ISO 31031: 2024 Managing risk for youth and school trips is a guidance standard intended help organisations which support children and young people who travel on organised visits, whether weeks trekking in jungles or a day visit to the local museum. The Guidance encourages organisers of such visits to consider good practice in respect of the unique challenges that young travellers – and those who care for them – face, as well as all the ‘normal’ risks that are associated with travel.
GSA Global has been speaking to teachers about their experiences and why they feel that good guidance and training are needed to help them keep young travellers safe and secure during organised trips.
We gleaned this account from an experienced teacher about what happened during a recent school trip to a museum with a year 3 class of 7-8 year olds:
First Problem: When leaving the school, one teacher finds out the other [teacher] has sent back a first aider to get the class camera she has forgotten.
What happened on the day: The first aider went back to school and couldn’t find the camera. In total, the classes had to wait 15 mins for her to return.
Resolution: Trip staff only go back to school IF it is an emergency or medically necessary.
Second Problem: Arriving at the [train] station platform and first aider has forgotten medication (2x epi pen and 3x inhalers).
What happened on the day: First aider was able to return to school and get the first aid. It took 10 minutes.
Resolution:
- What happens if we are further away from school?
- Who is the designated person to return? Who is the first aider if that person returns to school?
Third Problem: At the station, the boy with partial eyesight says he is feeling drowsy (identified as a trigger point for larger issues).
What happened on the day:
- Teacher contacted school welfare officer who said he needed to return.
- 1:1 TA for a different child with significant needs takes the boy back to school.
- The class first aider becomes 1:1 TA to stay with SEND [special educational needs and disabilities] child
Resolution:
- What happens if this occurs further away from school?
- Does he need his own 1:1 on trips?
- He is usually in the first aider’s group. If this happens, and he needs to stop what he is doing, there needs to be a designated adult for him. First aider needs to stay with class.
- What if this happens whilst on transport (tube, train, coach, bus etc)? What do his doctors advise?
- We need specific medical advice to follow.
Fourth Problem: At the museum, a girl said she wasn’t feeling well. She said her parents gave her medicine this morning (this point is 4 hours later so medication is wearing off).
What happened on the day:
- Teacher called school welfare officer, and she said as long as she [the child] hasn’t got a temperature or has been sick, she can stay on the trip.
- First aider sat with her for a while, while children looked at the exhibit until she felt better.
Resolution: Could we get permission from parents to administer more medication (Calpol)? If we find out what time she had the first dose and work out from there?
Fifth Problem: At the museum, a different child said she was unwell and had vomited the night before.
What happened on the day:
- Temperature was taken and was fine, she was given a sick bag just in case.
- Parents were spoken to at the end of the day about the 48 hour rule of not coming to school after they’ve vomited.
Resolution:
- Teachers may need to check beforehand if children had been sick the night before so parents can be called.
- More information needs to be given to parents about not coming to school until 48 hours after vomiting.
Sixth Problem: Whilst walking around an exhibition, a child fell and didn’t use her hands to protect her. It was unclear if she bumped her head or not.
What happened on the day:
- Teacher approached her and tested to see if she was responsive. She wasn’t responding to any noises or touches.
- Teacher alerted the museum staff and the first aider.
- First aider rolled her over and began to move her across the room to a nearby chair.
- The girl opened her eyes and began to respond. She sat in the chair and had an ice pack and some water. The museum brought an electric fan for her.
- Parent was called and informed.
- British museum checked their CCTV of the room and it was seen that she tripped on a pram wheel and fell. It didn’t appear she had banged her head.
- Teacher called the other teacher on the trip who was in a different space having lunch and the teacher came to join and escort the rest of the class down. First aider stayed with the child. Teacher went back up once the class were settled and supervised for lunch.
Resolution:
- Meeting to have with the first aider about how she reacted and responded in the moment.
- Refresher on first aid for those who are unresponsive as she shouldn’t have been moved.
- Meeting to be had with teachers on the trip about first aid care. Possibility for teachers to receive basic first aid?
- Is another school adult needed as an extra person for these occasions? Do we need to change our current ratios?
Seventh Problem: A girl was left in the toilet which was not in eyesight of where everyone else was.
What happened on the day:
- At the end of lunch, while doing the toilet break, a teacher took a group of 9 children to the toilet (5 boys and 4 girls).
- Whilst in the toilet (not in sight of where the rest of the cohort was), teacher took the boys back and asked a TA to bring the girls back and failed to say how many there were.
- When the TA got to the rest of the cohort, she had 3 children and one of the girls said, “where is x?” The teacher said she should have 4. TA returned to the toilet and found the girl in the toilet waiting.
Resolution: More explicit instruction for everyone on trips that you must:
- Return with your group and not hand over unless names and numbers are given.
- Not take over from someone else unless you receive names and numbers of those in the group you are waiting for.
Whilst there are always dynamic situations that require flexibility, adaptability and good teamwork, it will be noted in this case study that the problems encountered were reasonably foreseeable and therefore could have been prevented or addressed more satisfactorily through more effective planning:
- developing checklists and inventories of required items (problems 1, 2)
- ensuring that students are medically fit for the trip (problems 3, 4, 5)
- preparing contingencies for accidents, [predicated on assurance of the competency of trip specialists and support personnel] (problem 6) and
- strict accounting and handover protocols for members of the trip leadership team (problem 7)
The case study provides a simple but useful vignette as to why the new ISO 31031 Guidance is an important step forward in protecting young travellers. Are you confident that your school, university, religious, cultural, sporting, cadet, scout, guide or community group is good at managing risk for youth and school trips? At GSA Global with years of travel risk assessment experience behind us, we’re here to help you meet the challenge.
