BRIGHTON & HOVE OFFSITE GUIDELINES
Revised September 2013
Introduction
These guidelines on offsite activities replace all previous versions issued by Brighton & Hove City Council. They must be used in conjunction with the National Guidance issued by the Outdoor Education Advisers Panel, which have been endorsed by the Health & Safety Executive and other national bodies. The National Guidance can be accessed via EVOLVE or by copying and pasting the following link into your browser:
Off-site activities, through adventure, cultural exchange, fieldwork and educational visits, provide memorable and challenging opportunities for young people. We are keen that all young people should develop self-confidence, independence and responsibility, and these activities provide excellent opportunities for this. They also represent a valuable extension to the curriculum, allowing young people to investigate and experience the world at first hand. These experiences lead to a positive impact on the lives of the young people involved and the communities in which they live. In Brighton & Hove we are proud of the rich variety of activities that are offered to our young people through schools, youth groups and young people’s organisations of all kinds.
All those involved in the provision of off-site activities have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of those in our care. We are very grateful to the large number of adult workers and volunteers who give their time to organising these activities, and we trust that the guidance in this booklet will give you the confidence to do so properly and safely.
Acronyms used in this booklet
AALAAdventure Activities Licensing Authority
BHCC Brighton & HoveCity Council
DBSDisclosure and Barring Service
DfEDepartment of Education
Main revisions
The main revisions to the offsite guidelines are as follows. Please note, some of the information previously contained in these guidelines such as definition of roles, rationale for offsite visits, considerations when dong offsite activities and next of kin consent, can now be found in the National Guidance at
Minimum ratios: changes to the recommended minimum ratios (see p.21).
Supervision: parent helpers can now be included in the staffing ratio provided they are not in a leadership role (see p.22)
Hazardous activities:changes to list of hazardous activities: swimming (in pools)*, beach visits and theme park visits have been moved from the hazardous category to the non-hazardous category i.e. these no longer need to be notified to the LA.(see p. 7).
*open water swimming still regarded as hazardous, as are farm visits.
Equal opportunities:detailing the responsibilities to meet the requirements of the Equalities Act and the Health & Safety at Work Act in relation to children with special educational needs (SEN) accessing offsite trips.
Enquiries
If you have any questions please contact the Outdoor Education Department (Monday to Friday):
Outdoor Education Department, Hangleton Youth Centre, 34 Northease Drive, Hove BN3 8PP.
Tel: 01273 293642 or email
You can also contact Health, Safety & Wellbeing team on 01273 291530
Index
Section 1 – APPROVAL & MONITORINGp.3
1.1.Approval procedures for UK based, non-residential and non-hazardous visitsp.3
1.2Approval procedures for residential, overseas and hazardous visitsp.4
1.3Risk assessmentp.5
1.4Offsite visits approval flowchartp.6
1.5Hazardous and non-hazardous activitiesp.7
1.6Offsite visit checklistp.8
1.7Overseas exchange visit checklistp.10
1.8Approval form for external providers and tour operatorsp.12
1.9Risk assessment form (blank)p.15
1.10Tips for completing a visit form on EVOLVEp.17
Section 2 – CHILD PROTECTION & SAFEGUARDINGp.19
2.1Duty of carep.19
2.2Child protection proceduresp.19
2.3Disclosure and barring servicep.19
2.4Equal opportunitiesp.20
Section 3 – SUPERVISION & STAFFING RATIOSp.21
3.1Appointment of staffp.21
3.2Supervision ratiosp.21
3.3Involvement of pupils’ relatives and close friendsp.22
3.4Activities not under direct supervisionp.22
3.5Gender differencesp.22
3.6Supervising adults other than professional staffp.23
3.7Good practice in supervisionp.23
Section 4 – EMERGENCY PROCEDURESP.25
4.1Emergency procedures for visit leaders & other supervising adultsp.25
4.2Emergency procedures for contact personnelp.27
4.3Emergency procedures for head, officers and senior staffp.29
Section 5 – GENERAL INFORMATIONP.31
5.1First aidp.31
5.2Clothingp.31
5.3Transportp.31
5.4Insurancep.32
5.5Mobile phonesp.32
5.6Hazardous activitiesp.32
Section 6 – DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARDP.33
6.1Expedition downloadsp.33
6.2Expedition notificationp.33
6.3Mobile phone policyp.33
6.4Expedition checksp.33
6.5Qualifications of staff leading expeditionsp.34
Please see the National Guidance at information on:
- Definitions of roles of leader, Governing body, EVC, group leader etc.
- Rationale for offsite visits, preparation and planning, research of venues, considerations
when choosing a provider
- Considerations when doing specific activities (water based, land based and air based).
SECTION 1 – APPROVAL AND MONITORING
Brighton & Hove’s offsite visits approvalis detailed below (and summarised on the flowchart on page 6).
Residential, overseashazardous offsitevisits must be approved by the Educational Visits Coordinator (EVC), Head of Establishment and the Outdoor Education Adviser (OEA). Non-residential and non-hazardous trips onlyhave tobe approved by the EVC and head of establishment.
In approving visits, the Head of Establishment and EVC should ensure that the Offsite Visits checklist (see later in this section) has been complied with, and that the Visit Leader has been appropriately trained. Brighton & Hove City Council expects the EVC, Head of Establishment, and Governing Body (where applicable) to exercise appropriate professional judgement when approving visits, and the establishment to seek advice from the Local Authority (LA) where necessary.
1. 1 Approval procedure for UK based, non-residential and non-hazardous visits
Where visits are NOT:
- Overseas or
- Residential or
- Involving hazardous activities and/or hazardous environments
Brighton & Hove City Council delegates all aspects of the approval of these visits to the Head of Establishment. This delegation is conditional upon compliance with the Offsite Visits checklist, and appropriate induction, training, and assessment of the Visit Leader’s competence.
The following procedure should take place for these types of offsite visits.
(i)The Visit Leader/trip organiser will propose the activity to the Head and Governing Body for initial approval.
(ii)The EVC will then give guidance and support to the Visit Leader/trip organiser on preparing and planning the trip.
(iii)The risk assessment score should be worked out to enable the Visit Leader/trip organisertoplan effectively, and identify any areas of concern.
(iv)Once the staff have planned and assessed the trip, the EVC will be consulted for their approval. This will then be taken to the Head and Governing Body (as required) for final approval.
(v)Parents should then be consulted and their consent sought in writing.
The establishment must keep a recordof these visits, details of which may be requested by the Outdoor Education Adviser (OEA) or Health, Safety & Wellbeing Officer as part of their statutory supporting and monitoring role. The establishment is encouraged to record these visits on Brighton & Hove’s offsite visit online notification and approval system, EVOLVE, at
Timescales
Local trips should be approved in plenty of time - at least a week in advance. Local arrangements should also take into account the requirements of the Governing Body and make sure that there is sufficient time to consult them (if required).
1.2Approval procedure for residential, overseas or hazardous visits
Where visits ARE:
- Overseas or
- Residential or
- Involving hazardous activities and/or hazardous environments.
Following approval by the head of establishment, the visit details must be submitted via Brighton & Hove’s offsite visit online notification and approval system, EVOLVE, for the Outdoor Education Adviser (OEA) to approve.
(i)The Visit Leader/trip organiser should propose the activity to the Head and Governing Body for initial approval.
(ii)The EVC will then give guidance and support to the Visit Leader/trip organiser on preparing and planning the trip.
(iii)The risk assessment score should be worked out to enable the Visit Leader/trip organiserto plan effectively, and identify any areas of concern.
(iv)Once staff have planned and assessed the trip, the establishment’s EVC or Visit Leader must log on to Brighton & Hove’s offsite visit online notification and approval system, EVOLVE, at complete an online Visit Form as early as possible ahead of the visit. The Visit Form must be approved by both the EVC and Head of Establishment on EVOLVE before being submitted to the OEA. A minimum of 4 weeks notice is recommended for UK visits and 6 months notice for overseas visits.
IMPORTANT
Aminimum of 4 weeks notice is recommended for UKresidential and hazardous visits and 6 months notice for overseas visits. This gives the LA sufficient time to allow for any changes or additions to be made if needed. Whilstwe appreciate that this is not always possible, please ensure you submit any overseas, residential or hazardous trips for Local Authority approval an absolute minimum of one week before the trip is due to depart.
Where the notice period is less than a week, the LA cannot guarantee to approve your trip in time. If this is the case, in the event of an injury or fatality, the school may hold all liability and will have to justify why the trip went ahead without this approval.
(v)Following submission of an online Visit Form, the OEA will review it and either approve the visit, or return the Visit Form to the EVC with reasons given. Where appropriate, the OEA will attach a note to the Visit Form.
