Trips & Visits Policy
Principles 1. The Laurus Trust is committed to the additional dimension which direct experience of the real world outside the classroom can bring to learning. Therefore, the following axioms underpin our policy: Educational trips and visits play an important part in the life of a school both as an integral part of the curriculum and as extra-curricular activities. Trips and visits both enhance students learning and experience of particular subject areas and contribute to the growth of their social and personal skills. Trips and visits are valuable in opening students eyes to wider horizons locally, nationally and internationally and enhance their understanding of the global community. Trips and visits present opportunities for fostering positive relationships between teachers and students which has a beneficial impact in school. 2. Whilst recognising the value and potential for enrichment such trips provide it is also important that we remain aware that: trips which take students out of school may be disruptive to other aspects of their or other students learning. all trips present risks of varying degrees of extremity which pose issues of health and safety. the opportunity to participate in trips may not be equally available to all students and thus inadvertently lead to disadvantage for some students. trips can place a financial burden on parents/carers. 3. The educational value of a particular trip or visit may not always be selfevident. It is, therefore, incumbent on staff organising an out-of-school event to inform parents/carers of the rationale behind, and benefits of, a particular trip or residential activity. In proposing an educational trip, staff should consider: the clarity of the educational value of the proposed trip. the practicality of the trip and its timing. What impact arrangements may have on other staff and students? Does the value clearly justify the disruption? the impact on parents/carers. How much will the trip cost and what other calls there may have been on parents/carers for other out-of-school activities? Is this the most cost-effective way of achieving the desired learning outcome?
equal opportunities is the trip excluding students because of cost or other aspects of the arrangements in a way which may be deemed to be providing unfair advantages to one group of students as opposed to another? 4. This policy is accompanied by a Flowchart and Timeline (Annex A). This enables trip leaders to follow the process of organising a trip from proposal through to the completion of the relevant paperwork. This incorporates the procedure to follow in respect to Financing any trip (Annex B). It also incorporates the terms and conditions particular to residential trips (Annex C). The trust s procedures also enable governors to: i) fulfil their legal obligations and ii) take an overview of the annual programme of trips and visits to ensure that a balance is achieved between the value to participating students and the impact that trips and visits may have on others. Organising trips and visits 1. In general, trips should be arranged at times and in ways which do not impinge on the rest of the school i.e. at weekends; in holiday time; or after school and evenings. 2. Trip Categories Groups 1 to 4 Group 1 - Day visits of less than 30 minutes from school (including PE activities during the school day) Group 2 - Day visits of over 30 minutes from the school (including PE activities during the school day) Group 3 - All visits/journeys involving hazardous/adventurous activities (including DofE walks) Group 4 - Residential visits within and outside the UK (including DofE Expeditions) 3. Staffing of trips and visits All trips will be arranged giving consideration to the guidance regarding effective supervision which is published in the Visits & Journeys Guidance document. Refer to the Flowchart (Annex A) for ratios of staff: students. 4. Charging for school Trips and Visits There are strict guidelines which define when schools may charge for trips and visits. See Finance and Administration Guidance Notes (Annex B).
Staffing and support for this policy 1. Governors, together with the Heads of Schools will ensure that a member of staff is designated as Educational Visits Coordinator (EVC) and that he or she will be trained in this role and receive regular updates. 2. Each school will ensure that all members of staff are made aware of who is the designated EVC and what their role is within the school. The EVC is responsible for keeping the trips and visits documentation up to date. The EVC will also inform staff where the Trips and Visits paperwork is located. 3. The EVC will keep a record of all trips and visits that take place during the academic year and will also ensure that all relevant paperwork is completed within the guidelines stated in Visits & Journeys Guidance.
