Supervise Children and Young People on Journeys

Supervise children and young people on Journeys, visits and activities outside of the setting 1 . Understand the policy and procedures for supervising children and young people on Journeys, visits and activities outside of the setting. There are various organisational and legal requirements for supervising children on journeys, visits and activities outside of the school setting. These include policies and procedures which should be carried out by the school including risk assessments of areas that will be visited (New2teaching, 2013).

Risks assessments will identify any hazards and/or dangers and who might be armed and how this may happen, allow the risks to be evaluated and check if the precautions are sufficient. They also allow staff to record their findings and review and revise assessments if necessary. Prior to the trip, the school will have to inform parents or guardians of all the necessary details in good time and obtain their consent for their child to go on the school trip. This should be in writing and include at least the location, date and time of departure and arrival, purpose, price and what is required on the trip by the children.

The school should have other necessary information of each child going on the trip, ncluding dietary information, allergies, any other medical conditions and also if they suffer from travel sickness. Also, the school should ensure that there is a suitable adult-child ratio and that all Moreover, there must be sufficient insurance cover for all participants of the trip as well as accidents and emergency policies and procedures, which should be in place for off-site visits. There should be a budget in place for the school trip, including expenditure and contingency costs and all money should be accounted.

A record should be made showing all payments made by pupils and receipts should be issued to each of hem. It is important that children, young people and adults have complete and accurate information about travel arrangements in good time. This is to ensure that everyone arrives on time, prepared with any necessary resources. This is to avoid delay of departure or even not going on the visit if there is something missing or another difficult situation arises where someone or all of those who are involved may not be able to go on the trip as planned.

It is necessary to ensure that vehicles used on trips are in good condition and safe for all passengers (New2teaching, 2013). Also, if the Journey is long, then it will be necessary to make sure there are snacks and check that there is a toilet on the coach or the relevant transport. If this is not possible then there should be an arranged stop for toilet breaks. It should be checked that drivers are competent and have the correct licence and if necessary whether to have more than one driver in case of fatigue.

The preparations which need to be made by all those going on Journeys, visits and off-site activities would be to ensure that all individuals have appropriate clothing and sufficient food and drink should be taken where necessary. There should be a list of all those attending the visit and registers made for supervisors in order to account for all children on the trip. There should be someone who is in charge of funds in case of an emergency or break down of vehicle during a trip. should be ensured that there is a first aider on the trip, along with a first aid box.

Also, at least one member of the group should carry a mobile phone with them in case of emergency and they should have emergency contact numbers. There should also be a point of contact belonging to the area visited on the school trip and the staff ember should be familiar of this. In case someone on the trip goes missing, staff should be aware of where to go in the area visited and should be made aware of the procedures. Any medication, for example, inhalers should be taken for those who may fall ill during the visit.

In the case of late departure and arrival, the school should be informed by the relevant staff on the trip and parents should be notified for security reasons. The following is an account of the Oakwood Primary School trip for Nursery and Reception class to Gulliver’s Land, in Milton Keynes, which took place on 27th June 013. Prior to the trip, I made sure what time I had to be in school for and what time the bus would be leaving. This was well after my normal start time for work so I didn’t need to leave the house any earlier. As the Journey was about 45 minutes, it was a direct route.

Therefore, no stops were needed. All staff that were attending were given a list with the names of the group of children for which they would be responsible. It was made sure that there were no more than 6 children in each group. My group was a group of 6 from the Reception class. The bus was due to leave at gam. As soon as the children arrived at 8. 30am and ushered into the class, they were settled down and the register was taken, ensuring all the children that were going on the trip were present. Before departing, we bag and that it was labelled with their name.

We also asked the children if they needed to go to the toilet so nobody needed to go during the Journey. The children were told to stay with their group at all times and were put into pairs. We then went to board the bus. I sat at the front of the bus and helped the children near me to put on their seatbelts. All of their packed lunches were placed at the front f the bus, in the designated area for luggage. The register was taken by the Early Years Manager and a headcount was carried out. I ensured all the children in my group were present.

During the Journey, I made sure the children did not remove their seatbelts or move out of their seat. Some of the children had accessories like hats and sunglasses, so I told them to look after them. There were no issues during the Journey and the children were fine on the bus. When we arrived, the children were told to get their belongings and the bus was checked thoroughly to prevent anything being left ehind. The children were told to get into their groups and reminded of which staff member they would have to stay with throughout the trip.

The register was taken to check that all the children were off the bus. I made my group stay in their pairs, hold hands with each other and to stay with me at all times. We arrived in good time, Just before the park opened. This ensured we had as much time as possible in the park. We were all given a map and details of attractions that were available throughout the day. When the park was open, we were allowed in and it was snack time for the children. So we went to a sheltered bench area and sat the children down and made sure they had their fruit or other snack. I made sure my group was sat down and in my sight.

When they had finished their snack, I told them to throw their waste in the bins provided by the bench area and not litter the ground. They were told to give their pack lunches to their group leader and any belongings they did not require until later. These were all placed in secure lockers, which were next to the bench area. We were told to meet up again at this area at lunch time. We then decided to stay with other group and go on the same rides, so any children ho did not want to go on a particular ride could be supervised by another adult, while another group leader went on the ride with the rest of the children.

The rides on which I escorted the children, I ensured they were sat securely, making sure any safety harnesses were attached and that they held on to the bars provided, so that they were comfortable. When it was almost time for lunch, we made our way back to the lunch area and gave into their carrier bag and put back in the locker, along with any other belongings. Occasionally the children some of the children would try to leave their partner or the roup as they were drawn to an attraction or something else and I was constantly reminding them to stay together and not wander off.

After going on a ride, one child in my group was not feeling well because the ride was a shock for her. We made sure she did not go on anymore rides that would not be appropriate and made her for a while until she felt better to go on other rides. In between rides, some children need to go to the toilet, so I accompanied them and left the other children in my group with another staff member. I counted how many children were with me and when they were finished, I ensured the same number of hildren came out of the toilet.

It was nearing the time of departure from the park and we were waiting to get on a ride. My group was waiting with another group. We wanted the children to ride but we knew that there was a shortage of time. The other group leader made a call to the Early Years Manager to see if we would be able to go on the ride and she said that we did not have enough time. Therefore, we had to leave the waiting area for the ride and gather our groups. I went with the Early Years Manager to get the bags from the lockers, after leaving my roup supervised with another staff member.

After we retrieved the bags and checked there was nothing left, we tended to our groups and ensured every child was there. When we exited the park, the children were in their pairs and we boarded the bus. The register was taken again and the headcount was repeated. On the way back a child sitting in front of me fell asleep, so I put her head in a comfortable position for her. When we reached school, I gently woke her before we got off the bus. As we got off the bus, we checked detached the children’s seatbelt for hem and ensured that they were getting off safely and not leaving anything behind.