Only
£293
per local authority was paid out in compensation annually as a result of incidents on school trips
A renewed effort is required by Government and education stakeholders to reassure teachers of the low risks and high rewards of well managed outdoor learning.
The myths, misconceptions and anxiety which surround risk assessments and health and safety procedures have contributed to a climate of fear. When examined against the numbers of incidents occurring on school visits and prosecutions against teachers this fear is wholly disproportionate. This is especially so when weighed against the benefits of outdoor education.
The risk of well managed school visits to student welfare is low. However, it was the tragic fatality of a child at Glen Ridding Beck in 2003 that brought the safety of outdoor visits into the spotlight. The incident resulted in the prosecution of a teacher and opened up a debate on the ‘fear of litigation’ among schools with regard to school visits.
The subsequent inquiry into the fatality, which was found not to be a genuine accident, was damning, yet the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), one of England’s largest teacher unions, went on to issue guidance advising its members against certain school visits and to consider organising them with extreme care.
There is no doubt the Glen Ridding Beck incident was the stuff of every teacher’s and parent’s worst nightmare, but it is also likely that sensationalist media and misinterpreted teacher union guidance on school visits have contributed to the ‘fear of litigation’ which still exists among teachers today.
Outdoor education is vital in helping children learn about the world around them and how to manage the risks associated with it. We welcome The Countryside Alliance Foundation’s campaign as being a positive step in tackling the myths and reducing the fears around health and safety on school trips.
- Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Health and Safety Executive
Our research should reassure teachers about the low risks of being at the sharp end of litigation. Of the 138 local authorities across England and Wales that responded to a Freedom of Information request, only 364 legal claims were made over a ten year period and fewer than half of the cases (156) were successful and resulted in compensation payments. The total amount of compensation paid out was £405,000 meaning on average each local authority paid out just £293 per year in compensation between 1998 and 2008.
The Countryside Alliance Foundation campaign is a welcome injection of commonsense and balance into a debate which is too often distorted by irrational fears of litigation.
- Denise Kitchener, Chief Executive, Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
It is right that teachers should take the welfare of their pupils seriously, but fears around health and safety should not be a barrier to outdoor education. The law protects from liability those who take reasonable care. A renewed effect is needed to highlight the low risks of well managed outdoor education and inspire confidence among those 76 per cent of teachers concerned about health and safety procedures.
