Centre for School and Outdoor Education (CŠOD)

What Centre for School and Outdoor Education (CŠOD) does

The Centre for School and Outdoor Education (CŠOD, legal name: Center šolskih in obšolskih dejavnosti) is a Slovenian public institution (javni zavod) established by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in 1992 under the Decree on the Establishment of the Centre for School and Out-of-School Activities. Headquartered at Frankopanska ulica 9 in Ljubljana, CŠOD operates a national network of 25 residential centres and additional day centres spanning the country's coast (Breženka, Burja), mountains (Planica, Kranjska Gora, Trilobit), and interior (Ajda, Čebelica, Rak, and others). Its statutory mission, anchored in Article 28 of the Public Education Act (ZOFVI), is to implement "school in nature" programs as part of the formal Slovenian curriculum.

CŠOD's core products are week-long residential programs (nature weeks, social studies weeks, sports weeks, elective content weeks), single-day programs (Nature Days, Cultural Days, Technical Days), active holiday camps during school breaks, and professional training seminars for educators. Annual participation reaches approximately 65,000 primary school students and 10,000 secondary school students. The organization also operates the ESERO Slovenia space-education program, the GLOBE environmental education program, Erasmus+ accredited "Let's Teach Outside" (Poučujmo zunaj), and the ELaDiNa early language development project.

The business model is a hybrid: a primary stream of public funding from the Slovenian Ministry of Education supporting the statutory educational mandate, complemented by a commercial arm (trženi del poslovanja) that monetizes spare residential capacity for societies, clubs, families, and individual guests via published price lists (ceniki) and direct booking. Distribution runs through a national annual public tender (razpis) system for schools and direct online/reservation channels for non-school customers. CŠOD employs approximately 28 staff centrally while relying on a broader network of program delivery personnel ("kadri za izvedbo") across its centres.

Name

Centre for School and Outdoor Education (CŠOD)

Legal name

Center šolskih in obšolskih dejavnosti

Website

https://csod.si

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CŠOD is a Slovenian public institution operating 25 residential centres that delivers statutory outdoor education programs — school in nature weeks, day programs, and active holidays — to approximately 75,000 primary and secondary school students annually, funded primarily by the Ministry of Education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Outdoor Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Center Education Programs (EDAAAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education & Community Programs (Junior Ranger, Citizen Science, School Programs) (THAAAGAK), Public Middle Schools (EDAJAAAC)

Keywords

• Outdoor education programs
• School in nature
• Residential education centres
• Nature-based learning
• Educational conference services

Headquarters

HQ city

Ljubljana

HQ country

Slovenia

HQ region

Europe

Offices26 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public Service Funding: Core funding from Ministry of Education (Ministrstvo za vzgojo in izobraževanje) for implementing educational programs including school in nature, activity days, programs for gifted students, and active holidays. This is the primary revenue stream as a public institution.
2. Market Activities - Accommodation Services: Tržni del (market activities) providing accommodation and meals to non-profit organizations (associations, clubs), youth tourism, and individual guests during available capacity outside of public service programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CŠOD is a public institution that delivers outdoor education programs for Slovenian schools through a nationwide network of 25 residential centres and additional day centres. Its offerings span week-long residential "school in nature" programs (natural sciences, social sciences, sports, elective content weeks), single-day thematic programs (Nature Days, Cultural Days, Technical Days), active-holiday camps, and professional development seminars for educators. Secondary commercial activities accommodate associations, clubs, families, and individuals during unused capacity outside the public-service program window.

