St Thomas Becket Catholic College School Visits & Outdoor Activities Policy

Policy for School Visits and Outdoor Activities

1.0 Aims & Objectives of Visit 1.1 Staff must outline the Aims & Objectives of a visit when requesting permission from the Governing Body. These should conform with the Colleges curriculum (if they are to occur during school time) or extra-curricular aims. All students should have the opportunity to participate in such visits, subject to the discretion of the school.

2.0 Types of Visits 2.1 Visits occurring in College time will aim to enhance part of the curriculum. Examples of these are a trip to the theatre to see a play being studied in English, a visit to France as part of an exchange to improve students fluency in French, an excursion to a science exhibition to explore the topic of electricity, a visit to a museum to investigate the history of medicine. Visits occurring out of College time should contribute to the social, moral or spiritual development of the individual child e.g. Ardeche, Normandy

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3.0 Planning Procedures

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Colleagues planning a visit must read this policy and complete a standard pro-forma requesting permission to take a trip. (Application for & Approval Forms Appendix 1) Colleagues must also read the DCSF document Health & Safety of Students of Educational Visits (HASPEV) (Appendix 2). Approval for the visit will be obtained from the Senior Leadership Group via the Educational Visits Co-ordinator (EVC) on behalf of the Governing Body. Visits involving an overnight stay, near water or adventure activities need approval from the Governing Body and Local Authority via the EVC (Notification of Residential Trips Appendix 5). Please note the Authority require 8 weeks notice!!! A risk assessment of all trips must be undertaken. Advice on this can be sought from the EVC. Written parental consent must be obtained for all visits out of school. No student is eligible for a trip without written consent from parents. Any Travel company used must be registered with ABTA. Activity providers (e.g. for Outdoor pursuits) must be checked in advance for suitability, preferably with a fact-finding visit by staff. Coaches used for trips must all be fitted with seatbelts. Students travelling in a mini-bus must all wear seatbelts. It is the responsibility of trip leaders to inform students of this requirement.

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On trips abroad leaders should make passport and visa arrangements well in advance.

4.0 Organisational Framework 4.1

Parents must have an emergency contact number and the address for the residential accommodation being used on overnight visits. They will also be provided with the telephone number of a Senior Member of staff who can be contacted out of school hours in case of emergency. Colleagues organising a trip will plan carefully timings for departure, visits during the trip and return. Any visits to museums, sports facilities or other places where a reservation is required must be booked in advance and confirmation in writing will be sought from the venue.

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5.0 Financial Procedures 5.1 A non-refundable deposit of at least 10% will be requested initially. All monies are collected by the Finance Office. Parents will be provided with a list of payment deadlines. Any students taking part in a curriculum based visit during school hours whose parents are unable to afford the cost of the trip should be allowed to participate and will be financed via the school fund wherever possible. This must be stated explicitly in the letter to parents. Parents should be informed in detail of what is included in the price i.e. entrance fees, meals etc. During residential trips colleagues may wish to make a banking facility available to students to avoid loss of spending money. Staff cannot be held responsible for this money, however. If students have disabilities which require more expensive transport facilities, they should be charged the same as the other students and the difference should be found in the school fund or from the Authority.

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6.0 Level of Supervision Required 6.1 There is no law which lays down accepted staff: student ratios on educational visits; the responsibility for staffing rests with the Headteacher. However, it is recommended that reference is made to the ratios set out in the Local Authoritys guidelines. On overnight stays there must be a minimum of 1 member of staff to 10 students. If the group is made up of both boys and girls, the accompanying staff should include both male and female. When students are swimming the recommended minimum number of adults on the shore/bank is two. It is essential that at least one of the adults in charge of the activity should be able to swim and be competent in life-saving and rescue techniques, and able to administer resuscitation. If students are given free time during the visit, prior written permission will be sought from parents. Students will be told that they need to stay in groups of at least three at all

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times. Clear instructions must be given on time and area limits and on emergency meeting points where children have immediate access to staff. Students in Years 7 & 8 must not be left unsupervised. 6.4 Adequate and proper staff supervision will be maintained at all times during the trip. If students have been given free time, there must always be a member of staff contactable at a given location.

