Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn
Catholic Education Office

Excursions

Related Policies:

Child Protection
Excursions - Overseas
First Aid
Legal Responsibilities
Sport and Physical Activity Safety
Sun Smart
Supervision

Purpose:

This policy outlines system requirements for the conduct of excursions and out of school activities.

Policy:

Excursions offer students the opportunity to participate in education related experiences outside the normal school environment. While there is recognition of the advantages of these experiences, it is important that all safety issues are carefully considered when organizing such an excursion. When determining initial arrangements, it is important to consider the cost to the students and to ensure that no student is disadvantaged through an inability to meet the financial requirements.

A teacher's duty of care towards students exists wherever there is a teacher-student relationship. This is true not only during normal school routine, but also during camps and on excursions. If a foreseeable injury occurs as a result of a breach of this duty of care, a teacher may be sued for negligence.

The following code applies to all members of school staff and other accompanying adults on school organized and System approved excursions or sports visits, for the duration of the activity from the time of departure from the school until students have been collected by their parents/guardians or have left the school premises. The code applies to the appropriateness of behaviour of participants while in accommodation during the excursion visit.

Definitions:

• An excursion is an educational activity by students, under the supervision of a teacher, outside normal school precincts.
• Excursion Coordinator refers to the Teacher nominated by the Principal to organise the excursion and to have ultimate responsibility and therefore authority while the activity is in progress.
• Legal duty of care requires that teachers should take all reasonable measures to ensure the safety of any school student under their care. This duty of care will arise whenever a student/teacher relationship exists.
• Parent(s) is inclusive of those with parental responsibility and guardians.
• Informed consent means that parents give agreement to their child participating in an activity after they have been made aware of the details of the activity and associated costs involved.
• Accompanying adults include teachers, school administrative staff, parents, activity leaders and community members who have completed a Prohibited Employment Declaration (PED).

Procedures:

The Principal

It is the responsibility of the principal to ensure that:

• The excursion has appropriate educational outcomes.
• Approval for the conduct of excursions is given by the principal or their delegate and that no Level 1 banned activities are approved.
• All relevant documentation is forwarded to the CEO for approval of category C and D excursions including Application Form LR1, Excursion Program and Risk Management Plan.
• All participating teaching staff know and comply with the requirements of the CEO Excursions Policy and other relevant policies, supervision requirements and safety procedures. Special reference should be made to “NSW DET Guidelines for the Safe Conduct of Sport and Physical Activity in Schools” .
• Accompanying adults are advised of their responsibilities and have signed a PED.
• All requirements for planning and accounting for monies are met.
• Before the planned excursion is undertaken, precautions are taken in relation to the safety and supervision of the participants and a risk assessment is carried out. Where an excursion is to a regular venue only one risk assessment will need to be lodged with the CEO annually on the approval OHS Risk Management Proforma.
• Arrangements are made for any student unable to participate in an excursion by having alternative activities and/or strategies available.
• The school holds copies of all medical forms, emergency contacts and procedures, and contingency plans.
• Where students are to be billeted, the families agree to this and have contact details for the host families. For the duration of the students' home stay, students must have the telephone contact details of the supervising teacher who must be contactable at all times.
• All teaching staff are aware that if they arrange activities without ensuring relevant policies are followed, they could be individually liable in the event of an accident.
• Staff must be advised that they may not be covered by workers' compensation if they are injured while involved in an activity that has not been officially approved.
• Where private or hire vehicles are used, ensure the owner and/or driver has appropriate comprehensive insurance cover, driver's license and registration. Copies of these should be supplied to the school.
• Learner drivers and Provisional drivers should not transport other students on school related activities.

The Excursion Coordinator

It is the responsibility of the Excursion Coordinator to:

• Know the requirements of the Excursions Policy, and where necessary have conformed to the “NSW DET Guidelines for the Safe Conduct of Sport and Physical Activity in Schools ”.
• Ensure that students and parents are aware of supervision and transport arrangements and have signed permission for students to travel by private vehicle.
• Ensure that where travel is by bus, only accredited bus companies are used. Seatbelts must be worn on buses and coaches when they are available. Where possible Principals should try to hire buses with seatbelts, particularly for long distance travel.
• Ensure CEO first aid requirements are adhered to and a first aid kit is carried.
• Additional adults should accompany excursions when extra care is considered necessary for the safety and welfare of students. Ensure that all accompanying adults are appropriately qualified and/or experienced and are advised of their responsibilities in accordance to relevant CEO and school policies.
• Ensure that staff and accompanying adults act with due care to carry out their duties and are made aware that they must not drink alcohol while they have a continuing responsibility for students, as on all school excursions.
• Gain informed consent by ensuring that parental information, medical and consent forms are issued, completed and returned prior to the excursion except where a Category A excursion is being undertaken and the school has collected annual minor excursion permission notes. Copies of medical forms and emergency contacts must be carried on excursions.
• Where students are to be accommodated with billets, refer to “NSW DET Guidelines for the Safe Conduct of Sport and Physical Activity in Schools” .
• For overnight excursions, ensure that girls and boys are accommodated in separate rooms and there is adequate gender supervision.
• If the excursion or activity involves interaction with organizations in NSW the excursion coordinator must make enquiries to ensure that staff members from those organizations involved with the students on the excursion have been appropriately screened in accordance with NSW Child Protection legislation.
• For Category C and D excursions complete Application Form LR1, Outline of Excursion Program, Risk Management Plan and forward to Principal for approval.

