Executive attempts to calm fears over school trips

Published on 31/12/2004 00:19

MINISTERS have issued schools with safety guidelines amid fears teachers are becoming too scared to take pupils on trips.

Peter Peacock, the education minister, said worries about the health and safety of pupils were discouraging teachers from organising outings.

One of the main teaching unions, the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), has already warned members not to leave themselves open to the possibility of legal action from parents should anything go wrong during an outing.

Earlier this month, Airyhall Primary School, in Aberdeen, was believed to be the first in Scotland to cancel an outing to an outdoor centre as a result of litigation fears. In addition, outdoor education centres have told The Scotsman that teachers are more reluctant than their predecessors to arrange trips for their pupils.

Mr Peacock said yesterday that the Scottish Executive’s new guidelines would help ensure school trips were well planned and put pupil safety first.

He hoped the advice would encourage local authorities to provide more outdoor education for pupils, and said: "Young people can benefit tremendously from outdoor education in all its forms and we’re lucky in Scotland to have such a variety to choose from. Not only can it enrich their school life, it can also help pupils develop skills and interests that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

"However, I’m very conscious of worries about pupil health and safety and that this may be discouraging teachers from organising school trips.

"That’s why this new guidance is so important, giving teachers, and others who work with young people, the confidence to take them out of the classroom environment, while reassuring parents that their children are safe and secure."

The guidelines, which will also be sent to youth groups and sports clubs, contain advice on how to plan visits, arrange supervision, organise insurance, communicate with parents and prepare pupils.

Outdoor education centres said schools were still arranging trips but some teachers were put off by a fear of litigation.

David Rutledge, the operations director at the Abernethy Trust centre, in Inverness-shire, said: "Our bookings are quite full for the coming year but I am aware that there’s not an awful lot of encouragement for teachers to arrange trips. Most of the schools and teachers we deal with have been coming for years, but that may change when younger teachers come through because they’re not receiving the support they once did.

"There’s also a fear of litigation and the younger teachers aren’t prepared to accept that responsibility."

Duncan Osler, an instructor at the Fairburn Activity Centre in Inverness-shire, said: "The world we live in nowadays is much more litigious and that is an issue for teachers, who are naturally a bit concerned about where they might stand should a claim be made.

"The older generation of teachers, who grew up in a slightly different world, will continue to arrange outings, but I think the younger ones are a bit more dubious."

Victor Topping, who is on the NASUWT’s national executive, said his union’s members had been warned to "think very, very carefully" before taking children on trips.

He added: "What we really need is greater protection for teachers who take kids out of school because at the moment, they have a shadow hanging over their heads."