This policy on educational trips and visits applies to all educational establishments where the County Council is the employer. In establishments where the County Council is not the employer, for example, Aided and Foundation Schools, this policy is provided as an example of good practice.
Policy Statement
The County Council will fully comply with the DCSF best practice on educational trips and visits set out in “Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits” document and associated supplements. This includes:
- Establishing and maintaining a trained Educational Visits Co-ordinator for each establishment or cluster of establishments
- Maintaining an Outdoor Education Advisor
- Adopting and following the best practice in the “Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits” document.
All Educational Visits Co-ordinators must undertake a DCSF approved training course and ensure that they attend refresher training at least every three years.
The County Council recognises three categories of trip/visit. For further details for each category please click on the appropriate link below.
- Category A activities – These comprise activities that present no significant risks with no need for the group leader to have National Governing Body or other accreditation
- Category B activities – Higher risk activities which require that the leader has undergone an additional familiarisation process or induction, specific to the visit and / or location
- Category C activities – Higher risk activities which need approval by the County Council Outdoor Education Advisor
Category A and B visits can be approved at establishment level. Each establishment should establish a protocol for agreeing trips / visits. This may include approval by the Educational Visits Co-ordinator, Head-teacher or Governing Body.
All educational establishments must seek and obtain the approval of the Outdoor Education Advisor before undertaking any trip or visit which falls into Category C.
The County Council will provide each Educational Visits Co-ordinator with an Off-site Visits guidance pack containing agreed forms which should be used.
Responsibilities
The County Council is responsible for reviewing and revising this policy on a regular basis and ensuring the provision of an Outdoor Education Advisor.
Governing Bodies are responsible for monitoring that their school or unit follows this policy.
Head-teachers and Centre Managers are responsible for ensuring that this policy is followed by their establishment including ensuring that they have, or have access to, an appropriate Educational Visits Co-ordinator.
The Outdoor Education Advisor is responsible for: providing advice on trips and visits to educational establishments, ensuring the provision of adequate training for Educational Visits Co-ordinators, approving Category C visits; monitoring and implementation of this policy.
Categories of trips recognised by Northamptonshire County Council
Within this document the term “remote” locations means:
- Any moorland (open uncultivated land at any height above sea level)
- Any mountain, woodland and cultivated land from which it would take more than 30 minutes travelling time to walk back to an accessible road or refuge.
Accessible road is a road accessible to an ordinary road going ambulance.
Refuge is a building, either occupied or with means for summoning help, which can offer shelter for the party in an emergency.