Get Ready — Management

This section gives you basic information about what you need to know as an employer and an employee.  Activity leaders should understand their responsibilities when on-site, as well as off-site.  You should read Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits (1998) and relevant supplements for a more detailed explanation.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974 employers are responsible for the:

  • Health
  • Safety; and
  • Welfare
at work of their employees.  Employers are also under a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of anyone else who may be affected by their activities.  This includes participants in off-site activities.  In the case of schools, and other educational establishments, this includes learners and parents taking parts in visits.

The LA is the employer in community and voluntary controlled schools.  The governing body and/or Trust is the employer in foundation schools, academies, voluntary-aided and non-maintained schools.
The owner, governors or trustees are the employers in independent schools.

Remember that Category 1 activities should be assessed beforehand to confirm there is no significant chance of harm - these activities should then be covered by policy and practice, without the need for a separate written risk assessment. 
These are often those activities organised within your own ground or local environment, but they can be further afield.  Should some of these be required by an employer to be risk assessed, then routine activities can be covered by Generic Risk Assessments and included in policy.  However, their use should be included in any staff training and regularly reviewed. Should this complexity increase the chance of harm, then the activity may need to move to a Category 2.

For schools, parental consent is not needed for these activities, if they fall within the normal school day.  You should however, include information in your school prospectus.  It is good practice to inform them where there is a specific reason for doing so. 

Responsibilities

Category 1 Activities The responsibility for planning, organisation and management, should normally rest with the teacher/leader following the practices in operation when planning any classroom lesson or project-based activity.

Category 2 Activities As above but approval should be obtained from the appropriate person in your LOtC team/ organisation and your employer should be informed.

Category 3 Activities these should be defined and approved by your employer, following approval processes at Category 2.

Headteachers and heads of other establishments, should satisfy themselves that persons conducting risk assessments have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to do so.

Governing bodies

In all cases governing bodies should ensure:

  • that general information about routine activities are included in the prospectus and guidance and that where needed, Generic Risk Assessments1 are in place for Category 2 activities. 
  • there is a process for the approval of Category 2 and 3 activities
  • there is a specific and stated objective for the activities; ensure that good practice in group leadership is applied to activities.

Where the LOtC activity is Category 3 (on or off-site) ensure:
  • that plans comply with the school’s/ organisation's own policies, the employer’s health and safety policy, regulations and guidelines
  • that an effective system is in place for the approval of plans — by the LOtC team /the employer, Local  Authority or organisation
  • that Category 3 activities have been assessed and approved by the senior management and, if necessary, by the employer
  • the teacher/group leader reports back after the visit
  • that you are informed about non-routine visits well in advance.

The governing body need not assess and approve directly.  However, they should ensure that a system is in place for the approval of plans.  This would normally be via the Headteacher, LOtC or EVC co-ordinator, the Local Authority, or the appropriate person in your organisation.

1 Risk Assessment template examples are under development and will be available by Spring 2009.



During a science activity in the school garden, two fascinated Year 3 pupils used a magnifying glass to explore various habitats. ‘Why does it live there?’ asked one girl, when she discovered a woodlouse under a stone. She and her partner considered various possibilities: ‘The stone protects it.’ ‘It doesn’t want the sun.’ They recorded their ideas and later compared them with other pupils’ responses. Through direct observation and experimentation, these pupils were able to arrive at sound conclusions based on evidence

How far should you go?   Ofsted Report October 2008