Risk assessment can be seen as a five-step process that enables teachers/lecturers to:

• identify hazards and dangers
• decide who might be harmed and how
• evaluate the risks and decide whether existing precautions are enough or whether more should be done
• record their findings
• review their assessments and revise them if necessary.   

Teachers and lecturers are often worried that they may not have the expertise to conduct a risk assessment. If in doubt, always take advice from a competent source (e.g. the educational visits co-ordinator, an experienced colleague or the LEA’s outdoor education adviser). 

Remember, however, that you probably have a great deal of experience and you may be just being asked to update a risk assessment that has already been undertaken for a trip or venue in the past. 

For school and college trips, it is useful to see risk assessment as being on three levels: generic, visit or site specific and ongoing. 

Generic risk assessments 

Generic risk assessments are usually prepared by the LEA, by national governing bodies and, on occasion, by members of staff with particular experience or expertise. They will identify control measures that are common to certain activities in all circumstances. 

The lack of adequate risk management leading to drowning is a major cause of accidental death, for example. Control measures might include assessing the water confidence and ability of students, the use of buoyancy aids and competent supervision. 

As another example, travel involves a risk of injury in a road traffic accident. Control measures would include using a qualified driver, using a number of drivers, establishing maximum driving periods, ensuring appropriate seat belts are provided and worn, and seeking evidence of vehicle maintenance. 

Visit or site specific risk assessments

Visit or site specific risk assessments are normally undertaken by the school or college for each venue and are amended as necessary for different groups. They should be prepared or agreed by someone trained to assess risks, such as the educational visits co-ordinator.    

Examples might include:

• the medical needs of students, with control measures including knowledge of known health problems by the group leader, enough medication and contingency measures if an adult has to accompany a child to hospital
• behaviour of students, with control measures including a code of rules and behaviour
• weather conditions, with control measures including obtaining local information about tides, assessing potential for flooding and establishing the likelihood of sudden weather changes.   

The visit or site specific risk assessment should always have a pre-assessed ‘Plan B’ for contingencies. For example, what is the Plan B if your coach breaks down abroad? 

Finally, you ought to consider involving students in the planning of a trip and risk assessment, so that they are better prepared, will make more informed decisions and be less at risk. 

An exploratory visit should normally form part of the site specific risk assessment and accepted as one of the costs of the trip. If this is not possible, then the group leader or educational visits co-ordinator must make every effort to obtain information from other sources (e.g. schools who have done the trip and/or the management of the venue). 

Ongoing risk assessment

Ongoing risk assessment involves the group leader or other responsible adult reassessing risks while the visit is taking place and as the need arises. Generic and specific risk assessments are relevant, but the group leader may need to reassess risks in the light of changing weather, tiredness, illness, behavioural problems or emergencies. Control measures include switching to the pre-assessed Plan B, swapping activities or following the emergency procedure. 

Group leaders are in overall charge of the group and should always be prepared to trust their own judgement. If they think that to continue an activity or a trip would compromise the health and safety of the group, they have the authority and responsibility to cancel it and generally to take action to safeguard the group or individual members of the group as they see fit. 

Help and advice

For more detailed advice, please refer to ATL's publication Taking students off-site.

For individual queries, please contact ATL's London office, e-mail the helpdesk, or contact your branch secretary. You may also wish to call the out-of-office-hours helpline.

If you need confidential support and advice, don't forget you can also call ATL's stress, crisis or legal helplines.