A.C.N. 000 005 210 EXCURSIONS RISK MANAGEMENT GUIDE
1 EXCURSIONS... 3 1.1 INTRODUCTION... 3 2 KEY REQUIREMENTS... 3 2.1 GENERAL DUTIES... 3 2.2 WHAT ARE FORESEEABLE RISKS?... 4 2.3 WHAT STANDARD OF CARE IS REQUIRED OF TEACHERS ON EXCURSIONS?... 4 2.4 GUIDELINES... 4 2.5 PREMISES IN THE CONTROL OF OTHERS... 4 2.6 INSURANCE... 5 3 MANAGING EXCURSIONS... 5 4 PLANNING... 6 4.1 RISK ASSESSMENT AND CONTROL... 6 4.2 EXAMPLE: EXCURSION TO A MUSEUM... 6 4.3 PERMISSION OF PARENTS OR GUARDIANS... 8 4.4 SUPERVISION... 8 4.5 FIRST AID... 9 4.6 TRANSPORT... 9 4.7 INSURANCE... 9 5 SAMPLE DOCUMENTS... 9 6 SCHOOL POLICY ON EXCURSIONS... 11 7 EXCURSIONS CHECKLIST... 12 8 EXCURSION REQUEST FORM... 13 9 PARENT/GUARDIAN CONSENT FORM... 14 Source CCH Australia LTD Page 2 of 14
1 Excursions 1.1 Introduction Excursions are a recognised part of school activities, and staff can reasonably expect to be required by the school to conduct an excursion as part of their normal work duties. Because excursions necessarily involve both staff and students leaving school premises, there may be increased risks to their health and safety. The increased risk may arise from either or both of the following factors: the nature of the excursion itself (for example, a short walking excursion to look at environmental features in the school's vicinity poses less risk than a camping trip) a less controlled environment (that is, the reduced control that the school can exercise over external factors such as the safety of the excursion site or the people with whom students might come into contact). Schools need to ensure that the health and safety of staff and students on excursions is managed just as it would be within school grounds. 2 Key Requirements 2.1 General duties Under occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation, the term ''workplace'' will be interpreted quite broadly to include out of school environments. This means that the school's duty to provide a safe place of work for its employees extends to staff on excursions which are being conducted as part of their teaching duties. Staff injured on an excursion are also entitled to workers compensation. Similarly, a school's duty of care to its students extends beyond the school's geographical boundary. It exists whenever the school ought reasonably to exercise control over students, including when they are on school excursions. School authorities have a non-delegable duty to ensure that reasonable care is taken to minimise the risk of injury to the students. Schools may be found ''vicariously liable'' for any negligent acts of staff while on excursions. Source CCH Australia LTD Page 3 of 14
Under OHS legislation and the common law duty of care, schools are required to undertake risk management in relation to each and every excursion. This means taking all reasonable steps during the planning, organisation and execution of the excursion to minimise foreseeable risks of injury. It will never be possible to completely eliminate risks on an excursion. 2.2 What are foreseeable risks? In determining whether a risk is foreseeable, the High Court has indicated that risks which are not ''far fetched'' or ''fanciful'' are foreseeable. It is recognised that accidents can and do happen, particularly on excursions, but the value of the excursion to the educational experience and personal development of students may outweigh any foreseeable risk of injury. It is important to identify the predictable risks, and to have contingency plans for the unpredictable ones. 2.3 What standard of care is required of teachers on excursions? The standard of care will vary depending on the level of risk associated with the activity. The standard of care required of a teacher would therefore be higher for an excursion which included ice-skating than it would be for an excursion to a museum. In addition, factors such as the age of students, their physical and intellectual capacity and their maturity may also influence the standard of care to be applied. Any prior experience of the students and the staff in similar activities will also be of significance. 2.4 Guidelines It is usual practice that the school principal must approve any excursion from the school. In some cases it will also be necessary to gain further approval from the Catholic Education Office or from a School Board or Council. Organisers of excursions need to follow any guidelines laid down by these authorities. 2.5 Premises in the control of others The duty of care owed by the school to staff and students, and owed by teachers supervising the excursion to students, remains even if the site of the excursion is controlled by somebody else. The amount of control a teacher can exercise over the premises may, however, mean that at least Source CCH Australia LTD Page 4 of 14
