There are no statutory ratios for school trips that would ever give a hard and fast guideline to what was a sufficient and necessary level of cover. Various factors need to be taken into account when planning the supervision of an out of school visit.
Not least of these is the age and disposition of the children. Very young children could require high levels of supervision and whilst older children may in general terms not require the same levels. It could be a mistake to assume that a group of 15 year olds could be adequately supervised by a staffing ratio of 1:20.
The nature of the activity to be undertaken is also of prime importance. A walk to the local swimming baths might be adequately supervised by 2 adults whilst a walk to the top of Ingleborough would not. Given the outcry that follows a disaster the Union would always press for the best possible ratios.
Useful advice & guidance from the LEA, especially on specifics of risk assessment, is contained in the booklet "School Visits & Outdoor Activities"
The following is intended only as a minimum guide and circumstances may dictate that better ratios are required.Minimum number of adults - 2
| STAFF:PUPILS | ||
| 1/2 day | a. Walk to local destination, eg. park etc. | 1:20 plus assistant. |
| 1/2 day | b. Local transport to destination (within LEA boundary)
eg. Museum or Theatre in Town, careers convention | 1:20 plus assistant - with younger children 2 assistants would be advisable. |
| Full day | c. A visit of a day's duration to a contained theme park, historical site or similar in or outside LEA boundary. | 1:15 plus assistants - one of whom has a working knowledge of First Aid. |
| Full day | d. A visit of a day's duration to an uncontained site eg. seaside in or outside LEA boundary. | 1:10 plus assistants - one of whom has a working knowledge of First Aid. |
| a. Visit to a place where there is working machinery | 1:10 plus supervision from factory (ascertain arrangements from factory)
Care should be taken to avoid factories and work processes that have a high risk of injury, illness or a poor accident record eg. Building Construction and Demolition sites, mines, quarrying, Trawling (!) industries etc. should be avoided. |
| b. Outdoor pursuits of a hazardous nature | As a general principle there should be a minimum of 4 participants, all of whom should have some proficiency. It is also sensible to ensure that there are at least 3 adults of whom at least 2 are teachers. This should also apply to moorland or fell walking (the argument being should one of the adults break a leg another adult would need to stay with the casualty whilst a third would have to take the party to safety and get help).
For activities such as fell walking or walking on open moorland, the ratios need to be as low as 1:6 or 7. Caving and rock climbing would require ratios as low as 1:3 or 4 whilst adhering to the minimum numbers outlined above. For most activities, Leaders must be approved by the Bradford Leader registration scheme. Details of this requirement and the minimum standards of safety required by the LEA are detailed in the document "School Visits & Outdoor Activities". |
A minimum ratio of 2:20 is required but where activities of a more hazardous nature may be involved better provision may be required.
It is obviously better if the non-teachers are NTAs, NNEBs etc. Care should be taken about including in the general ratio a special needs assistant, when the pupil with those needs is part of the group.
Care also needs to be taken about the involvement of parents. It must be clear that the teacher is in charge and that any parents involved acknowledge this.
It is wise to ensure that where there are girls on a visit that lasts more than half a day there are women teachers and assistants.