Annex A: Trip Leader Flowchart Proposal Trip Leader Proposals should include: Visit s objectives Likely date, duration, venue (check school calendar for available dates) Student group, staffing (consider any students that may require special access arrangements, please check with SSC at the earliest possible stage) Resources, estimates of the cost Obtain approval for the trip from Head of Dept/Leadership Link Complete the relevant on-line document re Cover and submit to the Cover Managers even if no lesson cover is required Planning Contact venue for suitability or discuss with appropriate tour operator Transport requirements Define staff roles: Leader, supervisors, first aid etc. (for residentials please check the staff names with your leadership Link) Finance: complete trip calculation spreadsheet including payment profile where the individual cost per student is over 100 and submit to the Finance Dept. and Leadership Link (please refer to the Finance information in the Educational Visits documentation) Risk assessment, exploratory visit (where applicable) Parent/Carer Communication/Consent Once it is agreed that the trip can go ahead: Draft a letter of initial interest for parents/carers Ensure the letter has been proofread Send a list of the proposed students and staff to the Safeguarding Lead/Head of School to approve names and ratios (for any overseas trip please check that any LAC child has the appropriate passport documentation before asking for any payment. Please be aware that this paperwork can take significantly longer to collate) All follow up letters can be found in the templates folder If students are required to take a packed lunch on a trip, please contact the canteen to request packed lunches for any FSM students. Please send an excel list of students including year/form to email address Finance, along with the department cost centre to receive the income, BEFORE sending the payment request letter to parent/carers For joint departmental trips the admin should be carried out by the Trip Leader s department admin support Email home a copy of the invite letter on the same day the letters are distributed to students in school
Summary of Documentation Required Group 1 = Day visits of less than 30 mins from school (including PE activities during the school day) Group 2 = Day visits of over 30 mins from the school (including PE activities during the school day) Group 3 = All visits/journeys involving hazardous/adventurous activities including DofE walks Group Ratios* OSVF Risk Assessment Monitoring Form Staff & Student Contact Lists Governor Approval Forms Insurance Summary Emergency Contact Procedures Yrs 7-11 Sixth Form Yrs 7-11 Sixth Form Yrs 7-11 Sixth Form All Years All Years All years All years 1 1-15/20 x x x x x x All docs are internal SLT to 2 1-15/20 x x x x x check Risk Assessment 3 1-10 x All docs are submitted to LA for 4 1-10 approval (not Gov forms) DofE For DofE expeditions - as well as the usual group 3 & 4 documents, the Award Form and the Green Forms also need to be completed and submitted to the LA Group 4 = Residential visits within and outside the UK including DofE Expeditions *It is Laurus Trust procedure to send 2 staff on all trips unless in exceptional circumstances see EVC
Group OSVF Risk Assessment Monitoring Form When to Submit Documentation** Staff and Student lists Final Governor Approval Forms To be completed by Trip Leader Trip Leader Trip Leader Dept Admin Trip Leader 1 & 2 All documents should be completed and emailed to EVC soon as the trip has been arranged x 3 2 months prior 1 month prior 1 month prior 1 month prior x 4 - UK 3 months prior 1 month prior 1 month prior 1 month prior 1 month prior 4 - overseas 6 months prior 1 month prior 1 month prior 1 month prior 1 month prior **All documents to be emailed to the EVC who will add electronics signatures Other Information If the trip is before 8am or after 5.00pm the trip leader must arrange for two SLT members to be home contacts - inform EVC of the names If holding an information evening ask parents/carers to complete the Information Evening Template document (general forms) Please always contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead/Head of School if you have any Safeguarding concerns whilst on any trip/visit Any sensitive data passed as hard copies from EVC to trip leader and SLT must be locked away at all times On the day of the trip, a register must be taken and handed in at reception to inform the Attendance Officer of any absences Please always contact the Head of School if a data breach occurs whilst on the trip/visit
If relevant, complete an evaluation form following the trip (general forms) Once the trip has concluded, confidentially destroy any signed permission slips (where there has been no major incidents) Once the trip has concluded, confidentially destroy any paper copies of the documents relating to the trip. However, electronic copies should be kept for 10 years.
