Friday, 8 June 2012

Making safety a priority when planning an educational trip

By Rachel Green


There are many things to be considered when planning a school trip, but safety has to be your number one priority. On a school trip or an educational tour, you and your colleagues will be responsible for the health and safety of every one of the young people in your care. You will be acting in loco parentis, so you need to take safety seriously.

With your destination chosen, it's time to look at your itinerary and conduct a risk assessment. This health and safety assessment should be as detailed and thorough as you can make it. It involves identifying risks and coming up with ways to reduce them or remove them completely. You can find help and advice about how to do a risk assessment by searching online.

A risk assessment should also focus on who may be most at risk on your trip, as well as the risks themselves. All young children are vulnerable to health and safety hazards, but those with particular needs are potentially more at risk.

Another thing that is very important when planning a school trip is travel insurance. Unless you are using a travel company or an educational trips specialist, which should offer you comprehensive travel insurance, you should take out a policy yourself.

What will you do if an emergency situation should happen during your school trip? This is another thing that you need to think very carefully about during your planning. Give out mobile phones and lists of emergency phone numbers to all of your colleagues who will be going on the trip with you, and also think about taking emergency supplies of medicine, first aid supplies, food and drink.

As long as you plan properly and make safety your top priority, yourself and the children on your school trip should have a fun, safe and educational time.




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