WALMLEYINFANT SCHOOL

EDUCATIONAL VISITS

Character of Educational Visits

  • Education visits should be planned as an integral part of the school’s curriculum and in particular the personal development programme of the children.
  • The educational experiences offered should be suited to the ages, aptitudes and abilities of the children taking part. Educational visits should be well planned and professionally executed and where appropriate should include thorough preparation, debriefing and follow-up work.
  • The ages of the children should be taken into account when considering the travelling time involved. Visits which include a disproportionate amount of travelling time, are not recommended.
  • Activities arranged off the school premises must not involve children in partisan political issues or otherwise promote objectives inappropriate to the work of a school which is maintained by public funds and which children are required by law to attend.
  • It is essential that the leader of the educational visit, or another accompanying teacher, have first hand knowledge of the places to be visited. Where an adventurous activity is to be undertaken, or the area to be visited has potential hazards, it is essential that the party leader makes a preliminary visit. However, for educational visits to one of the LEA Day or Residential centres (e.g. Ogwen or Botanical Gardens), and organised by their staff this requirement is waived.
  • A risk assessment of the proposed visit should be carried out as part of the pre-planning.
  • During the educational visit it is vital that the headteacher(or the deputy headteacher if the headteacher is attending the educational visit\) is aware of which children and which adults are undertaking the visit, and the expected time of return. Arrangements must be made in advance to ensure that in the event of any accident the emergency services are mobilised rapidly.
  • Any activity which is an essential part of the National Curriculum or takes place during school time must be provided free of charge. However, voluntary contributions may be sought, provided that where such contributions are not forthcoming the activity must be provided for all relevant pupils, or must be cancelled entirely. For activities which are additional to or an enhancement of the National Curriculum and which take place outside of school time, any charge will be made in accordance with the Governing Body’s agreed policy on charging for school activities. All collection, banking and accounting for monies should be carried out according to LEA procedures.
  • The cost of a preliminary visit by the party leader or another teacher may be regarded as a necessary element of the total cost of a visit (with the United Kingdom) and may therefore be recouped as part of any charge to those taking part.
  • School must not enter into any contractual arrangements before approval has been given. In particular, school should not pay non-returnable deposits or enter into definite commitments until specific approval for the visit has been given.

The Approval Process for Educational Visits – DAY VISITS

WalmleyInfant School follows the guidelines for all trips in the document “Learning Beyond the Classroom” Policy and Guidance for Education Trips – Birmingham City Council.

In all cases, approval by the Headteacher must also be accompanied by approval by the Governing Body.

The Education Visits Coordinator is a staff member who has received relevant training and induction and liaises with the Headteacher. The EVC Coordinator is Miss E Ryan

Adult/Pupil Ratios

All educational visits must be accompanied by an adequate number of adults, at least half of these being teachers, teaching assistants or child care staff employed at WalmleyInfant School.

Adults employed by a commercial centre or non Birmingham LEA centre/agency must not be counted when calculating the adult-pupil ratio for an educational visit.

All visits both full day and overnight visits with children over the age of five must have at least one accompanying teacher, approved by the headteacher, of the same sex as the children.

The school makes appropriate police checks of accompanying adults.

All educational visits must be accompanied by at least two adults. The minimum adult/pupil ratio is as follows:

Pupil Age / Nursery / Reception / Years 1 and 2
Adult Ratio / 1:2-3 / 1:3-5 / 1:6-10

For neighbourhood visits such as to the local library, the headteacher may use discretion to modify the minimum ration set out above to one teacher plus one other adult per class. Before exercising this discretion which should not be automatic, the headteacher should take into account the circumstances of each particular visit, and the dangers inherent in any large group of children moving together along public footpaths. In particular the headteacher must take into account that there have been several cases of serious road traffic accidents involving children whilst on neighbourhood visits.

Training and Qualifications

Teachers leading and accompanying educational visits must have undertaken relevant training and achieved appropriate qualifications. Specific training is required for many activities.

The responsibility for ensuring that staff accompanying educational visits is appropriately trained rests with the Governing Body.

Consent by Parents or Guardians

Parents or guardians should be notified of intended visits well in advance. They should be informed of the activities their children will be undertaking, the general arrangements for ensuring their children’s safety and well being and of any cost they will be expected to bear.

Parents should be informed of:

  • Dates and times of travel and return
  • Travel and contact arrangements
  • The names of the visit leader and accompanying teachers
  • The cost

All educational visits should be agreed in writing.

The process of obtaining parental consent to educational visits may be dealt with through a blanket approval obtained at the start of the year. In this case, as with other specific approvals, parents should be informed of the planned programme of visits in such detail as enables them to make an informed judgement of the risks.

Medical Arrangements

Accompanying teachers should have knowledge of first aid appropriate to the activity being undertaken. A least one member of staff has had paedriatric training.

Pupils should be medically fit to cope with the activities to be undertaken during the visit.

Parents or guardians should be asked to confirm their children’s general fitness as well as provide details of any regular medication on the consent form.

Pupils with special educational needs must be taken into consideration when organising any trip with transport, medication etc.

Any pupils whose behaviour is considered to be a danger to himself, herself or the group may be stopped from going on the visit. The curricular aims of the visit for these pupils should be fulfilled in other ways, wherever possible.

Visit leaders will need to take responsibility for ensuring that any regular medication is used properly. Children suffering from asthma should be allowed to keep inhalers close at hand.

Emergency

In the event of a child suffering an accident or illness, medical attention should be obtained as necessary. The teacher leading the visit should:

Inform the headteacher who in turn must inform:

The parents/guardians

The appropriate Area office

For accidents, complete an Accident form.

Depending on the nature and severity of the accident or illness, and the particular circumstances, the steps set out above may need to be taken immediately, or as soon as possible after return from the visit. In general, serious accidents or illnesses requiring hospital attention must result in the visit leader informing the headteacher immediately.

In working hours, the following telephone number should be used – North Area Office – 303 2479.

In an emergency only, the following 24hour number should be used by school staff only – 303 3857/4149.

Travel

Travel should be organised through reputable agencies and travel companies. School should ensure that any insurance cover included within a package is adequate.

Insurance

The Governing Body has public liability insurance which protects the school against claims for compensation made against them by third parties such as pupils, parents, and visitors who sustain either a personal injury or loss of or damage to their property as a result of negligence on the part of the school.

Examples of such claims would be a pupil injured as a result of poor or inadequate supervision, or a falling light fitting injuring a visitor to the premises.

The policy has been extended to cover all school organised activities and this includes approved educational visits.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance policies are available for visits within the United Kingdom and the governing body should decide whether or not they require insurance having regard to the nature of the journey and the capabilities of the children involved.