Outdoor safety
Do you feel you need support to meet the additional safety challenges presented by teaching outside? This section has a link to the Scottish Executive Education Department’s useful safety guidance for educational excursions. This has been turned into specific 'codes of practice' issued by individual local authorities. The individual contacts should be able to help you identify what you need to know locally and who can help, support or advise you with safety arrangements and risk assessment. The remaining links give further useful safety reflections, details and lessons learnt from experts in the health and safety, adventure activity and education excursions fields.
Articles and reports
'We are about saving lives, not stopping living', HSE tells carers
Don't wrap children up in cotton wool we are here to save lives, not stop living! That's the message from Jonathan Rees, Deputy Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive, speaking to childcare professionals at The Barnado's Annual Conference.
Health and Safety on Educational Excursions: A Good Practice Guide
This paper, produced by the Scottish Executive Education Department, is designed to help all those involved in organising educational excursions to ensure that those taking part stay safe and healthy. It reflects and collates existing good practice.
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Putting risk in perspective
In this article, '... And by comparison', Marcus Bailie of the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority examines the statistics on causes of sudden, premature or accidental death in the UK and wonders whether, by avoiding supposedly dangerous activities, we may in fact be exposing young people to even greater health risks.
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Department for Transport Guidelines on Incidental Driving of Minibuses
The Department of Transport has issued guidelines to clarify the legal requirements of driver licensing and to help schools and teachers in planning minibus trips. A summary of these guidelines is available on teachernet via the link below.
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Licensing Incidental Drivers of the School Minibus
This statement from the Teachernet website offers guidance on who can drive a school minibus and when.
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Principles of sensible risk assessment
Tony Bandle, of the Health and Safety Executive, gave this presentation at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Congress in May 2006 setting out the HSE's position on sensible risk management.
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Department for Transport: new seatbelt legislation
Visit the Department for Transport website for clarification on the new laws on seatbelts and child restraints. Or download the DfT leaflet 'Seat belts and child restraints' and the ATCO guide to compulsory seat belt/child restraint wearing in: cars and goods vehicles; and buses and coaches.
Useful websites
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Health and Safety Executive: School Trips
This website is about learning lessons. It is aimed an anyone connected with school visits, particularly those involving adventure activities. As well as reporting on the tragic 'plunge pooling' incident and the lessons learned, the site provides a range of information including a section on 'Getting it right' and various useful links.
Key contacts
Local outdoor education advisers
Local outdoor education advisers are members of the Scottish Advisory Panel for Outdoor Education (SAPOE), and advise Local Authorities on outdoor education matters. Most have a very good knowledge of a Local Authority's Code of Practice for Educational Excursions and Adventure Activities. They can offer advice and support to teachers taking young people out of school on adventurous or environmental activities, and can address any safety concerns.