TEACHERS AND THE LAW |
Taking Pupils Off-Site |
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There are many educational activities which
involve taking pupils out of school. Theatre visits, field work,
sports fixtures, outward bound courses, concerts, international
exchange visits and many other activities extend and enrich the
school-based curriculum. |
The duty of care applies just as strongly out of
school as in it. Teachers taking pupils out are ‘in loco parentis’ throughout, and
must take appropriate care in the supervision of pupils, having
regard to the nature of the visit. The more hazardous or demanding
the trip, the younger or less able the pupils, the greater will be
the level of care and supervision needed. |
As already indicated, there is always the
possibility that an accident may happen. The key issue for the
teacher in charge is: was appropriate supervision in place? For
example, no-one could reasonably claim negligence if a pupil who
was a novice skier, being properly supervised on a nursery slope,
fell and broke a leg. If, on the other hand, the pupil was injured
having gone off-piste, the party leader might well have some
questions to answer about the effectiveness of the
supervision. |
However, in recent years, a number of tragedies
on school trips have received extensive media coverage, some of
which has been hostile to and critical of teachers even though, in
the majority of cases, they were absolved of blame. The prevailing
‘blame culture’ and increasing
reluctance to accept that there can be such thing as a genuine
accident has led one major teacher association to advise its
members against taking pupils out of school. |
A teacher proposing to take pupils out of school must:
- plan the programme of activities
carefully; - obtain permission for the trip from the head and
governors; - obtain parental permission; - carry out a
risk assessment, identifying possible hazards, who might be
harmed and how risk might be minimised; - establish
procedures for the appropriate conduct of the
activity. |
All schools and colleges have policies and
procedures in place for the conduct of visits, and teachers
organising visits will be expected to comply with these. DfES
guidance issued in 2002 recommended that each school should
appoint a senior member of staff as Educational Visits
Co-ordinator, with a brief to oversee all school visits, ensure
the establishment of risk assessment and management procedures and
ensure that all staff involved in trips are appropriately trained,
prepared and briefed. |
For example, there is likely to be guidance about
the ratio of adults to pupils. There are no specific ratios
indicated in any statute, but there must be a reasonable degree of
supervision based on the nature and hazards of the trip and the
number, age and aptitudes of the pupils. In fact, most model
policies developed by LEAs and adopted by schools do specify
ratios – 1:8 or 1:10 are typical for many types of off-site
activity. |
Where pupils are paying for a trip, clear and
comprehensive costings are required, and all monies must be
properly accounted for. It is normal practice for a separate
account to be kept of each trip. The issue of charging for school
activities is complex and potentially sensitive. In essence,
access to activities that are deemed to be part of pupils’
curriculum entitlement must not depend on the ability or
willingness of parents to pay for them. |
All schools have policy guidelines on this
matter, and often have model letters (for example, inviting ‘voluntary contributions’ from
parents). |
Where trips are residential, there are statutory
requirements governing the organising and selling of the ‘package’, and LEAs and schools have
policies and procedures which comply with these requirements. Most
schools and teachers arrange residential trips so that they do not
act as organiser and retailer. In this case, care has to be taken
over the choice of travel company. There is an organisation called
the School and Group Travel Association (SAGTA) whose members
specialise in school travel and provide certain important
safeguards, e.g. visiting accommodation used by school parties to
verify its suitability and security. |
The rules are particularly strict in the case of
Outdoor Activity Centres. Such centres in Britain now all have to
be licensed and are inspected to check that standards are being
maintained. The onus is still on schools and teachers, though, to
take care over their choice of provider and to use a company which
has adopted and implemented a reputable safety management system.
Again, most schools have clear policies and procedures, usually
adopted from models provided by the LEA, which must be followed
and all residential visits from maintained schools now have to be
approved by the LEA. |
Where Activity Centres are used, qualified centre
staff take responsibility for the specialist activities. However,
the teachers are still responsible for supervising the general
behaviour and conduct of pupils. |
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