Role: Outdoor Education Instructor
Location: Shuttleworth College – Old Warden
Salary/Benefits: Salary is between £27,717 and £32,515 per annum DOE and Qualifications, 27 days annual leave plus Bank holidays,People’s Pension, Retail and Leisure Discounts, excellent professional and personal development opportunities, accessing college courses.
Hours/Weeks: 37 hours per week – 52 weeks per year
Contract Type: Permanent – Full Time
This is a UK based contract, and you are required to have the Right to Work in the UK. Unfortunately, we’re unable to offer sponsorship and any offer of employment will be subject to evidence of your Right to Work in the UK.
About the role:
We are currently seeking an Outdoor Education Instructor to join our Outdoor Education department at The Bedford College Group.
As an Instructor, you play an important role in the success of our students through:
- Practical Teaching & Outdoor Education Delivery - Prepare and deliver practical learning activities across a range of Outdoor Education programmes, providing instruction that develops vocational skills, practical competence, and subject understanding for individuals and groups of learners.
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Assessment, Feedback & Quality Assurance - Assess learner performance in line with awarding body requirements, provide timely and constructive feedback, and contribute to internal quality assurance processes to maintain high standards of achievement and compliance.
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Resource, Equipment & Technical Management - Oversee practical learning environments, equipment, and resources, ensuring they are maintained, serviced, recorded, and available to support high-quality learning experiences.
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Health, Safety & Risk Management - Take responsibility for the safety and compliance of all practical areas through risk assessments, equipment checks, adherence to health and safety regulations, and the maintenance of safe, clean, and hazard-free environments.
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Student Support, Recruitment & Team Collaboration - Support positive student behaviour and engagement, contribute to marketing and recruitment activities, participate in team and college meetings, and uphold safeguarding, equality, diversity, and inclusion responsibilities while working collaboratively with colleagues.
About you:
- Practical Outdoor Education Experience & Technical Competence - Successful practical experience within an outdoor education or related vocational environment, with strong knowledge of current industry practices, practical training methods, assessment requirements, and the management of specialist equipment and resources.
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Teaching, Assessment & Learner Support Skills - Experience delivering practical learning activities, demonstrating tasks and techniques, assessing learner competence, providing constructive feedback, and consistently supporting high-quality learning experiences for diverse groups of students.
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Health, Safety & Compliance Knowledge - Strong awareness of health and safety requirements, risk assessment processes, safe working practices, and the ability to maintain practical learning environments, equipment, and activities in line with industry and organisational standards.
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Communication, Teamwork & Professionalism - Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work independently and collaboratively, build positive relationships, contribute to team success, and represent the College professionally at all times.
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Organisation, Safeguarding & Personal Attributes - Proven ability to manage workload effectively, meet deadlines with minimal supervision, maintain professional boundaries, promote safeguarding and equality, demonstrate flexibility in working hours and locations, and commit to continuous professional development and improvement.
For a more detailed breakdown of the job role and the requirements, please see the Job Description attached to this vacancy.
Interviews to be held: 12 August 2026
Successful candidates must also be able to demonstrate alignment to our organisational VISION values:
- Valuing Teamwork - We are one team who by working together can achieve great things, respecting the opinion and valuing the contribution each of us makes.
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Improving Continuously - We challenge ourselves to always do better by trying new things, sharing knowledge, reflecting on practice and learning from others.
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Student Centred - At our heart is always doing what is best for our students. We consider students in all of our decision making to create positive outcomes and memorable experiences for every student.
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Inclusive - We celebrate differences and diversity, recognising that we can learn from each other.
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Open and Caring - We care about the wellbeing of our staff, our students, our community and wider society, creating an environment built on trust where we listen, engage with and support each other.
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Nurturing Education Excellence - We promote educational excellence by delivering programmes that challenge our students to achieve their ambitions.
About Shuttleworth College
Shuttleworth College is set within the stunning location of Old Warden Park, near Biggleswade. It's a specialist land-based college, offering agricultural and environmental education, alongside animal sciences, equine studies and outdoor adventure all delivered within acres of parkland, farmland, lakes and woodland.
About The Bedford College Group
The Bedford College Group was formed in 2017 following the merger of Bedford College and Tresham College and is now the largest provider of education in the South East Midlands, with over 15,000 students passing through our doors each year.
Today, the Group is made up of a family of colleges across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire: Bedford College, Central Bedfordshire College and Tresham College in the towns of Bedford, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough; Shuttleworth College, a specialist land-based college; The Bedford Sixth Form, (the only dedicated sixth form in Bedford); The Corby Sixth Form, (opened in September 2023); and the National College for Motorsport alongside Silverstone race circuit. To widen accessibility to education and training, the Group also has community-based Learning Centres in Bedford, Corby and Kettering which offer IT training.
Safeguarding our Students
The Bedford College Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to thorough vetting process which includes, an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide. The Bedford College Group's policy on Employment of Ex-Offenders is attached to this vacancy.
Candidates who are barred from working with children are reminded it is a criminal offence to apply for this post.
