possibility ...

Here at the Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre we are having some building work done,



We started work in November building a New Changing Places Toilet that is going to make a difference to so many people who face a daily challenge just leaving their homes.

The Changing Places Consortium launched its campaign in 2006 on behalf of the over 1/4 of a million people who cannot use standard accessible toilets. This includes people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, as well as older people.

What are Changing Places Toilets?

Standard accessible toilets do not meet the needs of all people with a disability.
People with profound and multiple learning disabilities, as well people with other physical disabilities such as spinal injuries, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis often need extra equipment and space to allow them to use the toilets safely and comfortably. These needs are met by Changing Places toilets. 

Each Changing Places toilet provides: 

The right equipment

- a height adjustable adult-sized changing bench
- a tracking hoist system, or mobile hoist if this is not possible.
  

Enough space

- adequate space in the changing area for the disabled person and up to two carers
- a centrally placed toilet with room either side 
- a screen or curtain to allow some privacy.

A safe and clean environment

- wide tear off paper roll to cover the bench
- a large waste bin for disposable pads
- a non-slip floor.

Why are Changing Places toilets important?

Thousands of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, as well other disabilities that severely limit mobility, cannot use standard accessible toilets.
People may be limited in their own mobility so need equipment to help them or may need support from one or two carers to either get on the toilet or to have their continence pad changed.
Standard accessible toilets (or "disabled toilets") do not provide changing benches or hoists and most are too small to accommodate more than one person. 

Without Changing Places toilets, the person with disabilities is put at risk, and families are forced to risk their own health and safety by changing their loved one on a toilet floor.

This is dangerous, unhygienic and undignified.

It is now accepted and expected that everyone has a right to live in the community, to move around within it and access all its facilities. Government policy promotes the idea of "community participation" and "active citizenship," but for some people with disabilities the lack of a fully accessible toilet is denying them this right.

Although the numbers are increasing, there are still not enough Changing Places toilets across the country.

Providing these toilets in public places would make a dramatic difference to the lives of thousands of people who desperately need these facilities.

Who are they for?

Research has found that over a quarter of a million severely disabled people, including those with profound and multiple learning disabilities, do not have access to public toilet facilities that meet their needs. 

In the UK the number of people who would benefit from a Changing Places toilet would include approximately:

  • 40,000 people with profound and multiple learning disabilities
  • 130,000 older people
  • 30,000 people with cerebral palsy
  • 13,000 people with an acquired brain injury
  • 8,500 people with Multiple Sclerosis
  • 8,000 people with Spina Bifida
  • 500 people with Motor Neurone Disease
We also know that the number of people with complex disabilities is growing – we are all living longer, meaning many more people are likely to need access to a Changing Places toilet in the future.
These figures come from a report by Professor James Hogg, at the University of Dundee.


















The work was completed at the beginning of March 2017.










For more information about Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre.

For more information about Changing Places

Wednesday 4 January 2017

8 Top Tips To help Keep Your New Year’s Resolution

Every New Year’s Eve I ask the question “Do you have a new year’s resolution?” And I’m often met with a mix of grumbles, sometimes the odd bit of sarcasm and then the occasional enthusiastic announcement of a change someone is making in their life. It is common knowledge that these are rarely kept to, and have often fizzled out of memory by February. However, there are exceptions to the rule! And I am living proof!

Some years have been more successful than others but I have found I’ve been able to make real changes in my life through New Year’s Resolutions. I like to think of them as a time to refocus my life and start working on something new that I really want to achieve. Past resolutions have included gaining new skills, qualifications and then the hardest one was having a go a stand up comedy on front of a crowd of strangers.

So here are my top 8 tips to making that New Year’s Resolution stick.

#1 Make sure it’s something you really want

I think many people make up a resolution because they think it’s something they should do. Classic ones include giving up chocolate or alcohol, not saying they aren’t perfectly good resolutions but if you don’t really want to do it you won’t. Generally all my resolutions have been something in the back of my mind that I just haven’t had the time to carry out. The change into the New Year allows me to think about how I can change my habits to allow time for a new project.

