PGL is a founder member of the British Activity Holiday Association (BAHA) and the School Travel Forum (STF). Our substantial bonds with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA ATOL) are a symbol of the Company's stability, and guarantee our guests' financial security.
Due to our high standards of safety and staff training PGL is recognised by the major activity governing bodies and is licensed by the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) for activities in scope.
We hold the Investors in People award and have received the SkillsActive award for ‘Achievement in Training’. Following our recent inspection by the Adult Learning Inspectorate we are benchmarked as one of the top training providers in our industry.
Please see below a list of our key affiliations and memberships:
ABTA V2683
PGL is a member of the Association of British Travel Agents in the tour operator category. The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay PGL for the course, tour or holiday booked and for repatriation in the event of our insolvency. For packages in the UK and by coach abroad, we provide this security by way of a bond held by ABTA. For packages abroad by air please see ATOL.
www.abta.com
AALA
Under the Activity Centres (Young Persons' Safety) Act 1995, we are required to hold licences for some of the activities / locations we operate in the UK. We have passed all our AALA inspections and have been granted the following licences:
• Wave skiing on the sea (Beam House)
• Canoeing, dragon boating and raft building on Drummonds Dub Lake (Court Farm and Hillcrest)
• Canoeing on Loch Tay (Dalguise)
• Climbing, abseiling and hillwalking in the Brecon Beacons (Tregoyd)
• Abseiling on the customised cliff (Boreatton Park)
• Canoeing on the River Wye (Tregoyd, Court Farm, Hillcrest)
• Climbing on crags (Osmington Bay)
• Watersports (Osmington Bay, Little Canada)
• Hillwalking, abseiling and ghyll scrambling (Loch Ranza)
www.aala.org.uk
ATOL 4630
ATOL stands for Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing. Managed by the Civil Aviation Authority and Government backed, ATOL financially protects all flights and air packages sold by UK tour operators. From the moment you pay, ATOL protects your money against the insolvency of your tour operator. If an ATOL tour operator stops trading, the CAA will refund your money. If you’re already on your course, tour or holiday, they will bring you and your group home as planned. Click on the logo above to view our ATOL licence online.
British Activity Holiday Association
PGL has been a leading light in BAHA, the trade body for our sector, for more than a decade. As such, we have made a major contribution to the establishment of agreed good practice for centre and activity operation, staff training and customer care. BAHA members are required to follow the Association Code of Practice and undergo inspection where activities / locations are not covered by the Licensing Authority (AALA). All PGL centres in the UK, France and Spain are submitted to BAHA inspection and results are available to the public on request.
British Canoe Union
Canoeing at all our centres is approved by the British Canoe Union (BCU). We understand that we qualify more staff with the BCU than any other organisation, apart from the armed services. We also sponsor the BCU YouthFest, a national event to introduce children to paddlesports.
British Mountaineering Council
The growing popularity of off-ground activities, such as trapeze, zip wire and high ropes, indicates the importance of our associate membership of the British Mountaineering Council. Through this body, we hear about developments in technical and safety standards. We also employ the services of a qualified advisor who has attained the BMC’s highest recommended qualification (Mountain Instructor Certificate) to advise us on the off-ground activities we offer.
www.thebmc.co.uk/
HSE Lead Authority Scheme
We believe that PGL is the only company within our industry with membership of this scheme for multi-site, national companies (other members include Marks & Spencer, Boots and similar blue-chip organisations). It requires us to submit our Safety Management Systems to scrutiny by the Environmental Health Officers of our Lead Authority (Herefordshire) who then become advisers to their colleagues in the other authorities where we operate centres. This scheme guarantees that we work in close harmony with the enforcement authorities for health and safety in our sector.
The Institute for Outdoor Learning
PGL is a member of the Institute which supports the development and promotion of excellent practice in learning through outdoor experiences.
The Real World Learning Partnership
PGL is an active partner in the Real World Learning Campaign. Alongside the RSPB, National Trust, Field Studies Council and others, we have lobbied for wider recognition of the tremendous benefits that outdoor learning contributes to a child’s education. Over the years, PGL courses and holidays have helped to enthuse and develop thousands of teachers and millions of children.
Royal Yachting Association
Little Canada, our centre on the Isle of Wight, is our RYA recognised teaching establishment in the UK. We have five centres in the South of France and Spain that are similarly recognised. Our Watersports Manager is the RYA National Coach for Wales.
SkillsActive
The Sector Skills Council for Active Leisure and Learning, SkillsActive is the organisation charged by the Government with developing appropriate qualifications for staff working in the Outdoor Activity sector, amongst others. PGL is a Patron of SkillsActive, because we believe in making the maximum possible contribution to the competence of our staff. In this way we can ensure an ongoing commitment to the high quality product we provide; the Continual Professional Development of our staff; and our wholehearted commitment to the advancement of standards in the Outdoor Industry.
http://www.skillsactive.com/
Back to main page>