Ensuring robust risk management
Ashley Yeomans, Assistant Principal, Sawtry Village Academy
Sawtry Village Academy (SVA) has been a member of Meridian Trust since April 2015, and is very much committed to Extending the Boundaries of Learning through learning outside the classroom.
They have a coherent programme of residential educational visits which include: Iceland (Y10/Y11), Berlin (Y10-Y11), Paris (Y9), Caythorpe (Y8), Ferry Meadows (Y7), Switzerland(Y12/Y13), Washington DC (Y12/Y13) and an annual Ski trip (Y10-Y13).
Although all these educational visits call for external validation of objectives planning, risk management and organisation through the EVOLVE process, SVA do not see risk management as merely the domain of the EVC, but the responsibility of all staff to ensure a well organised and safe visit for pupils.
Time is given over, and regulated, through the 1265 directed hours, to planning all level 2 and level 3 visits based in their PLEDGES* & Futures Week – a week where students are offered a wide variety of activities and residentials – during published school meetings.
Within this week all members of staff are taking part or leading a variety of activities and educational visits. safety briefings, organisational responsibilities, and induction of new staff/volunteers and helpers is through the published meeting schedule. This means that all staff attending see this as integral to not only the safety of the trip but also the commitment of the school to learning outside the classroom.
For the first time in February 2024 SVA will take part in a joint sixth-form Art educational visit with Greater Peterborough University Technical College and Nene Park Academy. Three schools within Meridian Trust working together and organised through the Director of Art.
Schools will travel together to Paris for three days of study, enjoyment and culture. This has called for significant planning by the Director of Art through ‘MS Teams’ safety briefings, individual responsibilities and joint planning has had to take place. The impact of staff taking responsibility for everyone in the group and not only their school has called for a greater degree of engagement in the planning process.
*PLEDGES is an awards system which offers students a range of character building opportunities that enhance their learning and development. It is an expectation of every pupil to complete their PLEDGES during their time at the academy. Find out more.
SVA are the only school within the Trust that timetable, for those that choose it, the Gold Duke of Edinburgh scheme. This is open to sixth-form students and is an option for enrichment as part of their curriculum. They are timetabled, one hour every two weeks, to ensure that they plan, organise and structure all aspects of a canoe expedition in the Highlands of Scotland. They must plan the routes of the expedition, the locality of overnight camping stays and escape routes in case of emergencies. They are trained in first aid procedures and during the practise weekend of hard paddling develop skills in canoeing in open water.
SVA are also one of 15 schools who take part in the annual trust five day residential to Wales. This visit is open to all schools within the Trust and in February 2024 saw 135 students from all 15 secondary and special schools converge on the Outward Bound Trust centre in Aberdovey to take part in arduous activities including gorge scrambling, an expedition across Snowdonia, canoeing, raft building and rock climbing.
Sixteen staff, many of whom have never met, accompany the young people and are members of mixed school groups who at the beginning of the residential are reticent and nervous but by the end have made friends and are more confident young people. Meetings through MS Teams to not only plan but also imbue the culture of joint responsibility for every child are important. Safeguarding updates, understanding risks and hazards, and utilizing the experience of all staff attending the trip is another feature of these important meetings. Communication whilst on the trip through creating a ‘WhatsApp’ group helps to ensure all are aware and involved of developments particularly regarding safety and safeguarding.