#2 Set goals

Having something to aim for is a great way to keep to your New Year’s Resolution. It’ll keep you focused and on track. Then when you’ve hit your goals you’ll get that feeling of satisfaction and be ready to set the next goal. When I wanted to change my eating habits I used a simple goal – ‘cook from a recipe book at least once a week’. When I wanted to try stand-up comedy I set myself a goal to take part in an open mic night once a month and to have started by February, (giving myself some time to prepare). The goals were simple and they were realistic. There is no point in setting your sights too high, think about what you can really achieve. If you smash it then great - move your sights a bit higher.


If you’re trying to quit smoking you could try setting your goal to continually reduce the amount of nicotine you take. If you’re trying to get fit you could have a goal at how far you want to be able to run. Then make sure you give yourself a deadline.

#3 Create a chain

This is all about changing your mind set and your lifestyle, if you can pull this off you may end up seamlessly making a big change in your life. When I want to increase my exercise and fitness I keep planning the next workout. For example, I go for a swim, then straight away afterwards I pick up my diary and plan the next time I'm going swimming, and then after the next swim I plan the next and so on. This is how I went about gaining my rock climbing qualifications, every week I’d go out rock climbing, and then immediately after I would be organising the next rock climbing trip. Keep to this and soon you’ll have changed your mentality and lifestyle. What you’re doing here is avoiding a situation where you go to the gym, congratulate yourself on making that first step, and then two weeks later think to yourself “I was meant to keep going to that”. Keep looking at the next action.

#4 Find a partner
While I was at university one of the biggest motivators for me was having someone to go running with. I remember plenty of times when my running partner would be ready to go and I couldn’t be bothered, but there was no way I was going to let him go without me. And then the same worked the other way around. Having that person to spur you on and also work with you will make the difference, particularly if you are both working to the same goals.

#5 Invest some money

This is a bit of a funny one, I think it works better for some people than others. Anyone who knows me well knows I’m quite careful with my money. So if I’ve spent some money on something I’m going to make dam sure that money isn’t wasted. Therefore if I’ve paid for gym membership I’m going to the gym (even if it’s the crack of dawn or quarter to midnight). And likewise if I’ve just invested in some expensive running shoes I’m going running. This doesn’t just have to be for fitness, you might pay for a new training course to learn a new language or a new skill.

#6 Set up reminders

This goes a little bit hand in hand with setting up a chain. One New Year’s Resolution I really struggle to keep is to read more. I never find the time and also I forget to make the time. But setting up reminders might just help to keep your mind focused on what you want to do. This could be a poster on the wall, reminders on your phone or entries in your diary. Anything that just keeps your New Year’s Resolution in the front of your mind.

#7 Reward yourself

Rewards serve two purposes. They give you that positive reinforcement that helps to spur you on and they also play a part in that goal you set. So if your goal was to go down two dress sizes, buy yourself a new dress. If it’s to be able to run 3 miles, treat yourself to a some new sport clothes/ kit. As long as the reward doesn’t pave the way into the bad habit you were trying to get out of. For example don’t reward yourself with a cigar because you quit smoking – that’ll just set you back to the beginning.

#8 Set up a final outcome

If there is an end goal to all this then you’ve got a purpose for  everything you’re trying to do. If it’s to get fit then maybe sign up to an event that you need to improve your fitness to compete in (goes hand in hand with #5). If it’s to learn French, book that France holiday now!

That’s it, just remember you don’t achieve anything without a little hard work and persistence. And remember it’ll be worth it in the end.

Incidentally if you are looking to improve your health and fitness why not take a look at our Outdoor Exercise Sessions click here for more information.

Good Luck

David Robinson
Corporate Development Officer
Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre