Beeston Hall School. Safety and Supervision on School Journeys policy

Transcription

1 Beeston Hall School Safety and Supervision on School Journeys policy Links to the National Minimum Standards (NMS): Standard 3 Boarders health and wellbeing Standard 4 Contact with parents/carers Standard 6 Safety of boarders Standard 10 Activities and free time Standard 15 Staffing and Supervision Standard 16 Equal opportunities Reviewed by: Tim Morton Monitored by: James Ashcroft Next review: August

2 Contents Page Safety and supervision on school journeys Policy Title page 1 Contents page 2 Introduction 3 Documentation 3 Responsibilities 4 Risk Assessment 5 Educational Visits Co-ordinator 6 Pupils and parents 6 Supervision 7 Leaders 8 Children with special needs 9 Adventure activity centres School led activities 11 Emergencies 12 Appendix A 13 B 13 2

3 Introduction This policy covers all occasions when pupils leave the school premises on an organised outof-school visit. For all trips, staff will be required to fill out an Out of School Visits Form and complete relevant Risk Assessments. All out-of-school visits are checked by the Schools Educational Visits Co-ordinator (EVC) to ensure that all correct procedures and precautions are taken in consultation with the Headmaster. The EVC for Beeston Hall School is James Ashcroft. An established system helps ensure that out-of-school visits are successful, safe and fit in with other school activities. Documentation Out of school visits form The Out-of-School Visits Form is available for the teacher in charge of each visit to complete and pass copies to: School office. Fire Drill folder in office. Staffroom. Matrons. All staff going on the trip. The on duty boarding members of staff if applicable. Copies of the Out-of-School Visits Form must be retained at school whilst visits are in progress. These forms contain enough information to allow the EVC or Head to co-ordinate action if any problem or emergency arises. There is also advice about supervision arrangements and transport. The guidance points out that emergency procedure must be included in the planning for a visit and there is detailed advice on these procedures. 3

4 Responsibilities Risk assessment is a key part of the preparation for a school trip and risk assessments are the responsibility of the trip leader in conjunction with the EVC and the Headmaster. The Headmaster is responsible for assessing the competence of staff to lead school trips. A combination of training and experience are essential for the safe planning, leading and supervising of trips. All adult supervisors, including staff members and adult helpers, should fully understand their roles and responsibilities at all times. Regular head counts should always take place particularly before leaving a venue. Special care is needed when pupils are in the water outdoors. The leader, or a designated colleague, should have a relevant life saving award. Adventure activity centres should have their licences checked and recorded. This form is located at the following area of the Staff Shared Drive: S:\Admin\Health and Safety\Adventure activities Licences 4

5 RISK ASSESSMENT No school trip can be entirely risk free. Most trips will include activities that are low risk as well those with more significant risks, which must always be contained to acceptable levels. The risk assessment process involves identifying the hazards (something with the potential to cause harm), assessing the risk (which is the likelihood that harm will be caused by a particular hazard) and then taking steps to mitigate the risk. Activities should not proceed if risks are assessed to be too high. A number of factors will be relevant in assessing risks. These include: The activity/activities and how well these are matched to the group. The venue. The quality and suitability of any facilities and equipment. Travel arrangements. The experience and qualifications of supervisory staff, including any centre staff. Staff/pupil ratios. The group members age, competence, fitness and temperament as well as the special educational or medical needs of the pupils. Seasonal and environmental conditions, including the weather. Communications. Emergency procedures. Behaviour of the children In common with all risk assessments, the results should be recorded. That is not the end of the process. On a school trip there needs to be a continual or dynamic assessment of risk. Planned events can change. The weather may change, which may cause inconvenience or adjustments to schedules. In some circumstances, a change in weather may mean that the risks have become too great and that the activity must be curtailed. One of the supervising staff may have become unavailable or required to attend to a sick or injured pupil. Supervision arrangements will constantly need reassessing. A formal assessment of the risks that might be met on a visit should have the aim of preventing the risks or reducing them. Pupils must not be placed in situations which expose them to an unacceptable level of risk. Safety must always be the prime consideration. If the risks cannot be contained then the visit must not take place. For routine trips there can be a generic risk assessment, but an individual risk assessment is required for trips which involve a higher than normal risk. Staff organising trips should take advice from the EVC regarding which risk assessments are required. 5

6 EDUCATIONAL VISITS CO-ORDINATOR The Educational Visits Co-ordinator s main functions are: Supporting the activity organiser. Supporting the Head (unless the Head is the co-ordinator) and governors in their decision making roles. Ensuring leaders, staff and adult helpers are aware of their responsibilities. Assessing the competence of leaders, staff and adult helpers. Organising emergency planning in conjunction with the SLT as per the Crisis Management Policy. Record keeping, monitoring and review. Liaising with the Headmaster. The co-ordinator has to be competent to carry out these tasks and will need appropriate information and training, support from the Headmaster. PUPILS AND PARENTS Both pupils and parents have important roles in school trip safety. Parents are responsible for ensuring that the school is aware of any medical and/or dental health problems, or any personal problem that could affect their child during the trip. All documentation from the school should be fully and accurately completed. Parents should also ensure that their child understands his/her responsibilities during the trip. On some trips the school will provide parents with key contact details and other important information about the trip. Parents should carefully keep details of the itinerary and timetable and who to contact if there is an urgent need to get in touch with their child during the trip. If an overnight trip is planned, parents are asked to sign a consent form confirming the relevant staff as standing in Loco Parentis. The pupils on the trip are expected to have the highest levels of good behaviour at all times. 6

7 SUPERVISION In assessing supervision needs, relevant considerations will include: The age of the pupils and the gender mix of the group. Their previous experience away from home or school. Their general capabilities, maturity and discipline. Their previous experience and training in specific activities included in the trip. The experience of accompanying staff. The location and travel arrangements. The DCSF recommends that, as a general guide for local trips and excursions, the supervising ratios should be: One adult for every six pupils in school years one to three. One adult for every ten to fifteen pupils in school years four to six. One adult for every fifteen to twenty pupils in school year seven onwards. Staff on trips and visits should be properly briefed. They should understand the aims and objectives of the trip and be familiar with the venue. Supervisors should carry a list of all the group members and should regularly check that the entire group is present. With small groups a visual check will be sufficient, but for larger groups there will need to be a head count. 7

8 LEADERS There will be an assessment of the leaders competence made by the Headmaster. Competence comes from the possession of relevant qualifications, but appropriate expertise and experience are also required. The acquisition of competence is the process of learning from accumulated experience. Whilst technical competence can be gained through training, the ability to make safety judgements comes from personal experience of the activity and environmental conditions. The leader has a key role in risk assessment and once the trip has begun the leader makes a continual ongoing re-assessment of conditions. Changes to the itinerary may be needed because of weather conditions, because of illness or injury in the group or because of the leader s judgement that the group is becoming uneasy in the activity. The rule of thumb for all outdoor and adventurous activities must be: If an activity is being considered which involves real danger then a fully experienced and qualified leader must be in charge. The reciprocal is: If a fully experienced and qualified leader is not available then the proposed activity must be reduced to a non-dangerous level or should not take place. Staff must be suitably qualified. Specific skill training might be important but a more likely requirement will be experience of managing groups in an outdoor or residential context. One area of difficulty may arise when teachers are working with centre staff. In this case staff should obtain in writing the occasions in which the centre s staff will hold responsibility. At all times the pupils must be aware of who is in charge at that moment. Other than for what may be considered normal school trips off site, e.g. sports fixtures, or regular educational visits, information should be both given to and sought from parents. Parental consent forms are an integral part of the organisation of a visit. While such forms cannot indemnify schools against any negligence, they do act as a check on the parents understanding and acceptance of the arrangements, and allow parents to indicate allergies, illnesses and dietary requirements. Parents are entitled to be informed of all the details and especially the emergency procedures. 8

9 CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) can gain enormous benefit and enjoyment from out of school activities. In relation to pupils with disabilities the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 require schools to include disabled pupils in all school activities where it is safe to do so. When planning educational activities for pupils with SEN schools need to carry out a specific risk assessment as well as a generic assessment. Significant issues for SEN pupils are likely to include the following. 1. Supervision arrangements. Extra supervision and support may be needed. 2. Transport issues. 3. Access to premises and movement around the premises. 4 Participation in activities. 5 Emergency procedures. 6 Administering medical treatment. 7 Any special diet required or any allergies or phobias the pupil may have. At present, we have a small number of SEN pupils and they integrate fully into Beeston life, although we are aware of their needs and plan accordingly, always in conjunction with the Matrons department 9

10 Adventure Activity Centres Each visit should have clear aims and objectives which are appropriate to the particular curriculum these also contribute to the safety of the visit. While it may not be feasible to make a preliminary visit to each activity centre, letters seeking assurances should be sent and satisfactory answers received, before entering into any contract. A clear onus is laid on the organisers of the visit to assess the risks before and during the visit as an ongoing process. Where organisers remain doubtful about any aspects of safety then the visit or the particular activity should not proceed. CLIMBING (on natural outdoor features): Rock climbing Abseiling Ice climbing Gorge walking Ghyll scrambling Sea level traversing WATERSPORTS (on most lakes, fast flowing rivers and the sea): Canoeing Kayaking Dragon boating Wave skiing White-water rafting Improvised rafting Sailing Sailboarding Windsurfing TREKKING (in remote moorland or mountain areas): Hillwalking Mountaineering Fell running Orienteering Pony trekking Mountain biking Off-piste skiing 10

11 CAVING: Caving Pot-holing Mine-exploration Schools will know whether a particular centre is licensed and can therefore choose a centre appropriately. However, it should not be assumed that the existence of a licence negates the need to carry out checks to establish that a satisfactory standard of service is actually being provided. SCHOOL-LED ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES Category A: These are activities that present no special risks. Examples are walking in parks or non-remote country paths. The school can follow its standard procedures. Category B: These activities are particular risks. Examples include walking in open country and camping and for these activities, the leader should be designated as a competent person. Category C: These include activities covered by the Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations (eg hill and moor land walking, climbing, and swimming in the sea or inland waters). For these activities the leader should have relevant experience, completed a recognised course of training and been assessed as competent to lead. 11

12 EMERGENCIES School trips rarely run tight to schedule. The unforeseen often occurs. Although such problems are rarely emergencies, it is necessary for schools to have procedures in place if things go wrong. Minor problems could include: A vehicle breakdown. A delay on the roads. A delay with public transport. Bad weather causing a delay. Some problems that directly involve pupils require prompt and efficient action by the teacher in charge. For example a pupil may sustain an injury which is not life threatening. This could be a cut, a sprain, dislocation, or a fracture. First aid may be all that is needed or the pupil may need hospital attention. In this situation communication is the key. The teacher in charge will need to: Organise first aid treatment so that a member of staff stays with the pupil. Contact school, in particular Matron who will then inform parents. Keep in contact to update as necessary. The school has a Crisis Management Policy and Critical Incident Policy 12

13 Appendix Safety and supervision on school journeys Policy A. Acts /regulations linked to this policy: 1. BS Disability Discrimination Act Special Educational Needs and Disability Act B. School policies linked with this policy: 1. Beeston Hall School Health and Safety policy 2. Beeston Hall School Crisis management policy 3. Beeston Hall School Critical incident policy 13