Product overview

CŠOD is a public institution operating 25 residential centres across Slovenia offering comprehensive outdoor education programs. The core offering consists of residential School in Nature programs (weekly stays with nature, social studies, sports, and elective content weeks) and day programs (Nature Days, Cultural Days, Technical Days) at various Slovenian locations. Additional offerings include Active Holiday camps, professional training seminars and conferences for educators, international projects (ESERO Slovenia, GLOBE, Erasmus+ Let's Teach Outside, EOE Network, ELaDiNa), and publications. The organization also operates youth accommodation facilities and an online store for educational materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Centres (Domovi CŠOD) Network of 25 residential centres located throughout Slovenia providing accommodation, meals, and facilities for school-in-nature programmes, seminars, conferences, youth tourism, and team-building stays. Used by schools, kindergartens, associations, clubs, families, and individuals.
• Weekly School in Nature Programmes (Tedenski programi šole v naravi) Week-long residential programmes for Slovenian primary and secondary school students covering nature science weeks (naravoslovni teden), social science weeks (družboslovni teden), sports weeks (športni teden), and elective-content weeks (teden obveznih izbirnih vsebin). Delivered at CŠOD residential centres.
• Day Programmes (Enodnevni programi) One-day educational programmes for schools including Nature Days (naravoslovni dnevi), Cultural Days (kulturni dnevi), and Technical Days (tehniški dnevi) held at various locations across Slovenia, including partner sites such as Noordung Centre, Bistra Technical Museum, and Luka Koper.
• Active Holidays (Aktivne počitnice) School-holiday programmes (summer camps and active holidays) for children and youth, held at CŠOD residential centres. Marketed to families and youth groups as part of CŠOD's market activities.
• Professional Training Seminars and Conferences Professional development programmes, conferences, and seminars for educators on outdoor-learning didactics, climate-change education, and pedagogical methods, delivered on-site at CŠOD centres.
• Youth Hostel Kurent (Mladinsko prenočišče Kurent) Youth accommodation facility in Ptuj for young travellers, school groups, and youth associations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65,000+ primary school students and 10,000+ secondary school students participate annually in school in nature programs

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ministry of Education, Science and Sport (Ministrstvo za vzgojo in izobraževanje)coreOthersCore government partner that establishes CŠOD's mandate and provides funding for public service educational programs. The ministry ensures the organization operates within the public education framework and allocates budget for school in nature programs.
• ESERO SlovenijacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Space Education Resource Office - Slovenia branch. CŠOD hosts and participates in ESERO Slovenia projects bringing space science content to outdoor education programs.
• GLOBE ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational environmental education program. CŠOD participates in GLOBE activities and hosted the 2024 GLOBE Regional Meeting for Europe and Eurasia in Ljubljana.
• EOE Network (European Outdoor Education)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Outdoor Education network bringing together outdoor education organizations across Europe. CŠOD hosts the EOE 2026 conference 'Outdoor Education in the Context of European Integration' at CŠOD Bohinj.
• ELaDiNa Project (Early Language Development in Nature)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational project on early language development through nature-based activities. Includes conference organization and professional development for educators.
• Let's Teach Outside (Poučujmo zunaj)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerErasmus+ accredited project on outdoor teaching methodologies. Part of European mobility and professional development initiatives.
• Skupaj za znanje I, II, III (Together for Knowledge)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompetence-building projects (IJZ I, II, III) in collaboration with the National Education Institute for developing outdoor learning competencies in educators.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Trust: Large UK conservation charity combining heritage property management with extensive formal education programmes for schools. Wider portfolio than CŠOD but the education-plus-property-in-nature overlap makes it broadly comparable.
• RSPB: UK nature conservation charity running significant formal schools-education programmes at its reserves alongside a broader conservation mandate. Comparable in mission to integrate environmental education into school curricula.
• The Wildlife Trusts: Federation of UK wildlife trusts operating nature reserves with school-education and family-learning programmes. Broader portfolio but direct overlap with CŠOD on outdoor environmental-education delivery.

Direct peers

• Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Activity Centre: Charitable outdoor education centre in the UK New Forest offering residential and day outdoor learning programmes for school children — comparable scale and pedagogy to a single CŠOD residential centre.
• Kingswood: Provider of residential outdoor education and adventure-learning experiences to UK and international school groups. Direct overlap with CŠOD's residential-centre model and school-customer base.
• Field Studies Council: UK environmental-education charity operating residential and day centres delivering field studies and outdoor learning to schools, with deep curriculum integration — closely analogous to CŠOD's nature-week and day-programme offerings.
• PGL: Operates a network of residential outdoor activity centres across the UK delivering curriculum-linked outdoor education to school groups. Matches CŠOD's model of multi-centre residential school programming at scale.
• Outward Bound Trust: UK-based charity running residential outdoor education courses for young people, combining adventure, environmental learning and personal development. Highly comparable mission and residential pedagogical model to CŠOD's school-in-nature programmes.

Regional players

• Triglav National Park (Javni zavod Triglavski narodni park): Slovenian public body managing Triglav National Park, including school and visitor education programmes. Operates in the same domestic market and natural settings (Bohinj) as several CŠOD centres, though with a conservation rather than residential-education mandate.

Others

• Hostelling International Slovenia (Hostel Tresor, etc.): International network of youth hostels with Slovenian members (including the Ptuj youth hostel absorbed into CŠOD's network). Comparable on the accommodation/active-holiday side of CŠOD's commercial activities rather than its core education mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutu.be/Az__-QOUIBU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/csod

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centre for School and Outdoor Education (CŠOD)