Supervising Teachers

All supervising teachers must

• Provide students and adult participants with the opportunity to understand fully their rights, responsibilities, roles and duties.
• Communicate to all participants the details of the supervision arrangements and appropriate standard of behaviour required to ensure the safety and welfare of students and adults in attendance.
• Not allow students to leave the excursion group without permission of the designated supervising adult in charge. This would involve knowledge of the itinerary of the students, appropriate supervision arrangements, and the arrangements for the return of the student to the excursion group.

It is the responsibility of all school staff to exercise their duty of care throughout an excursion and ensure that CEO and school policies are followed.

Catholic Education Office

It is the responsibility of designated CEO personnel to:

• Approve all Category C and D excursions according to relevant policies and guidelines.
• Update all schools on changes to relevant policies and procedures.

Consent Forms

Wherever a school endorsed activity takes place outside the school premises or outside normal school hours, consent forms must be obtained from the parent or guardian of each student. Signed consent forms are one indication, in a court action for negligence, that a teacher has planned an activity carefully. It also shows that the parent or guardian was aware of the nature of the activity and consented to the child's participation in the activity.

Details provided on the consent form should include:

• Planned activities
• Destination and contact details
• Name/s of supervising teacher/s
• Method of transport
• Departure and return times

If a student fails to return a permission note, the teacher can refuse to let the student take part in the activity or excursion. However, attempts should be made to contact parents by telephone and seek verbal permission. In case where a verbal permission is obtained, the school should ensure that a written permission is forwarded by the parent/guardian.

Waiver Forms

Students of CEO schools regularly participate in sporting competitions or excursions which are run by external organizations and take place on premises owned by external organizations. These organizations often require the student or parent to sign a document or as a condition of ticket purchase, whereby the student waives or releases any claim arising out of personal injury or damage of any kind suffered in participating in the event, including loss or damage caused by the negligence of the event organizer or event host.

The CEO wishes to ensure that the parents/students understand the effect of these waivers and releases so that they can make their own informed decision as to whether or not to allow each student to participate. To this end all consent forms for such events must include the following:

Teachers should bring to the attention of the Principal any request by event or excursion organizers, to sign liability waivers. In cases where schools are asked by event or excursion organizers to seek liability waivers from parents they must ensure that the consent forms have the above statement included and that the parent/guardian sign the consent form and that the school is not party to these waivers or indemnities.

Schools in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn should adhere to the following guidelines when planning and conducting excursions.

All excursions fall into the following categories:

Sport and Activity Category List

Level 1 activities are banned and therefore not to be approved by the Principal. Guidelines for the safe conduct of these can be found in the “NSW DET Guidelines for the Safe Conduct of Sport and Physical Activity in Schools”.

* Snowsports

Skiing has always been popular. In the last ten years, snowboarding has become a very popular winter sport. The range of injuries in snowboarding is different from that of downhill skiing. In recent years, NSW Ambulance Perisher Branch has seen a dramatic increase in injuries for snowboarders, particularly to knees and backs.

Those students who are proficient in snowsports and involved in authorised snowboarding competitions are more mindful of safety requirements and are kitted out accordingly.

Statistics show that 60% of snowboarders who get injured are beginners compared to 34% of skiers. Therefore it is vital that extra precautions are taken should your school be organising a snowsport activity. The NSW DET Guidelines for the Safe Conduct of Sport and Physical Activity In Schools must be considered but the following are amendments to those guidelines that our Archdiocesan schools must adhere to.

Recommendations based on the latest studies :

Equipment

• Boots should be designed to fit skis and snowboards being used.
• Snowboard and ski bindings should be adjusted to fit boots by authorized staff of recognised ski hire outlets.
• Helmets and wrist protectors must be worn when snowboarding.

Students

• Students and their parents/guardians must read and sign the Alpine Responsibility Code which can be found on the following website http://www.perisherblue.com.au/winter/info/snowsafety.html
• Students must participate in initial lessons given by a qualified instructor prior to undertaking skiing or snowboarding activities. Ongoing lessons are also recommended.
• Students must carry a contact card with them stating their name, school, and supervising teacher's name and mobile number.

Supervising teachers

• Must maintain a staff:student ratio of 1:12
• Must be experienced and competent in skiing or boarding.
• Must ensure that an effective risk management plan is submitted with the application for approval and that this plan is understood and implemented.
• Must be contactable and able to send messages at all times.
• Must establish a system ensuring adequate supervision is provided e.g. Duty teacher in one or more locations, nominated meeting times and places.
• Should have access to a funding source e.g. Credit Card, in the event of payment being necessary for medical attention.
• At least one supervising staff member must have Senior First Aid Qualifications

References

NSWDET Guidelines for the Safe Conduct of Sport and Physical Activity

The ACT Department of Education and Training Overseas Excursion Policy

Forms:

Prohibited Employment Declaration (NSW)

Child Related Employment Declaration (ACT)

LR1 Application for Excursion Approval

LR3 Overseas Excursion Approval

Last updated on December 2, 2006