part of the duty of care may be transferred to the owner of the premises. The duty imposed on a school is discharged if it can reasonably conclude that the premises are apparently safe and staffed by competent and careful people. In these circumstances, there is still a responsibility for the school, and particularly staff involved, to make sure they have first hand knowledge of the excursions site(s). 2.6 Insurance The school should make sure its insurance policy extends to cover the excursion, or arrange special insurance as required. 3 Managing Excursions Organisers of any excursion need to apply risk management principles. This means: identifying hazards pertaining to the excursion assessing the potential risks associated with the hazards deciding on ways of controlling the risks implementing appropriate control measures monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of these actions - this will include keeping records for use by future organisers of a similar excursion. For excursions involving physical activities, including adventure sports, there are inherent risks associated with those activities which need to be assessed and controlled. A general policy on excursions should be developed and documented. Individual policies can be developed for standard excursion activities conducted on a regular basis. A general excursion policy should contain: general guidelines categories of excursions and school regulations relating to each (based on education department or association guidelines, where applicable) details of preparation expected for the excursion modes of acceptable transport travel documents and consent forms. Source CCH Australia LTD Page 5 of 14
See the sample ''Excursions Policy'' provided at the end of this section under ''Sample Documents''. 4 Planning School excursions should be undertaken and planned with the following factors in mind: assessment of all foreseeable risks - this includes inspection of the site before the excursion begins consideration of the nature of the excursion with regard to students' ages, levels of maturity, capacities and natural propensities for mischief education of students (and staff) about the risks that they are likely to encounter on the excursion instructions or demonstrations required to prepare the students for the excursion providing full details of the excursion to the school community - including leaving information about expected start and finish times with a designated person at the school. 4.1 Risk assessment and control A school should assess risks associated with excursions methodically and plan responses to identified risks (Refer to the ''Excursions Checklist'' provided under ''Sample Documents''). A database created from information gathered from previous excursion experiences will also be useful in assessing risks. The risks involved and the control measures used will depend very much on the particular activity. 4.2 Example: Excursion to a museum An example of risks associated with a relatively simple excursion, such as going to a museum by bus, include: transport accidents en route getting lost in the museum sore feet from walking around the museum abduction or assault by strangers slipping on polished floors Source CCH Australia LTD Page 6 of 14
tripping over exhibits fire or other emergencies in the museum. The risk of transport accidents can be controlled by: selecting a reliable bus hire company checking the driver's licence sighting recent vehicle registration and inspection certificates hiring enough buses to accommodate all the passengers safely in seats where possible, hiring buses with seatbelts planning the route to be taken, to minimise time spent on the road supervising children to ensure minimal distraction of the driver. Control measures to prevent someone getting lost in the museum, or separated from the group, may include: headcounts, roll calls and/or ''buddy'' systems (that is, having students keep together in pairs) distributing maps of the museum (and ensuring students are able to read them) arranging rendezvous points. This, along with adequate supervision, will also help in preventing abduction and assault by strangers. Students and staff should be advised to wear sensible footwear - flat shoes with plenty of arch support and soles with grip - to prevent slipping on smooth floors and getting sore, tired feet. The risk of tripping can also be minimised by wearing sensible shoes, and by making sure people keep to designated pathways in the museum. Staff should familiarise themselves with the layout of the museum and any particular hazards (such as a narrow staircase) so that they can keep students away from those hazards or take other appropriate measures. They should also check that there are adequate fire exits in the event of an emergency. Source CCH Australia LTD Page 7 of 14
4.3 Permission of parents or guardians The school should in all circumstances obtain the permission of parents or guardians before taking students on an excursion. Parents need to be provided with sufficient information to enable them to make an informed decision. A permission form is also an opportunity for schools to obtain information which may be needed to properly assess the risks to individual students. This is especially useful where the attribute causing added risk is not obvious and may not have been observed in the normal classroom environment (for example, allergies and debilitating phobias). School should advise parents to provide current health information relevant to the particular event. Obtaining permission is also an opportunity to address other planning issues such as steps to be taken in the case of an emergency. A request for permission can also be a consent for teachers to use their best judgment in obtaining emergency care. A parent can authorise a teacher to obtain ambulance or other emergency assistance without the need for further contact with the parent to confirm that they are willing to bear any associated cost. 4.4 Supervision