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NSC Home Page > EUAS Contents > Advice of Teacher Unions
LOGISTICS
Health and Safety
Advice of Teacher Unions
Advice given to members of the largest Teaching unions (NUT and NASUWT) was examined.
The NUT notes that much of the DfES advice is based upon its own guidelines and the work was 'in the forefront of guidance' with its 1980s publication 'Beyond the Classroom'. However, in some respects the NUT considers that the DfES guidance 'does not go far enough'.
NUT acknowledges that out of school journeys and visits are of educational value in developing the potential and qualities of children and young people but they stress that 'without proper concern for safety at every stage, these trips are unacceptably risky'. The NUT's longstanding advice to members is 'unless the visit is part of the curriculum for a particular subject e.g. the geography field trip, teachers' involvement in school visits is entirely voluntary'. Whereas they do not advise members to refuse to participate, they indicate that teachers should expect the full support and safety standards and should set their consideration of involvement in the context of other work and life pressures/obligations, acknowledging that the responsibility and organisation of visits itself brings additional pressures as well as time commitments.
The law expects that a teacher will do that which a parent with care and concern for the safety and welfare of his or her own child, would do.
Teachers are expected to exercise professional standards and common sense. They should take reasonable steps to avoid exposing pupils to dangers, which are foreseeable, and beyond those with which the particular pupils can reasonably be expected to cope.
The employer has 'vicarious liability' for the negligence of their employees - any claims are therefore most likely to be made against an employer (usually the local education authority) where the incident occurs 'in the course of her/his employment'.
Teachers are advised by their unions that they should follow schools guidelines which should in turn be in accordance with LEA and again in turn, DfES guidance. DfES recommends that each LEA appoint a named officer with responsibility for overseeing, advising and assisting schools with school visits, and that each school appoints an 'educational visit co-ordinator', someone with authority and 'a keen interest in the value of educational visits' to offer a similar service to colleagues in schools. The LEA and the educational visits co-ordinator should have responsibility for assuring and approving visits.
After a visit there should be a feedback process to the co-ordinator and LEA and response to any problems which have arisen. In the case of quarry visits, appropriate quarry personnel should be included in the liaison loop.