Professional Development Accreditation beyond APIOL -
Leading Practitioner of the Institute for Outdoor Learning (LPIOL)
Who/what is a Leading Practitioner?
LPIOLs show leadership in excellent outdoor practice (this does not mean you have to be a manager!) and will be involved in and contributing to the outdoor field.
LPIOLs have a future-focused mindset; they:
- consider future trends & scenarios.
- Anticipate and shape the future of the sector,
- influence people over whom they have no “control”.
- are catalysts, enablers, people who give to the wider field
Leading Practitioners take action, making a significant contribution to outdoor learning beyond their workplace, through:
- Leadership
- Significant professional reflection and development, applying the learning to their own practice and to enhance the sector.
What do LPIOLs have to demonstrate?
As you develop beyond the 8 APIOL criteria, to become an LPIOL you will need to demonstrate four areas of excellent practice:
- Extending the boundaries of best practice (INNOVATION)
- High standards of continuously evolving reflective and ethical practice (REFLECTION)
- Building and helping the practice of other practitioners (DEVELOPMENT)
- Promoting the ability of the outdoor learning field to continue to operate and add value. (PROMOTION)
What this means is explained in full in the LPIOL criteria and benchmarks:
- Click the link to see the LPIOL criteria in full.
- Click the link to see the relationship between the APIOL and LPIOL benchmarks.
How do I become an LPIOL?
You will need to:
- Read the LPIOL Benchmarks and Criteria to see whether you are in the ballpark
- Resubmit your APIOL Parts 1 and 2, howing the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) that you have been involved in since you did APIOL*.
- Attend an Information/Leadership workshop....
....This gives you the opportunity to:
- Get answers to your questions about LPIOL
- experience the required mindset for LPIOL through practical activities
- get Leadership tools and techniques
If you decide to go forward and submit an LPIOL application, you will then need to:
- Write a Personal Statement about your values and how they have been challenged and developed by the changes in the sector during your career.
- Provide a 8 statements (2 for each criterion) about how your experience meets each of the 4 areas of achievement at LPIOL.
- Submit the names of 2 referees and a statement from the coach who has helped you to prepare your Personal Statement.
- Your application will then be reviewed by The LPIOL Review Board, and you will be invited to interview.
- *At present, LPIOL is only be available to holders of APIOL. Setting up a direct entry process to LPIOL will take additional work, and may become available later. Rest assured, direct entry to LPIOL will not be a short cut, so the best route to LPIOL is through APIOL!
What will it cost?
- During the pilot phase, the LPIOL accreditation will cost £200. This is to cover the expenses of the Review Board and assessors/interviewers, and administration costs.
What happens next?
- The next Information/Leadership workshop will be held on 14/15 November 2008, at a venue to be confirmed.
- To state your interest, please email Heather Brown, enclosing your APIOL Sections A-F (ie Parts 1 and 2), minus Section C, updated in a different colour. Applications will only be accepted if the APIOL documents are attached.
- If you have already emailed your details to Heather, but could not attend a previous workshop, please reconfirm your interest by emailing Heather again. Places will not be reserved on the basis of any previous expression of interest, so it's first in, best dressed! (as they say in Australia!)
For all the latest news and regional APIOL information click here