New research shows high levels of teacher anxiety and frustration over legal liability and paperwork for school trips. But there are ways to maintain this crucial part of the curriculum.
I’d be sad to see them decline too, but on the other hand I also really hated it when a kid got killed by one last year when the school decided to visit a flood prone cave during a heavy rain warning.
Maybe there’s opportunity for a pre-approved list? Visiting a cave sounds like a high risk activity that feels low risk, so it might be hard for a school to make a good call on. But if there was a list of activities to guide schools, maybe that could help?
It transfers some of the responsibility to the government (who organises the list), and could give schools a concrete list of things they should be doing or considering for different activity types.
I’d be sad to see them decline too, but on the other hand I also really hated it when a kid got killed by one last year when the school decided to visit a flood prone cave during a heavy rain warning.
There has to be a happy medium around high risk vs low risk trips.
There has got to be a mechanism to prevent individual schools from making terrible judgment calls.
Agreed, but it is a fine line to walk.
Unfortunately there will be mistakes no matter how much paperwork is and to the process.
Maybe there’s opportunity for a pre-approved list? Visiting a cave sounds like a high risk activity that feels low risk, so it might be hard for a school to make a good call on. But if there was a list of activities to guide schools, maybe that could help?
It transfers some of the responsibility to the government (who organises the list), and could give schools a concrete list of things they should be doing or considering for different activity types.