Further Advice
Travel Bonds for Trips New
General Guidance
Booster Cushion Seat Requirements
Travel Safe
Security/Terrorist Alerts - School Trips
E Coli and Open Farms
Travel Bonds for Trips New
In these financially less certain times it may be worth checking what provisions are in place to protect the group's money if the tour operator you have organised your trip with goes bust.
The provider should comply with the Package Travel Regulations, including bonding to safeguard customers' money in case of provider's financial failure.
There are six bonding organisations currently recognised by the Secretary of State which are: ABTA, PSA, CPT, FTO, AITO and ABTOT.
There is some useful guidance to be found at:
Packages involving a flight element may also require an Air Travel Organiser's Licence (ATOL) see question no. 48.
NB The DTI has now been replaced by the BERR
However it has recently come to light that where an insurance policy is offered in place of a bonded fund, the insurance company may have the right to cancel the policy because of a 'material non-disclosure' about the arrangements for that holiday or trip.
Overseas visit organisers in schools should check to find out exactly what bonding arrangements their tour operator has in place. If the arrangement is through an insurance policy rather than a bonded fund, the school should ensure there is no likelihood of any default in payment should the tour operator or any of its contractors go bust.
Schools which organise their own overseas trips and take out additional insurance as bonding against insolvency by a travel company involved in their trip, should be clear as to any specified conditions laid down by the insurers under which they reserve the right to cancel the policy after bookings have been made.
Schools organising their own trips must therefore be absolutely scrupulous in ensuring that any and all information provided about a trip is complete and accurate and not put themselves in a situation where the insurer can say they will not pay out.
Such bonding arrangements are not acceptable under the terms required for achieving a CLOtC Quality Badge. Tour operators that have achieved their Quality Badge will not be affected by any of this.
General Guidance
Getting it right – guidance for schools
Advice and support taken from lessons learnt as a result of the Glenridding tragedy. Help to plan and manage out-of-school activities from the Health and Safety Executive:
Guidance for Leaders of Ski Trips
Guidance on Lyme Disease
Young People's Exchange Visits - OEAP
Guidance for Overseas Expeditions Edition 3 2009
This document is a Good Practice guide which sets out minimum standards expected for expeditions going out from schools and other establishments in Hertfordshire. The guidance has been widely adopted by members of the Expedition Providers Association (EPA). Any Provider being used for an Overseas Expedition should be expected to supply a written statement of compliance with this document prior to an establishment entering into a contract with them.
Outdoor Education Advisers' Panel
The National Panel of Outdoor Education Advisers has a new website.
The site has a number of public areas and allows you to find the local outdoor education adviser.
Booster Cushion Seat Requirements
The legislation requires that children under 1.35m (4'5") or
12 years and under, being transported in private cars, are provided with
booster cushions or seats.
This has implications for establishments planning to use cars, including
people carriers, as their chosen means of transport for offsite visits
or to and from sports fixtures.
You will need to consider how you will implement the new requirements
in your establishment. There are different alternatives, including:
- Asking the children's parents to ensure they bring their
booster seat/cushion with them if they own one
- Buying a (small) supply of booster cushions/seats for use
in cases where parents have not provided them and the child's
participation in a trip is likely to be jeopardised - some
high street suppliers are offering special discounts to schools
- Having a 4'5" (1.35m) marker clearly available in
your establishment.
Sensitivity may be required for those children in Year
7 who have not reached their 12th birthday and who may fall
foul of the height requirement.
Travel Safe
Millions of children and young people worldwide participate in educational, cultural and language visits, exchanges or homestay schemes every year. Whilst the vast majority will have an exciting and invaluable learning experience, some will suffer physical or sexual abuse, emotional cruelty or neglect at the hands of those who organise their visit or who look after them.
Travel-Safe began as a research project funded by the Home Office and the European Commission. Sadly, what was uncovered in the twelve-month European based study, was significant amounts of abuse. Particularly in the area of homestay visits, Child-Safe has been able to turn these research results into a positive and pro-active initiative that now informs young people, parents, host families, schools and others about the potential risks.
The series of Travel-Safe guidance books offer practical advice and guidance to a wide audience, including young people, parents, schools, host families and other commercial organisations. For more information:
Travel Safe
Security/Terrorist Alerts - School Trips
Statement regarding continued heightened terrorist alert and school trips
The current disturbances in some North African countries has not changed previous guidance as to the advisability of continuing with trips to France, Germany and London still applies. It is not felt necessary to advise that any trips should be cancelled or postponed.
In any event it is good practice for group leaders to contact their tour operators, transport providers and/or destination venues to discuss, and familiarise themselves with, whatever emergency procedures may be put in place in event of a terrorist attack nearby.
For groups travelling to London, it is suggested that group leaders discuss arrangements with their transport providers to ensure their parties are able to leave to capital at short notice if necessary.
Please remember that people may not be able to rely on mobile ‘phone signal coverage in event of an attack so try and identify alternative available landlines for use in emergency.
Parents/carers may need to be reminded that they have the right to withdraw their child from a trip if they are particularly anxious about a potential threat on any visit, or the school is unable to reassure them as to arrangements in place, but people are urged to use their commons sense on this matter and not be panicked by media hype.
Mark Falkingham
Offsite Visits Adviser
Hertfordshire County Council
1st March 2011
E Coli and Open Farms
The Health Protection Agency do not advise against touching animals but is advising all visitors to open farms to ensure good basic hygiene is maintained. For example washing hands frequently with soap and water immediately after touching animals and before any eating or drinking.
Further advice on farm visits is available in the Offsite Visits Manual (Part C, pg 15) at the link below:
and the following websites:
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