The importance of health and safety on school trips has become of paramount importance in recent years and it’s crucial to bear in mind many factors when planning a trip for your school, college or similar learning group.

Schools need to find the balance between the importance of teaching outside the classroom in a stimulating environment and maintaining the safety of all members of the group.

There must be a high level of safety demonstrated at all times and teachers and guardians accompanying children on school trips owe a duty of care to act with reasonable competence and responsibility.

We advise all organising school trips to find official information from the Department for Children, Schools and Families at this link.

Our School Pack comes complete with all the relevant guidance [correct at time of publishing] for organising school trips and transport and can be downloaded here.

Some key points for teachers organising school trips include:

DfEE Guidance suggests that you should be able to verify this information from your chosen transport provider:

• Driver competence
• Transport provider’s understanding of European drivers’ hours
• The transport provider’s breakdown contingency and insurances
• Policies for comfort stops en route
• The safety equipment aboard the coach, including first aid kit.

Other official guidance from DfEE focuses on safeguarding the health and safety of pupils, here is a taster of the guidance (all available in our School Pack):

• A first aider (with a portable first aid kit) should be in attendance on a group with a large number of children
• Head Teacher’s approval must be given before any trip
• There should be a correct ratio of staff to pupils
• Parents must have all of the information about the trip and provide consent for their child

If you wish to find out more about organising school trips, school transport and other services from Stanley Travel, don’t hesitate to enquire and download our resources.

• All queries should be directed to Stanley Travel’s head office at 01207 237424, we can also be found on Twitter at @stanley_travel!