Educational Visits

Purpose
Applemore  provides frequent opportunities to enhance and enrich its broad and balanced curriculum through outdoor learning, outdoor education and educational visits. The School ensures that these experiences are planned thoroughly, well organised and conducted in a safe manner according to the advice and guidance from Hampshire County Council.

Principles
Safely managed educational visits, with a clear purpose, are an indispensable part of a broad and balanced curriculum. They are an opportunity to extend the learning of all students, including an enrichment of their understanding of themselves, others and the world around them. They can be a catalyst for improved personal performance, promote a lifetime interest and in some cases lead to professional fulfilment. Educational visits are to be encouraged.

The School recognises its duty of care and statutory responsibilities for the health, safety and well-being of students, staff, volunteers, providers and members of the public in connection with the educational visits for which it is accountable.

Types of Visit
The School provides a range of activities outside the classroom such as:
• On-site, out-of-classroom activities – this includes the use of the School site and grounds to support classroom-based learning in subjects such as Art, Science and Maths. No formal organisation is required for this but Admin Staff in the Reception Office should be informed when such activities are taking place. Behaviour and students having relevant medical conditions e.g. hay fever, asthma etc. are managed appropriately.

• Local Sports fixtures – this includes matches and games after School and the leisure centre and All Weather Pitch (AWP). Parents/Carers are informed of such events and medical information collected. The PE Department follows Hampshire County Council’s PE Fixtures Guidelines used for events off-site or outside normal school hours.

• Local ventures – this includes visits to local attractions. The formal visit procedure is followed with Visit Forms 1 & 2 being completed and any specific qualifications, if required, are met in full.

• Day ventures further afield - this includes visits to attractions such as Longleat, the Dorset Coast, and London. The formal visit procedure is followed with Visit Forms 1 and 2 being completed. Specific qualifications, if required, are met in full and logged on Hampshire County Council’s Evolve website.

• Day trips and residential visits abroad - this includes trips to France and Ski Trips. The formal visit procedure is followed with Visit Forms 1 and 2 being completed. Specific qualifications if required are met in full and logged on the Evolve website.

• Visits involving potentially hazardous activities – this includes day trips to adventure centres and longer residential trips such as the Ski Trip. The formal visit procedure is followed Visit Forms 1 and 2 being completed and any specific qualifications met in full and the trip will be logged on the Evolve website.

Organisation and Management
To ensure that all trips are planned, organised and conducted in a safe manner; the School fulfils the guidelines set by Hampshire County Council by:

• The Educational Visits Co-ordinator (EVC) is the Headteacher who attends all relevant training courses and keeps up-to-date through information from the Outdoor Education, PE and Sports Service.

• Relevant documents such as ‘Off-site Activity and Educational Visits’ and ‘Safety in Adventurous Activity’ being used by the Educational Visits Co-ordinator.

• The Evolve website being used to provide reference materials and guidance and also to log specific trip information to formally request approval from Hampshire County Council.

• Adhere to the School Specific Procedure as outlined below:

School Specific Procedures:
The extent of organisation depends on the type of trip. Following the approval of a trip by the Headteacher using Visit Form 1 (VF1) and completion of Visit Form 2 (VF2) the Educational Visits Co-ordinator (EVC) is then responsible to ensure that the member of staff organising the trip:

• considers all aspects of health and safety and completes a risk assessment.
• collects relevant contact and medical information from all the students on the trip
• organises a base contact who has access to the appropriate information
• organises transport and any financial aspects to the trip
• considers first aid requirements and necessary qualifications that are required
• has access to and is familiar with Hampshire County Council’s and Applemore School’s emergency procedures.

Supervision
The School uses supervision strategies laid down in the ‘Off-Site Activities and Educational Visits’ Manual. The School adheres to the supervision ratios expected by Hampshire County Council and wherever possible these are increased, to reduce these ratios as much as possible. Where trips involving large groups i.e. more than 36 students, then a ‘large group structure’ is implemented to support the trip leader.

Trip leaders are aware of the different forms of supervision and how and when to use these safely.

The School expects a Code of Conduct which draws on the Behaviour Code to be in place for every educational visit. This Code of Conduct must be signed by every student and their parent/carer to ensure that all participants are fully aware of these expectations.

Transport
Applemore  uses a variety of transport following Hampshire County Council guidance:
• Coaches organised through recognised suppliers.
• School minibus driven by School staff who are MIDAS trained
• Additional minibuses if required are acquired through Hampshire but driven by School staff who are MIDAS trained
• Staff cars are only used in exceptional circumstances where there are two members of staff present and only when the car insurance matches Hampshire guidelines.

The School currently has a member of staff approved by Hampshire County Council to train and examine staff to pass their MIDAS test. A record is kept of all staff who currently hold the MIDAS certificate.

Inclusion
Applemore is an inclusive school. Therefore, wherever reasonably practical, the opportunity for students to take part in educational visits is available to all. The is aware that there are two types of venture:
• An activity provided as part of the National Curriculum or a formal GCSE course that is statutory e.g. Geography GCSE coursework. Here inclusion of all students is required.
• An activity that is an enhancement or an enrichment activity but is not a formal requirement e.g. a House reward trip. Here inclusion of all is desirable but not required.

The School follows the DFE guidance ‘Charging for school activities’ (May 2018). This document states that with the exception of trips that are primarily out of school time e.g. the School Ski Trip, all trips are run on the basis of voluntary contributions from parents or carers. The School does not have the funds to cover the expense of any trip unless full voluntary contributions have been made. As a result, the School reserves the right to cancel any school trip where the cost of has not been met in full by voluntary contributions from parents or carers. Students who are classified as ‘disadvantaged’ may, at the discretion of the School, have a proportion of the cost paid through the ‘pupil premium budget’ if it is felt that the activity or trip would be beneficial to the development of that young person.

The School reserves the right not to allow a student to take part in an educational visit if the health and safety of the individual student concerned or that of other students and staff is at risk even though every reasonable step has been taken. Where a decision like this needs to be made the Outdoor Education, PE and Sport Service will be involved in the discussion together with the student and parents/carers before the final decision is made.

Safeguarding
The School follows Hampshire guidelines to ensure safeguarding procedures are in place on all educational visits, in line with the School Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy. Guidance on acceptable behaviour is in accordance with Hampshire’s ‘Off-Site Activity and Educational Visits’ Manual.

External providers or Outdoor Centres are drawn from the Outdoor Education, PE and Sport Service database which confirms that safety management checks are in place.

Risk Assessment
The School follows Hampshire guidance on completing appropriate risk assessments for an educational visit. The School uses the Hampshire risk assessment form.

All staff running trips are made aware of the responsibilities associated with making sure a thorough risk assessment process is followed and placing appropriate control measures in place if required.

Incidents and emergencies
Guidance from the Outdoor Education, PE and Sport Service is used to prepare Leader and Base Contact Checklists and Contact Details. The School uses the Hampshire County Council Emergency Procedure Checklist and all leaders are expected to carry this document with them at all times on the trips.

The School has an ‘Emergency Plan’ in place to inform and support Trip Leaders if a serious incident or emergency situation arises.

Monitoring and Review
This Policy has been approved by the Senior Leadership Team and Governing Body and is reviewed according to agreed procedures every three years or as required if regulations, guidance or circumstances change.