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.