(vi)Prior to the visit taking place, the EVC must check the status of approval on EVOLVE. The visit must not take place without OEA approval.If the OEA has attached a note that requires confirmation of having been read, the EVC will not be permitted to access their account until this has been confirmed. EVOLVE will then record the date and time of reading the note on the Visit Form.
Note: A member of staff intending to lead (i.e. instruct) an adventurous activity must be specifically approved by the OEA to do so by completing the online (ALF) form onEVOLVE as directed.
In Local Authority maintained schools, the Governing Body should use these Guidelines, in conjunction with the National Guidelines, as a template to generate their own policy (sample policies can be found on EVOLVE).
Please contact the OEA if you require further advice regarding approval or training on
EVOLVE on 01273 293642.
1.3 Risk assessment
It is a legal requirement to perform a formal risk assessment when considering any offsite activity and this procedure should be an integral part of the planning for all such activities. A sample risk assessment form is provided later in these Guidelines and should be used at all times (this is the responsibility of the Head of Establishment and the Educational Visits Co-ordinator). These will be required when seeking approval at both establishment and Council level. The Risk Assessment process should consider all aspects of the process, from the venue to the travel arrangements and also the supervision requirements, qualifications,DBS checks etc. These should be revisited before further visits to the venue, any changes made and reviewed annually. Ongoing dynamic risk assessments should be undertaken during the visit. Pupils can be involved in the risk assessment process. It is important to carefully consider the participants and their needs, as this may change on a visit-to-visit basis. All risk assessment forms must be made available and kept until majority plus three years.
For activities or visits that are run by an establishment on a regular basis or have aspects that are similar on a number of visits, for example minibus use, the school may produce and use their own generic risk assessments. These should be re-visited each time and any changes made. When using model risk assessments, the needs of the pupils, the environment and the location should be carefully considered to ensure that the assessments are still valid.
If at any stage you find that you identify an activity or part of an activity as involving an unacceptable risk, then it must not go ahead even if the overall score is reasonable.
Low Risk
A low risk activity is one in which the possibility and nature of an accident are not substantially different to those encountered in everyday experience.
Medium Risk
A medium risk activity is one in which the hazards encountered are outside the group’s experience but by adopting principles of safe practice, should bring them down to an acceptable level.
High Risk
A high-risk activity is one in which the hazards encountered are well beyond the everyday experience of the group. The repercussions of an accident could lead to serious consequences.
If you have any queries or concerns relating to the Risk Assessment process, please contact either the OEA or a member of Health, Safety & Wellbeing team. Further information on undertaking risk assessments can be found in the Health, Safety & Wellbeing policy on the WAVE.
1.4 OFFSITE VISITS APPROVAL FLOWCHART
NOYES
YES
NO
YES
NO
YES YES
YES YES
1.5
HAZARDOUS & NON-HAZARDOUS ACTIVITIES
Hazardous activities / Non-hazardous activitiesAbseiling / Beach games (in enclosed area)
Fell walking / Beach visits
Archery / Biodiversity day
Bungee jumping / Bowling
Camping / Cinema visit
Canal boating / Concert visit
Canoeing /Kayaking / Library visit
Canyoning / Local park visit
Caving / Local restaurant visit
Climbing / Museum visit
Climbing wall / Music workshop
Cycling / Places of historical interest
Dinghy sailing / Science fair visit
Fishing (freshwater and sea) / Shopping
Expeditions / Swimming
Extreme sports (contact OEA) / Ten pin bowling
Free running / Theatre visit
Farm visit / Theme parks
Go karting / University and college visit
Golf
Horse riding and pony trekking
Ice skating
Jet boating
Jet skiing
Kite flying
Low and high ropes
Mountain biking
Open water swimming
Orbing
Orienteering
Outward bound pursuits
Paintballing (please contact OEA)
Parascending / Parasailing water)
Pond dipping
Rafting
Roller blading
Roller skating
Rowing
Sail boarding
Sailing within territorial waters
Scuba diving
Skate boarding
Skiing
Sledging
Snorkelling
Surfing
Trekking/Hiking/Rambling
Water skiing
White water rafting
Wide games
Windsurfing
Yachting
Zip
If any activity that you are planning does not appear here, please contact the Outdoor Education Department on 01273 293642.
