About BAPA
The British Activity Providers Association is the trade association for residential and non-residential based providers of activity programmes and activities in the UK and also where members have sites in Europe. Member centres have all agreed to abide by the BAPA Code of Practice and are committed to high standards of safety, value for money and customer service.
The BAPA mission statement is “Promoting Quality and Safety in the Activity Industry” by:
- adopting appropriate safety standards
- opening centres to independent inspection
- promoting a commitment to ongoing staff training
- sharing pertinent information with members
- representation on appropriate national bodies
- acting as the voice of the private activity sector
“In fact I’d just like to let you know, I’m an advocate of the way that BAPA works and welcome the sharing of information and good practice across the different businesses. I think the opportunity to have an organisation where competitors within the industry can work together for the benefits of good practice whilst still maintaining integrity is a great thing.” - BAPA member
How BAPA Operates
BAPA elects a committee of individuals to represent the broad spectrum of its membership. Committee members are elected for a 3 year term of office by a system of nominations and votes cast at the AGM held each November.
This Executive committee is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the association including its statutory duties and meets a minimum of 5 times per year. Specific work is undertaken via sub-committees addressing such areas as Membership, Technical Standards, Marketing & Training.
An annual conference and AGM is held and is open to all members as well as invited guests and affiliate members. The conference is an ideal opportunity to update members on topical themes such as the new badge schemes and to network with other members and industry specialists alike.
Background to the Association
BAPA has been closely involved with recent steps to establish industry core criteria for adventurous activity operations that are out of scope of Licensing. As a consequence, the BAPA inspection scheme became the first to be approved as a route for members to gain the national Adventuremark accreditation award. For members working with school groups, we have also gained approval to extend BAPA inspections to confirm quality indicators for learning support that allow us to recommend members for the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge.
