Organisers of school trips have a huge amount of responsibility, and in today's world where health and safety and risk assessments are imperative there is a lot of paperwork to deal with. Help is at hand from local education authorities and schools themselves, and by booking with a reputable travel company you are making the organisation much easier.
School trips are considered a fundamental part of pupils' learning and should be encouraged and actively promoted. The travel market today boasts some excellent companies that specialise in organising trips for school groups. Appropriate itineraries are designed, suitable accommodation chosen, and travel arrangements made with large groups of young people in mind. These companies draw on years of experience to create tours that can be organised as seamlessly as possible and come to fruition with great success. The main advantage of booking with a company like this is that the risk assessment, health and safety and insurance issues have all be researched and dealt with according to the activities included and the risks involved.
Risk Assessment
The organisers of school trips must follow the guidelines set out by their local education authority, but this process is more simply adhered to if the tour is booked with a specialised company. The tour operator then assumes all responsibility to carry out appropriate risk assessments and reduce risks where possible. Every part of the trip needs to be considered, from the accommodation and the transport to the activities and visits included. If you, as the organiser, allow a company to do the groundwork for health and safety, you will have more time to devote to the management side of the journey, organising the students and planning the learning outcomes.
Although the company you book with will still require you to fill in the forms, they can guide you through the process, which is simple to follow and requires little time to complete.
The Safety Management System
Most companies have some form of safety management system in place to ensure their clients benefit from all their expertise and are supported throughout the process. This system covers many aspects of the tour and is inspected and monitored by independent experts. Accommodation, transport, pre-tour information, itinerary risk assessment and 24-hour emergency procedures are just some of the aspects covered by the system. The 24-hour support system is a real comfort to leaders of school trips, as it means they can rest assured they are never going to be out of contact should an incident occur where they have not got the tools to deal with it. All team members are experts in the field and well versed in dealing with emergencies all over the world.