Developing your plan for managing off site visit emergencies
- “Sir, Sir – there’s a dog loose in the playground.”
- The fire alarm rings and you can see the smoke pouring from the caretaker’s shed
- Crash – as children were about to leave the site to walk to the church.
All these incidents are managable as you can see them, smell them and hear them and your leadership and experience falls into place to manage the situation to a successful outcome.
However, with a school visit emergency, all you will have is a phone in your hand with probably a member of staff, but it could be a volunteer parent or pupil on the other end of the line, possibly in a emotional state.
All these events are extremely rare, but the impact of the school visit emergency phone call can be practiced, so if it ever occurs, back at base staff know what to do to ensure that the visit staff are well supported.
OEAP National Guidance document Off site visit emergencies – the Establishment Role, Document 4.1b, covers steps that school leaders can take to develop their plan for off site visit emergencies.
Download Off-Site visit emergencies – the Establishment’s Role »
“Your Establishment plan should be comprehensive, clarifying the roles and responsibilities of all those who may have to contribute to the management of an Emergency. It will require a pre-planned response system to set it in motion, that is fully understood by all visit leaders and their staff.”
Advisers within VESN also run a training course that help focus your plan to see if stands up to a rigorous testing.
This document can be found in OEAP National Guidance Section 4 – Good Practice.
This folder contains a range of documents that assist employers in establishing appropriate systems for managing and delivering outdoor learning, off-site visits and LOtC – giving staff confidence that they are being supported by appropriate guidance and advice.