Educational visits frequently asked questions

On this page you will find details of frequently asked questions about educational visits.

• Do the benefits outweigh the risks?
• How is the Council sure that the activities offered to young people are relevant and safe?
• How can parents be sure that making a voluntary contribution will benefit their child's education?
• How can I tell that the person leading the trip is suitably experienced and competent to be in this role?
• How does the Council help to ensure that everyone who needs to be is fully informed of what is included in an educational visit?
• Further information

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Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

We recognise the valuable contribution to learning and achievement offered by educational visits and out of the classroom learning. Millions of young people take part in these activities each year, without incident. Compared to other sources of risk in everyday life educational visits are still very safe and are often the time at school that young people remember most vividly.

Certainly many young people are influenced by the time they share with the adults they encounter through school, often helping them to shape future decisions. Staff who support trips which are residential, especially in secondary schools, have a greater chance of getting to know students and appreciate them more fully as a person.

There is compelling evidence that offering a programme can change the culture in a school and for some people provide incentive, the motivation to continue to attend and recognition and reward for their efforts. The experience that going offsite into the real world provides makes a significant contribution to the life skills agenda and in particular the steps young people can take to measure and manage risk for themselves.

Developing an active life style, and for some developing an interest they are introduced to through a school trip, has immediate benefits and is increasingly seen as essential to sustaining good health later in life.

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How is the Council sure that the activities offered to young people are relevant and safe?

School governors and youth work managers give guidance to ensure that activities support the curriculum and are subject to an effective internal approval process. Plymouth City Council commits to providing the policy framework and additional guidance for staff, obtained through, selecting from and contributing to national strategies. Monitoring of trips, on a sample basis, takes place to confirm that they are meeting these commitments and are achieving accepted good practice.

This monitoring is conducted by the Outdoor Education Adviser who works closely with Head Teachers, Youth Work Managers and Educational Visits Coordinators. They form a network that extends to all establishments and to some with whom the Council works in partnership. This ensures that there is a person in each organisation who is aware of what is best practice and  who can therefore guide their colleagues in preparing for an educational visit or activity.

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How can parents be sure that making a voluntary contribution will benefit their child's education?

As a parent you have a choice, parents might like to check for example whether the activities the school or youth club offers are those, that as a typical parents, you are unlikely to provide.

School day time activities are linked to the work your child is currently undertaking and letters home explain this. Evenings, weekends and overnight activities have a wider agenda and even though some of the activities maybe familiar to you the time spent with their classmates should help young people to broaden their social, community and independence skills. Travel away, especially out of the country, should enable participants to appreciate different environments and cultures. Well organised trips will not leave this to chance and this should be evident in the trip's plans.

Parents can help their child prepare for the trip by talking through with them the objectives, this may also help the child understand what they need to do prepare for the experience. Educational trips where young people are asked to take responsibility for themselves are of particular value.

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How can I tell that the person leading the trip is suitably experienced and competent to be in this role?

The Council helps through its training and monitoring to ensure that:

• party leaders have to be agreed before they can begin preparations for a trip which will usually mean that they have been on similar trips, at least twice before, in an assisting role.
• first time party leaders will have additional support and monitoring throughout their first trip this may be from a person who has lead before, going along as their ‘assistant’.
• when an activity requires an additional skill such as adventure activities this generates the need for further training and assessment, certified by a national organisation.
• adventure leadership qualifications are accompanied by a current first aid certificate to validate them.
• schools and youth organisations keep copies of certificates to confirm that they exist, are relevant and valid.
• that the person leading has had recent experience so that they are fit enough and still familiar with the risks involved.
• parents are given relevant information. Larger events will generally include a chance to come into school and to meet the party leader.
• parents are given the opportunity to have a private meeting with the trip's organisers if there are any matters they wish to discuss in confidence.

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How does the Council help to ensure that everyone who needs to be aware is fully informed of what is included in an educational visit?

This is achieved by establishing, through training and monitoring, the information parents should be given. Parents can only consent when they are fully aware of what an activity involves and particularly of any risk it entails. This should ensure:

• when parents sign the permission slip it is based upon having a clear picture of what the trip entails.
• parents are told when an activity has a naturally occurring level of risk that is essential to the experience it offers.
• training is offered to staff to be able to explain to parents how they plan to deal with risk and develop practices based upon risk assessment. This includes the collecting and passing on evidence of a provider's quality and safety assurance.
• common aspects of risk assessment are generated and distributed to leave staff with more time to explain the contents to parents.
• parents are asked to tell the staff about any circumstances that may be particular to their child and that might arise as a result of the planned activity.
• if there is any doubt about a child’s fitness to participate on health grounds then parents are asked to seek confirmation that their General Practitioner (GP) would be happy for them to take part. This is more effective where parents are able to tell the GP clearly what is involved.
• information is distributed to parents in as many ways as possible to give them the best chance of understanding and appreciating it, this includes through parents meetings. Parents are urged to take up this opportunity to support their child and to feel that if for any reason they cannot come to a parents meeting then they consider asking another trusted adult to come in their place.
• party leaders are aware of the need to pass on to providers of specific activities information needed to meet their safety and quality obligations.

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Further information

Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Guidelines have been developed by the to provide helpful and practical advice to governing bodies, head teachers and teachers in the organisation of school visits.

The Council has an outdoor education advisor who primarily oversees the more demanding activities. Within schools and other areas of the service there are Educational Visits Coordinators (EVCs). Each EVC has been trained in the risk assessment and planning process and has appropriate experience as a party leader. Together with teachers and youth workers leading trips, head teachers, governors and other specific council officers all contribute to safety.

Together they provide guidance on a range of different aspects of which the following are examples:

• Legal aspects
• Travel and transport
• Child safety
• Insurance and travel insurance
• The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme
• Ten Tors events

For details on the following areas please contact the Outdoor Education Adviser:

• Assistance with challenging activities as covered by the Adventure Activity Licensing Authority
• Worldwide expeditions of all types, whether cultural, directly linked to the curriculum or active in nature
• The practice and policy of the Council
• Training for leaders and for staff giving approvals
• The use of risk assessment databases

The Outdoor Education Advisors Panel website also provides useful information for the public and organisers of educational visits.

For more information on local trips please contact the school or youth and community centre directly and ask for either the EVC, the head teacher or manager.

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