1.6
Offsite visits checklist
Date of proposed visit ______
Visit leader______
Year group______
Number of pupilsMale______Female ______
Number of staffMale______Female ______
Areas of Focus /Sample Questions / Indicators
/ √or N/A
Venue
/ Appropriate venue for the participants and the aims/objectives of the trip / Party Leader
/ Clearly identified competent leader / Leaders checklist /
Named deputy leader & staff /
Accompanying adults / need DBS check /
Communications /
Staffing / Adequate ratios /
First aid cover for journey and venue /
Staff briefing /
Visit / Is it non-hazardous/hazardous or residential /
LA notification required /
Head/Governors approval required /
Is there a need for a preliminary visit /
Fire safety /
Generic & specific risk assessments in place /
Pupils / Pupil briefing /
Behavioural expectations /
Special needs /
ID/ information cards /
Medical / Medical & contact details of pupils /
Medical & contact details of staff /
Parents / Have signed parental consent forms been issued / collected /
Have parents been fully informed of the programme? /
Parents’ meeting arranged /
Transport / Minibus – hired/own - driver approved /
Coach - seat belts provided /
Public transport, train, air, ferry, bus /
Private cars – permission/ insurance /
Finance / Charging policy /
Insurance / Insurance cover checked /
Emergencies / 24 home base contact /
Critical incident plan in place /
Post Visit / Accident/near miss reporting /
Celebrate success /
Need for training /
Succession planning /
1.7
Overseas exchange visit checklist
Date of proposed visit ______
Visit leader______
Year Group______
Number of pupilsMale______Female ______
Number of staffMale______Female ______
Areas of Focus /Sample Questions / Indicators
/ √or N/A
Planning
/ The appropriate risk assessments have been completed and visit formally approved and notified to the LA. / The trip has been carefully planned by competent staff and all arrangements comply with LA’s guidance. /
The EVC has been involved in the planning from the outset. /
You understand the insurance arrangements /
Staffing / Appropriate numbers of teachers/youth workers/group leaders/supervisors will accompany the party. /
A person has been designated as the 24 hour home contact who will have immediate access to all the information relating to the trip, and that all staff aware of this. /
All staff and volunteers are specifically competent, appropriately vetted and DBS checked. /
Appropriate training has been given to relevant staff including issues relating to child protection. /
All group members and leaders are equipped to deal with emergencies and sensitive issues. /
Host families / All host families have been checked and assurances provided that they are suitable hosts and homes. /
Host families have names and contact numbers in case problems arise. /
Host families are aware that teachers/youth leaders may home visit to check on the welfare of guests and this applies to both sides of the exchange. /
Contact abroad / Your contact person/partner with the equivalent role toyou in the exchange has met your expectations relating to the health, safety and well being of the young people involved. These expectations have been matched and reciprocated for the return visit. /
You are satisfied that your counterpart in the host country is fully appraised regarding the details and arrangements for this exchange. /
Paperwork / All relevant documentation including a list of group members names, together with their host families address and contact number is lodged in a designated place provide 24/7 access. 24 hour home contact also has a copy of this. /
You have details of the 24 hour contacts and emergency arrangements at both ends of the exchange and this has been shared with key staff. /
You have made copies of relevant documents; passports etc. and these are kept separate to the originals. /
Parental consent forms, medical details and contact details have been copied and shared with relevant staff and host families. /
Parents / Parents and guardians of young people involved in the trip have full details of where their son/daughter is staying, a full itinerary of the trip and emergency telephone numbers. /
Briefing / Appropriate training/briefing has been provided for staff, pupils and parents. /
Students/young people have been provided with “Child Safe “advice. /
Staff and young people are suitably and sufficiently aware of the cultural and legal differences and sensitivities of the host country. /
All group members are adequately briefed about their responsibilities during the visit and knowwhat action to take in case of emergencies. /
All staff, supervisors, parents and volunteers have been briefed as to their specific roles and responsibilities. /
All group members have been informed of their roles and responsibilities during the visit. /
Child Protection / The Child Protection Officer for this establishment has been consulted in respect of this exchange and that their recommendations have been followed. /
Finance / You have organised sufficient contingency funds should the need arise for extra expenditure. /
The group leader has sufficient funds and an effective means of communication in case of an emergency (e.g. mobile telephone/satellite phone in remote areas). /
Post Visit / A review/debrief is carried out upon return. /
Governors checks / You are aware of the outline details you require in order to fulfil the governors’ role in monitoring to assure yourselfthat the visit is being organised in accordance with school and LA procedures. /
You are satisfied that the visit has been planned in accordance with the LEA guidelines. /
You are satisfied with the emergency procedures in place. /
1.8