An important element in countering risks to students' health and safety on excursions is the provision of appropriate supervision. Schools will often engage parents to assist in excursions. It is important to realise that just as the school cannot delegate a duty of care to a teacher, it will be equally liable for any negligent acts or omissions of supervising parents. All staff and parents who are involved in an excursion should be thoroughly briefed prior to the commencement of the excursion. Roll calls and head counts are important elements of supervision, particularly with certain groups of students and in particular environments. There is always a risk of someone becoming detached from the group during an excursion by simply wandering off, lingering at an interesting attraction, or sustaining an injury, illness or other misfortune which detains them. This may expose a student to further risk of harm, whether they are lost or not. Frequent head counts and roll calls will quickly determine if someone is missing and/or in need of assistance, when time may be critical. Source CCH Australia LTD Page 8 of 14
4.5 First aid First aid equipment appropriate to the excursion must be readily available at any time on the excursion. Depending on the nature of the activity, it may be appropriate to have one or more qualified first aid staff present. 4.6 Transport Where vehicles are used to transport people on an excursion, only drivers with licences appropriate to the type of vehicle can be used. Similarly, vehicles should be checked as to their condition. Vehicles should also be an appropriate mode of transport for the number and ages of people travelling and for the type of journey and destination. Though transport department regulations allow for a certain number of people to stand in buses, this practice may not be sound in a school excursion, particularly one involving young children. Instead, the school should hire buses with sufficient seats to cater for the number of people travelling. Where possible, the school should seek buses equipped with seat belts, given the extra safety these would provide. While a supervising teacher cannot influence the skill of a bus driver, he or she can have some influence over the proper loading of the bus, plans as to where children should embark and disembark, and behaviour of students while on the bus. 4.7 Insurance Transport insurance should be arranged to cover accidents en route. If teachers use their own cars to transport students, they should ensure that their insurance cover is adequate, that the school administration is aware of the use of the car for school business and that the car used is safe. 5 Sample Documents The following sample documents are provided to assist schools in managing excursions safely: 1. Excursions Policy 2. Excursions Checklist 3. Excursion Request Form Source CCH Australia LTD Page 9 of 14
4. Parent/Guardian Consent Form. The policy should be adapted to suit the school's particular decisions on excursions and in line with the Catholic Education Office or other guidelines. The checklist is to be used by teachers in assessing the general risks of an excursion. The list of questions is not exhaustive because each excursion will have different risks. The school should adapt this checklist to produce questions particular to each type of excursion conducted by the school. The Excursion Request Form is for submission to the principal or governing body by staff who wish to organise an excursion. This will help staff in planning the excursion and will assist the school to keep a record of the planning. In addition to obtaining permission from parents and guardians, the consent form can be used to gather medical or other pertinent information which may affect a student's participation in an excursion. Source CCH Australia LTD Page 10 of 14
6 School Policy on Excursions School commitment Excursions Policy [Insert school name] is committed to the provision of educationally valid excursions as part of the school curriculum. Excursions will be prepared, managed, supervised and monitored in a way that ensures the health, safety and security of the participating students and staff, as well as others who may be affected by the conduct of the excursion. Management priorities This school will ensure that: legislative and regulatory requirements for the organisation and management of excursions are complied with, and staff are aware of any mandatory guidelines relating to excursions excursions will be planned and conducted using risk management principles records will be kept of the risk management process for each excursion contingency arrangements and emergency procedures are included in planning procedures staff, students and others involved in the excursions (such as supervising parents) are fully briefed on all aspects of an excursion before its commencement and have time to undertake preparatory activity supervisory roles and responsibilities are clearly allocated and understood by all staff and students going on the excursion parents are informed of the excursion and provide consent for their child s involvement staff involved in planning excursions have the requisite skills and experience for the excursion where possible, preliminary inspection of the excursion site will be undertaken the qualifications and licensing of, and safety precautions taken by, outside persons or agencies