Planning a trip and need help with Health and Safety / ratio details? Read on

[Perrin Fox]

If you are planning a trip to our wonderful outdoors for your class or group then this advice and guidance from DCC and Torbay Council should give you some hints and tips and where to find more advice.

Don’t be put off by this essential ‘red-tape’! Remember that clear evidence exists that learning outside the classroom, school trips and residentials, adventurous activities and learning in and from nature can enable children to blossom and bloom both in their own mental well being and also academically and with their behaviour. Assume a positive attitude and all the help you need is out there.

First point of contact for EVOLVE and health and safety in outdoor education is healthandsafety@devon.gov.uk (free to maintained schools and essential to academies by subscription.)

If you need to check that the provider you are planning to use is licensed you can use this link

If you are taking volunteers and other adults to support the trip and you’re not sure if they need to have a DBS check use this link to find out the statutory requirements.

Sections 449-462 of the Education Act 1996 sets out the law on charging for school activities in schools maintained by local authorities in England. Academies (including free schools, studio schools and university technical collages) are required through their funding agreements to comply with the law on charging for school activities. Check the details out here

The visit leader has overall responsibility for the supervision and conduct of the visit. By authorising a visit, the headteacher confirms the visit leader’s competence to lead a well-planned, high quality educational visit in a safe manner. Use this list to ensure you have covered all aspects of the planning:
• Get approval from the headteacher before any off-site visit or activity takes place
• Follow their establishment’s policy and standard operating procedures
• Assess the risks involved and amend the Standard Operating Procedure through the enhanced risk assessment
• Brief staff, volunteers and pupils on the risks and control measures
• Inform parents about the visit and gain their consent where necessary
• Re-assessrisks while the visit takes place and act on that assessment
• Provide relevant information to other staff, volunteers or providers about their roles and duties, the nature of the visit, location, and participants
• Ensure that all staff and any external provider have access to emergency contact and emergency procedure details
• Agree a clear working relationship with any external providers, including clear hand-over of child supervision

If you need help to find the right help, contact us at schools@activedevon.org and we will try to assist.

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