Moderation
We benchmark and moderate EAC educational visits safety management system with other Scottish local authorities, through active membership of the Scottish Advisory Panel for Outdoor Education (SAPOE). Our Educational visits injury data are reviewed biannually with HSE. Higher risk adventurous visits and their safety management are sample inspected by HSE’s Adventure Activities License Inspectors biannually at the renewal of our AAL.
Standard Operating Procedures
- Staff and volunteers must primarily follow their employers procedures Excursions and Educational Visits and Outdoor Activities.
- This can then be supplemented where further guidance is necessary by Scotland’s Scottish framework for safe practice in off site visits.
- Further helpful guidance if participants have specific healthcare and medication needs, or if activities have additional hazards, e.g. sports, adventure visits, farm visits, or open water margins. Where visits are outwith the UK general travel advice, travel health requirements, healthcare facilities, international remote expeditions, swimming abroad.
Planning, recording & monitoring tool
The Evolve system must be used for all “off site visits”.
Technical advice
Visits/ Adventure /Evolve tool: Willie White, Education Officer/Adventure Technical Expert 01563 551457
Insurance/Risk Management : Euan Syme, Risk and Insurance Adviser 01563 553722
Health and Safety general: David Doran, Health and Safety Manager (acting) 01563 576095
Transport: George Corbett, FM Contracts Manager/Transport 01563576386
Child Protection: Dougie Robertson, Child Protection Lead Officer 01563 576935
Emergency Incident: EAC 24hr Emergency Centre 01563 553950
Risk assessment
Generic Risk Assessments, revised annually, identify the common risks in a range of off site visits, with best practice control measures being identified from across establishments. It is expected staff will consider, adopt and amend theses generic assessments as appropriate to their specific visit. Any further significant hazards and control measures unique to the specific visit should be recorded on the Evolve visit plan.
Participants, staff or pupils/clients, with significant medical or support needs which require additional management arrangements to ensure safety to them or others should have their own specific risk assessment.
The very nature of activities with young people in dynamic environments requires that leaders continuously compare the reality to the plan to identify unexpected hazards and adjust the supervision and or activity as necessary.
Outdoor Safety Training
Teachers and Early Childhood Practitioners should be sufficiently trained through their initial college/university training and induction period to lead visits to public non hazardous settings. Where staff lack competence then mentoring, shadowing, team teaching methods can adequately address training needs. In particular for visits involving overnights or overseas destinations, an apprenticeship shadowing more experienced colleagues is desirable.
Visit Leader Training is a nationally recognised, SAPOE certificated 6hr course covering preparation and planning for visits followed by practical skills required for leading successful visits outside the classroom. This course is available for any staff and volunteers who lead off-site visits. As new and young employees are identified by HSE as vulnerable, this is included in all EAC probationer teacher’s induction year.
Educational Visit Coordinator training is a nationally recognised, SAPOE certificated 6hr course covering the management checks and procedures for offsite visits. This course is for staff who hold responsibility for overseeing, advising and checking that the correct procedures have been followed by the relevant people when an off-site visit is organised (normally a senior manager).
EAC EVOLVE system electronicaly takes users through the process of planning a visit. After login there are help pages under the spanner icon. On demand individualised training is availible, specific to new users or whole staff teams, contact LOST. An e-learning module is in development.
Outdoor First Aid following the end of HSE Approval of First Aid training organisations, the Institute for Outdoor Learning has established minimum national standards for the content and delivery of Outdoor First Aid training and assessment for guidance.
SHE Assure incident reporting system e-learning module is available for inputters on Learnpro,
Incident Reporting
The Council uses an online electronic Incident/Accident reporting system called SHE to record all health and safety related incidents.
SHE User Guides are available in the Incident Reporting Standard.
The SHE Assure system can be accessed at: Inputters: www.sheassure.net/ea/portal/portal/index
