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OUR ADULT TOUR PROGRAMMES...
Battlefield &
History Tours
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The School Travel Forum
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STF and Risk Assessment
School Travel Forum Assured
 Safety on School Visits. A major initiative to help teachers and schools.
Supported by NAHT, ASCL, ATL, NUT and PAT
As you may be aware, the DCSF and Scottish Executive guidelines* relating to Health and Safety on Educational Visits state that schools should ask tour operators for a copy of their Safety Management System.
A Safety Management System should explain how a tour operator manages safety for the component parts of the visit they will be providing. In particular, tour operators should also be able to show how they are duly diligent in checking the safety of accommodation and transport. Importantly, the advice includes that the tour operator should also provide details of independent checks made by appropriate external organisations on their Safety Management System.
The guidelines also explain that teachers have a Common Law duty of care to follow the advice of their employers and that Head Teachers should ensure that the accreditation or verification of providers (ie tour operators) has been checked.
Please see Please see http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/visits or http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/12/20444/48943 for more information.
We are therefore delighted to advise you that the School Travel Forum, which is a group of leading school tour operators who promote good practice and safety in school travel, have developed a Safety Management Standard which:
• Covers each component of a residential visit.
• Shows how they are duly diligent in checking the safety of accommodation and transport
• Is annually inspected by a suitably qualified independent body
From March 2005, Assured Membership of the School Travel Forum has been conditional upon having a Safety Management Standard which complies. Holts Tours are Assured Members.
During the course of developing the STF Code of Practice, and in addition to liaising with the DCSF, advice has been sought from all leading educational Unions and Associations. The STF initiative is welcomed by the Outdoor Education Advisors Panel (OEAP) and the DfES. It has the support of the ASCL, NAHT, ATL, NUT, PAT and the NASUWT advises members wishing to organise school trips to use companies that have this type of scheme.
Details of the School Travel Forum Code of Practice are available from Holts Tours. Alternatively, visit the School Travel Forum website: http://www.schooltravelforum.com
*Whilst these guidelines only technically cover state schools in England and Scotland, the advice they contain and the information regarding the School Travel Forum Safety Management Standard will undoubtedly be of interest to any school in the United Kingdom which undertakes educational visits, in the interests of establishing best practice.
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