Annex B: Educational Visits / School Trips Finance & Administration Guidance Notes July 2017 9
Educational Visits & School Trips The Trip Leader must take responsibility for all financial arrangements in connection with the trip. Please speak to Mark Johnson, Trust Finance Manager, if you require assistance on financial implications, arrangements and budgeting. Please find below guidance relating to planning the financial aspect of trips and visits. Please refer to this document in conjunction with the relevant Educational Visit Pack which can be accessed through the school VLE. Research all costings (e.g. entrance fees, travel fees, hotel accommodation, insurance, ParentPay charges). Please complete a trip calculation (template on VLE) for each visit where the cost per student is over 100 and submit it to Mark Johnson. It is important that we understand when the payments need to be made by to ensure the school has the funds to meet these deadlines. Once the trip has been approved, access the VLE and download the relevant paperwork from the Educational Visits Pack. PLEASE USE THESE LETTER TEMPLATES, NOT HISTORIC ONES. (Please contact the EVC if you require assistance) Submit a signed copy of the completed paperwork to the Educational Visit Co-ordinator (EVC). You will need to store an electronic version of your signature to enable you to do this. Communication with Parent/Carers (Please send a copy of all trip letters to the finance office ahead of sending them to parents) Send a letter to parents informing them of the details of the visit ie., date(s) times, destination, cost etc. and request permission for their child to take part in the activity (Please see below*) Payments The Laurus Trust does not accept cash payments and all parents, students and staff are encouraged to make payments through our online payment system, ParentPay or via Paypoint at participating stores. If any student is to receive sponsorship (Pupil Premium or 16-19 Bursary), please send a copy of the relevant budget holder s authorisation to the finance office. *There are three potential types of visit and each visit is treated differently in terms of set up in ParentPay:- 1. One day activity, no restriction on numbers, one off payment Once all return slips have been received, the Visit Leader should pass a list of the names of the students taking part in the visit to the finance office. A service will be created within the individual s ParentPay account to enable parents to make payments. Visit Leaders will be able to request a payment report, from the finance office, at any time to enable them to monitor the income for the visit. 10
2. One day activity, restricted numbers, one off payment Once return slips have been received, the Visit Leader should pass a list of the names of the students who will be invited to take part on a first come, first served basis, to the finance office. A service will be created within the individual s ParentPay account to enable parents to make payments. The Visit Leader should then send a letter home to the parents of the successful children advising them that their child has a place on the visit. This letter should include a pay by date. Visit Leaders will be able to request a payment report, from the finance office, at any time to enable them to monitor the income for the visit. 3. Residential visit, no restriction on numbers, staged payments An initial letter should be sent to parents requesting an expression of interest in the proposed visit (copy of letter to Finance, please). Once a list of names has been compiled, this should be submitted to the school Pastoral lead who will assess whether any student should be excluded from the visit due to behavioural issues or, whether additional support may be required for certain students. When the final list of names is confirmed, the trip co-ordinator should forward this to the finance team who will make the service available to parents on ParentPay. A second letter should then be sent to parents requesting a deposit (nonrefundable) and detailing the payment schedule. When setting these dates, please bear in mind any interim payment deadlines which may have been set by travel companies. It is important that the funds are available to meet these deadlines. Please keep the finance office informed of any changes which are made to the participant list i.e. if a student cannot attend and another student takes up the place. Visit Leaders will be able to request a payment report, from the finance office, at any time to enable them to monitor the income for the visit. It is the Visit Leader s responsibility to chase outstanding payments. Purchasing Resources Please ensure that you have purchased all resources, e.g. first aid requirements, at least two weeks ahead of the visit. This will allow for a final balance on the visit to be calculated before the visit takes place. This is particularly important for residential visits where it will be necessary to request funds to take on the trip* *Caxton Business Traveller Cards Please provide 2 weeks notice if funds are required to take on the visit. For security reasons, Visit Leaders are asked to keep the cash requirement to a minimum. We now have the facility to preload euros onto a Business Traveller Card which can be used similarly to a debit card to purchase goods or to withdraw cash from an ATM machine free of charge. Please note that you will be charged for withdrawing sterling in the UK using the Business Traveller Card. 11