7.0 Qualifications and Experience of Leader and Supporting Adults 7.1 The leader of the visit must be an experienced teacher at St Thomas Becket Catholic College and must have experience of the type of visit being undertaken and be appropriately qualified and/or registered if necessary (e.g. for fell walking, climbing etc.) For visits that extend beyond the school day a deputy leader should be appointed. It is expected that this will also be a teacher, although depending upon circumstances it may be another experienced adult. All adults accompanying a school visit must hold an up-to-date CRB check. It is highly desirable that the leader has previously visited the place before the school visit, but where this is impracticable has recognised the importance of obtaining adequate information about the opportunities and hazards which may be encountered on the visit. For visits where an activity will be led by an adult employed by an outside agency (e.g. an activity centre etc.), the trip leader must have reassured him/herself of the suitability of this person. The leader is responsible for ensuring that other supervisors are fully briefed, and must explain that they must exercise reasonable care and supervision at all times during the visit. In order to ensure that supervision is maintained at an appropriate level, supervisors will not all take a break at the same time as the students. On trips abroad it would be preferable if at least one adult had knowledge of the host language.

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8.0 Code of Conduct and Safety Code 8.1 8.2 A risk assessment of all trips must be undertaken. A behaviour code for the trip will be communicated in advance to the students and on residential visits, signed by the parents and the student. Students are not permitted to drink alcohol or smoke (aged 11-16) during a school trip, nor can they buy such items as gifts to bring back to parents. On residential visits boys & girls are not permitted to go into each others sleeping accommodation after bedtime.

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Students will not be allowed to have free time in groups of less than three. Year 7 & 8 students should not be left unsupervised. On a residential trip students must be told of the fire and evacuation arrangements for the accommodation. During any school visit, students are representing St Thomas Becket and must behave with respect towards members of the public at all times. During the visit colleagues are in loco parentis. Students must obey requests and instructions without argument. For residential visits, a behaviour code document must be signed by each student and parent. Students must wear seat belts on coaches, minibuses, cars and aircraft at all times. Students are not permitted to wander around on a coach or kneel on the seat. On residential visits male members of staff only should go into boys rooms and female members of staff into girls rooms, except in an emergency. Visits to water require a high level of vigilance. (See DCSF document, Group Safety at Water Margins, Appendix 3) Students will only be allowed to participate in an out of school visit at the discretion of staff and governors. Staff on duty on residential trips must consume no alcohol. On day trips, no participating staff may drink alcohol. Staff may only smoke on trips in designated areas and this must be out of sight of the students.

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9.0 Information requirements 9.1 Staff must inform EVC of the full details of the trip who will then inform Governors and Senior Leadership Team. Parents will always be provided with comprehensive written information about visits. They will also be provided with emergency contact numbers (See 4.1). Parents should be asked for relevant detailed information about the individual needs of their child due to medical, cultural, language, religious or other factors at least 4 weeks prior to departure. Parents should notify the teacher immediately of any subsequent changes to the situation. For visits abroad, each participant will carry an identity card, which includes their name, the name of the school, their temporary address and telephone number. Parents will be provided with a checklist of clothing and equipment necessary for the visit.

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The Trip Leader must have a contact number & address for each child participating on

the trip. This must also be left with the EVC, the attendance officer and member of the Senior Leadership Team on duty. 9.7 On return from the trip, the trip leader will make a brief written report to the EVC of the trip including any accidents or student misbehaviour or any other relevant information about events that have taken place during the trip.

10.0 Insurance Arrangements 10.1 All residential stays, particularly abroad, must be covered by a collective insurance. It is the responsibility of the trip leader to arrange this. On day trips to museums etc. it must be indicated to parents that the school and the Authority cannot be held responsible for students belongings. At least one supervising adult should have knowledge of basic first aid. If an outdoor activity is to take place, further qualifications are required. If a fatality or serious injury takes place, a member of the Senior Leadership Team should be contacted as soon as possible after the incident. For school trips involving an overnight stay, trip leaders must give a list of all students involved and their contact numbers with dates and venue to the EVC.

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During the Visit 11.1 11.2 All group leaders must read and refer to Appendix 4 Handbook for Group Leaders Ongoing risk assessments should be made throughout the course of the trip, particularly in relation to weather conditions and proximity to water. There should be frequent head counts and a buddying system in place (see Appendix 4) Group leaders must ring or text the EVC or Headteacher to inform them of the safe arrival of the trip. Similarly, on the safe return of the group, the leader will make contact with EVC or Headteacher.

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