HSE URGES SCHOOLS NOT TO BE DETERRED FROM RUNNING SCHOOL TRIPS

HSE press release: E036:03 - 10 March 2003

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today urged schools not to be deterred from running school trips and educational visits for fear of legal action should an accident occur - but stressed that organisers must be aware of the duty to properly plan and manage such events.

Philip Gifford, Principal Inspector at HSE 's North West regional office says:
"These educational visits are important and there are many in education with a great deal of expertise in running such activities safely. We urge them to share this expertise with those who still have some way to go.

"Organisers of educational/recreational activities must ensure that they are properly planned, managed, and delivered by competent staff. This demands proper risk assessment, deployment, and monitoring, and the use of all reasonably practicable measures to counter the identified hazards."

Mr Gifford was speaking the day following an HSE prosecution of the Jewish Senior Boys School, Salford which was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay £400 costs at Salford Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to a charge under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act arising from an accident during a school visit to Aber Falls in Snowdonia in April 2002 when two pupils had a 100 metre fall down a steep scree, one of whom suffered a serious head injury. Five other pupils, some on ledges and one in a tree, had to be plucked to safety by an RAF helicopter.

HSE does not wish to discourage any organisation from taking children or young people on visits or trips and recognises the benefits provided by properly planned and managed events.

However organisers of visits or trips have a legal responsibility to manage health and safety and control risk. Adequate and sufficient pre-planning should be carried out before the event as part of the risk assessment.

All reasonably practicable measures should be taken to deal with the identified risks. Organisers should plan properly and include contingency planning for anticipated problems.

Consideration should be given to subjects such as:

• arrangements for the adequate supervision of pupils, with sufficient supervisors to cope with an emergency;
• communication arrangements
• the nature of the local terrain;
• a local weather forecast, with appreciation of the likelihood and impact of quickly changing conditions; and
• use of appropriate clothing suitable to all likely weather conditions.

Philip Gifford concluded:

"Many people working in education have a great deal of expertise in running visits safely and can share that experience with others seeking to improve their own knowledge and expertise.

"Advice on the planning and organisation of visits is also produced by the Department for Education and Skills and can be found on the DfES website at http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/visits."

Notes to editors

Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby, are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.

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