We're putting together some blogs on the outdoor qualifications and awards that we offer, to help clarify the pathways for progressing your personal paddling or for entering the outdoor industry as a career. Next up, is the National Coasteer Guide Award from the National Coasteering Charter! Reach Outdoors offer a variety of activities and courses throughout the year.

The NCC Coasteer Guide Award is a relatively new award having been formalised in 2022 by the National Coasteering Charter (NCC). It provides training and assessment for someone to be recognised as a coasteering guide and to lead a group of novices safely on a coasteering session.  

The National Coasteering Charter are the UK regulatory body for coasteering, and it represents coasteering providers from across the UK, providing safety and training standards for the activity and a forum for providers to share best practices. 

How do you get the award? 

The Award is split into training and an assessment. The training course is typically 2 days and covers personal coasteering skills; safety, leadership and group skills; rescue skills and theory. 

Following the training, you are then required to do some consolidation, gaining experience shadowing or assisting on coasteering sessions, and then once you’ve got the required experience and feel ready, you can go for an assessment. 

The assessment is normally one day and requires you to lead a group of participants in a coasteering session while being observed by an assessor.  

Once you are assessed, you may still require a site and/or company specific induction to lead or assist on sessions but this is company/provider specific. 

Coasteering guides with suitable experience may be able to go straight to assessment without completing the 2-day training course, providing they can evidence “Approved Prior Learning”. Full details of this can be found on the NCC website in the Candidate Guide Document (https://www.nationalcoasteeringcharter.org.uk/coasteeringguideaward/) 

Are there any prerequisites? 

For the training course, you must be a member of the NCC and be registered for the award and have done at least 10 hours of coasteering or similar experience. The full list of pre-requisites can be found on the NCC website in the Candidate Guide Document (https://www.nationalcoasteeringcharter.org.uk/coasteeringguideaward/) which provides a good comprehensive guide to this award. 

The assessment has many pre-requisites, including logged experience as a guide with an NCC recognised provider, a 2-day first aid award or beach lifeguard award and be aged 18 or over. The full list can be found in the Candidate guide. 

How does Reach Outdoors run the award? 

Reach Outdoors host coasteering guide training and assessments for South Devon regional trainer Mark Agnew. Our training takes place over two days, with some theory and practical elements in local coasteering spots. 

Assessments can then be arranged on an enquiry basis.  

Our next NCC Coasteer Guide Training takes place on 22nd-23rd April 2023. To book on, visit our online calendar at www.reach-outdoors.com/event-booking or for further dates and prices, check out our webpage here: https://reach-outdoors.com/products/coasteering-leadership-rescue  

For further information, or to enquire about other dates, please email info@reach-outdoors.com.  

Reach Outdoors is based in the English Riviera. Check out www.englishriviera.co.uk for accommodation providers or other fantastic things to do when you are in the area. 

To find full information on the award, and find a provider local to you, visit https://www.nationalcoasteeringcharter.org.uk/coasteeringguideaward/