Planning An Educational Visit in 2021

Recent emphasis on learning outside the classroom and the value of learning and inspiring your students in a different environment to a classroom-based situation has led to an increase educational visits.  These can include study support and work-related learning and has resulted in an increase in opportunities for young people to leave the classroom and venture further afield with their school, academy, or college – both during curriculum time and as part of a programme for ‘out-of-schools-hours’ learning. School trips also build confidence and social skills and for many children their first residential trip away is one that they always remember.

Naturally with schools returning after this long lock down thoughts spring to mind about organising a school trip. Mental well being and encouraging your class to reform relationships and bond again is going to be of uppermost importance to many teachers.  Challenging your students in the great outdoors is an ideal way of building confidence and these may include obviously potentially hazardous activities, so please check with your activity provider that they have necessary risk assessment forms in place and if possible, try and make a pre-visit to check the facilities yourself.

Hazardous activities include the following:-

• sporting facilities
• adventurous activities such as hill walking, hire wire activities etc.
• river/beach
• farms

Check too and do not just assume that the following have risk assessments and the necessary insurance in place:-

• museums
• galleries and cultural centres
• theatres and exhibitions
• theme parks

But even if you are not taking your students out on a school excursion using the facilities in your immediate neighbourhood such as using local parks, visiting local businesses, places of religious worship or undertaking studies such as traffic movements, equally needs rigorous risk assessment and procedures must be followed to check the risk for each activity. This might be obvious if you are visiting a tourist attraction of museum but not necessarily an industrial complex.

For secondary schools, academies, and colleges wanting to use local businesses for off-site learning and work experience there are equally stringent criteria’s to meet regarding health and safety, insurance, legal aspects, health & safety and the supervision and learning that a student is expected to gain.

Your LEA will offer all the support that you need to ensure that whatever excursion you and your students embark upon that all the necessary procedures are in place for an enjoyable school trip.