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Approval Processes
When planning an outdoor program or excursion, teachers must have the Principal's Approval, and Parental Approval (where necessary). (Departmental approval is required for Interstate and International excursions - see below)
School and Departmental Approval Processes
Types of Outdoor Education excursions
- Minor Excursions lasting one day or less that are not inherently dangerous. Minor excursions include visits on foot or using vehicular transport to parks, museums, botanical gardens, field study centres and other places of educational value within the local community. Approval can be given by the Principal.
- Overnight and residential excursions including activities that are not inherently dangerous. This includes specialist activity camps such as those for art and music. Approval can be given by the Principal .
- Excursions or activities lasting from several hours to several days that have an inherent risk factor. This includes adventure recreation activities such as canoeing, abseiling, and caving. Approval can be given by the Principal.
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Interstate excursions. Approval required from the Principal as well as the Learning Services General Manager/Director Colleges and Curriculum Support. Excursions in this category are normally restricted to school holiday periods, unless there are particular circumstances for travel during term time.
- Teachers should complete an Application for School Group Travel Warrant, which is available on the staff intranet. The form with the planned itinerary should be forwarded to the Learning Services General Manager/Director Colleges and Curriculum Support at least two weeks prior to the proposed date of departure.
- The application form can be completed electronically in Word by the travel organiser. Once completed, the application form should be printed, endorsed by the School Principal and forwarded to the relevant Learning Services General Manager for authorisation.
- Group travel for student groups and accompanying staff can be booked through any licensed travel agency offering the best value for money. Staff can access School Group Travel information on the staff intranet as well as the School Group Travel - Approval Procedures flowchart.
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International excursions. In addition, international excursions require approval from the Minister as well as the Principal and relevant Learning Services General Manager. Application should be made as above for Interstate Travel at least 5 weeks prior to the proposed date of departure.
- All future international travel requests must include written advice that:
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been consulted on the risks in travel www.smartraveller.gov.au/; and
- that where the country of travel is considered a high risk, the applicant (and all group members) understands the personal risks involved in travelling and still wishes to proceed, signed by the individuals concerned. Staff can access the guuidelines on international travel as well as the International Travel Advice Form on the staff intranet.
For further information or assistance in relation to the above matters, please contact the Ministerial Co-ordination Unit on (03) 6233 7063 or via e-mail: Ministerial.Coordination.Unit@education.tas.gov.au
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Parental Approval Processes
General
- The written consent of a parent or guardian must be obtained before a student participates in any Outdoor Education program which involves overnight, hazardous activities and/or interstate or international travel.
- In all such cases parents should have enough information available to them to be deemed to have given informed consent.
- Students over the age of 18 years may sign their own consent form, indicating they have received the same information as an informed parent about the excursion.
- In certain cases students under the age of 18 who are living independently of parents or guardians (e.g. students receiving Youth Allowance at the Independent Rate) may also sign their own consent form.
- Schools may want to remind parents and guardians at the beginning of the year or before an extended outdoor program that in an emergency, teachers, as part of their duty of care, may transport the student to a safe place or place of treatment by ambulance or other forms of transport, as detailed on the original student enrolment form. Cost associated with this action are the responsibility of the person who signed the enrolment form.
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Type A Excursions (Minor Excursions)
- Provided parents have given general permission for their child to attend minor excursions for that school year, it is not necessary for schools to seek parental approval for each excursion of this type. Notification however of minor excursions must be given in a timely manner. If a parent wishes to withdraw the student from a particular excursion they must do so in writing to the school, giving the reason for the withdrawal.
- Schools should ensure that:
- parents and guardians are aware of the likely duration and type of excursion, and the program
- any special medical conditions of participants are known and understood by the staff involved in the excursion. This should include details of any medication and dosage being taken by the child and any special requirements: e.g. diet.
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Type B, C D and E Excursion
- In addition, for excursions involving overnight, hazardous activities and/or interstate or international travel the parental consent form must be accompanied by information on:
- educational objectives of the program
- scope, nature and location
- dates, times and duration
- travel and accommodation arrangements
- cost
- equipment requirements – to be provided by the student
- staffing details and arrangements for student supervision
- contact numbers (school and parent) and procedures for parent wishing to contact a child
- discipline policy.
- Where parents do not have a good understanding of English, provision must be made for a translation to be made available.
- A sample Consent and Medical form [Word 63KB] is included but schools may wish to design their own.
- In the case of ongoing programs involving Adventure Activities, consent forms need be completed only once for the whole period as long as the parent is aware of the full details and duration of the program.
- Written parental approval is required for a student under 18 years to travel by private car (Transport).
Type E Excursions - Additional Information
Where the country of travel is considered a high risk, the parent or guardian is required to sign to say that they understand the personal risks involved in travelling and still wish to proceed. See International Travel above and School Travel Guidelines (available for staff on the staff intranet) for further information and details on special parental approval.
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Administration (and Emergency Contacts)
- Each school should develop an internal administrative process to deal with Outdoor Education programs. This should include the following:
- school process for planning and recording all excursions, including the details of minor excursions (Type A) eg itinerary, student and staff names, transport details, costs, risk management assessment, contact numbers and contact persons etc. See Forms.
- for Type B, C and D programs, the information should include:
- names of all staff and students and contact phone numbers, addresses and any relevant medical information
- communication details including contact numbers between the group and school/college and between parents and school/college
- nominated after–hours contact person for emergency contact outside school/college hours
- contact person should have full details of the excursion with them at all times and should always remain where they can contact (or be contacted by) the police. See Critical Incident
- Teacher in charge should have full details of the students and planning information with them at all times, including medical information (Forms).
- For insurance purposes, a record of the names of volunteers who may accompany the excursion must be kept. These can be recorded in a log kept by the Principal or in the minutes of a general or special meeting of Parents and Friends or School Council held prior to the commencement of the excursion.
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Refer to Access for details on approval processes of land managers.
Staff can view general information as well as the approval process for staff travel by air and sea on the staff intranet.
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Medical and health care
Using the Guide