used as part of an excursion are carefully checked transport arrangements are made with the safety of participants in mind excursions will be selected to match the participant s levels of competence and ability a first aid kit containing equipment appropriate to the excursion will be taken on all excursions, as will qualified first aiders where necessary the school will provide insurance to cover the excursion any incident occurring on an excursion will be fully investigated and recorded. Principal s commitment The principal is responsible for ensuring that: the objectives of this policy are incorporated into school procedures staff and students are consulted on health and safety matters relating to excursions action is taken to ensure that excursions are conducted safely and without risk to health. Staff commitment Staff are responsible for: planning and conducting excursions with regard to the health and safety of all participants cooperating with measures introduced to protect the health and safety of people on excursions reporting any accident, incident or near miss that occurs on an excursion. Signed: (Principal) Date: Source CCH Australia LTD Page 11 of 14
7 Excursions Checklist Is there a school policy on excursions? Do you understand the policy? Excursions Checklist All questions are to be answered Yes No Do other staff and students who will be going on the excursion know of and understand the policy? Are any legislative, departmental or school requirements or guidelines which must be followed being complied with? Do you need special permission (eg from the education department) for this excursion? Has the principal given permission for this excursion? Have you developed and documented an overall plan for the excursion? Have the details of the plan been distributed to the principal, staff, students and their parents? Has parental permission been obtained for student participation? Have you identified the risks to the health and safety of both staff and students that are associated with the excursion? Have these risks been assessed and appropriate control measures identified? Have the control measures been implemented? Have supervisory roles and responsibilities been allocated to staff and are these understood by both staff and students? Do all staff have the necessary skill levels and experience to conduct the excursion safely? Have the qualifications and safety arrangements of any personnel external to the school been checked? Has any preparation or training required for the excursion been given to students, staff and other supervisors, such as parents? Have transport arrangements been made with safety in mind? Has the excursion site been checked for safety? Does the school s insurance policy cover the excursion, or is special insurance necessary? Have emergency procedures and contingency plans been developed? Are all participants in the excursion aware of and familiar with the emergency procedures and contingency plans? Is it necessary for a qualified first aider to be present on the excursions? Are appropriate records being kept? Source CCH Australia LTD Page 12 of 14
8 Excursion Request Form Excursion Request Form Subject Department/Section... Year level(s)..... Classes involved.... No of students involved..... (attach list) No of staff.... (attach list) Destination..... Brief outline of activity (attach).... Date and time of leaving school. Date and time of returning to school... How excursion is related to the syllabus (attach)... Preparatory and follow up work planned (attach)...... Costs for students $....... Costs for school $..... Organiser...... Signature Head of Department..... Signature Source CCH Australia LTD Page 13 of 14
9 Parent/Guardian Consent Form * delete as appropriate Parent/Guardian Consent Form As a Parent/Guardian* of.... I,..., give my consent for him/her* to participate in the school activity as detailed in the attached information sheet. I am aware of the nature of the activity and agree to delegate my authority to the staff and instructors involved. I accept that the teachers and instructors will take appropriate disciplinary action necessary to ensure the safety, well-being and successful conduct of the students who participate in the activities associated with the excursion. In the event of any illness or accident, I do/do not* authorise the obtaining of such medical assistance as my child may require. I do/do not* authorise all medical treatment, blood transfusions and/or anaesthetic and accept all risks involved and the responsibility for payment of any expenses thus incurred. I include the completed medical information section (below) about my child to assist those who are organising the excursion. Signed... Emergency contact phone number... (Parent/Guardian*) Medical Information: Does your child have any medical condition or disability which may affect your child s participation in the school excursion? Yes/No* If Yes, please give details: Is your child on any prescribed medication(s) which would be required to be continued during the excursion? Yes/No* If Yes, please give details: Does your child have any allergies (eg insect bites, food)? Yes/No* If Yes, please give details: Is there any other information you would like to give which, in your view, may affect your child s participation in the excursion? Yes/No* If Yes, please give details: Source CCH Australia LTD Page 14 of 14