Appendix: Copy of Trip costs spreadsheet TRIP CALCULATOR Please complete this spreadsheet (or equivalent) when planning a trip which will cost over 100 per student and send to Mark Johnson for approval with any backing evidence e.g. quote from NST. This must be completed before you send letters to parents with a payment profile. Things to think about Deadlines of when you ask for parent contibutions must be in advance of payments of invoices to the tour companies ParentPay charge 1.29% fees ie for every 100 a parent pays, we only receive 98.71 Only calculate costs EX VAT as school reclaims the VAT. Do not pass this cost onto parents Do not overcharge parents or expect parents to subsidise non payers. School will refund a surplus of 10 or more to every student at the end of a trip. All deposits should be non-refundable as the cost of withdrawals is passed on to us by the tour companies Example cost calculator: BARCELONA TRIP Departing 15th July Number of students 45 Estimated costs Cost per head Evidence Tour company 250.00 Quote from NST Travel 50.00 Quote from bus company, based on 1x 50 seater coach Hoodies 12.50 Previous year cost Sundries (Food / drink etc) 10.00 Estimate 322.50 ParentPay charges (1.55%) 5.00 Contingency (2%) 6.45 Total per student 333.95 I will ask for 335 Total income 15,075 NST invoice 11,250.00 Invoice payment date Parent payment profile 1st instalment due 2,000.00 31-Oct Parents need to pay a 75 non refundable deposit by 8th October 2nd instalment due 4,000.00 31-Jan Parents need to pay 90 second instalment by 31 December 3rd instalment due 2,625.00 31-Mar Parents need to pay 90 third instalment by 10 March Final balance due 2,625.00 30-Apr Parents need to pay 80 final balance by 12th April Completed by Trip Leader Date 12
Annex C: School residential trips Terms and Conditions The following terms and conditions are set in order for Laurus Trust to provide a broad programme of exciting and educational non-curriculum trips to our students and to keep costs to a minimum. Payments Once a student is offered a place on a trip, any deposit paid is non-refundable. For each trip, parents/carers are provided with a ParentPay payment schedule that is set to: a) provide sufficient notice of when payments are required; and b) ensure school has collected enough payments in advance of paying travel company invoices. We request that parents/carers adhere to these payment schedules so the trip can go ahead. If payments are falling significantly behind the schedule, school reserves the right to withdraw the student from the trip unless exceptional circumstances have been communicated to us. Please discuss in confidence with the Trip Leader or Head of Year if you are having difficulty meeting the schedule. Withdrawals and exclusions Should a student withdraw or be excluded from a trip, it will not be possible to offer a refund unless another student takes up the place or the cost is covered by a successful insurance claim. Any non-recoverable costs resulting from the withdrawal or exclusion will be deducted from any refund available or if sufficient payments have not been received then the school will request an additional payment from the parent/carer. Refunds The school budgets to break even on trips. Should an unexpected underspend occur, refunds over 10 per student will be administered to parents/carers. If the amount is under 10 per student, and to avoid the administrative cost of individual refunds, the money will be treated as a donation to the School Fund. This fund is used for the benefit of all students to enhance curriculum and extra curriculum activities across the school. Insurance claims The school has a travel insurance policy that covers all students. Parents/carers wishing to submit a claim should contact the Finance office who will give you a claim form. All claims require evidence, such as a medical professional s letter. A copy of the insurance policy can be requested from the Finance office. Financial support If a student is in receipt of financial support for a trip (e.g. Pupil Premium or 16-19 Bursary funding) and subsequently withdraws for medical reasons, then parents/carers are required to comply with the school s insurance claim process to recover the financial support contributions, and provide a medical professional s letter. Otherwise the parent/carer will be required to reimburse the school. Cancellation If a trip is cancelled due to circumstances outside of the school s control, the school will endeavour to secure repayments from the travel company or through an insurance claim. However, there may be circumstances where this is not possible and parents/carers should be aware of this when committing to a trip. All our overseas trips are with travel companies who are ABTA members. By signing up to a trip you are agreeing to the terms outlined above. 13