Excursions Policy

1. Purpose
   1. The Excursions policy establishes a standard for conducting any school activity off the school site that maximises learning outcomes for students, whilst minimising risk, ensuring appropriate duty of care arrangements, and managing health and safety for students, staff, and all other participants.
2. Policy Statement
   1. This policy provides the framework to implement Excursions.
   2. Excursions must give equal consideration to all aspects of the planning and delivery, including:
      • training and qualifications of staff, activity leaders, and external providers
      • risk management, reconnaissance, and contingency planning
      • student needs (including student capability and students with known medical conditions)
      • staff health and safety (including staff with known medical conditions)
      • documentation, and
      • compliance with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1991 (DDA) and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (the Standards).
   3. Overarching work health and safety responsibilities for staff are documented in the Directorate’s Work Health and Safety Management System (WHSMS).
   4. Principals are responsible for ensuring excursions are conducted in accordance with all relevant policy and procedures, including recording the attendance of each student, and providing a safe working environment for staff supporting the excursion.
   5. The excursions procedures outline the requirements schools must adhere to when facilitating an excursion. These procedures are summarised in the Excursion Planning Flowchart.
   6. Duty of care must be appropriate to the number and needs of students and the planned excursion.
   7. Relevant legislation must be followed to make reasonable adjustments to provide students the opportunity for participating in Excursions.
   8. Where excursions involve physical activities, the Physical Activities Policy and Procedures must also be applied.
   9. All excursions occur “on country” of the Traditional Owners and access to the land and activities conducted must respect the traditional owners’ rights and sovereignty over country.
3. Scope
   1. This policy applies to all ACT public schools, principals, teaching and administrative staff, parents, students, external providers and other accompanying adults.
   2. The Excursion policy does not cover:
      • work experience and vocational education placements,
      • overseas excursions,
      • overseas student exchanges.
4. Context
   1. Excursions provide enriching learning opportunities and experiences for students in a variety of environments beyond the school site.
   2. Excursions support curriculum delivery, personal development and contribute to a positive school culture.
   3. Excursions must be planned within the context of the student’s total educational program.
5. Responsibilities
   1. Education Directorate is responsible for ensuring that Directorate staff involved in Excursions are inducted in the Excursions Policy and Procedures.
   2. Principals are responsible for ensuring Excursions are conducted in accordance with all relevant policy and procedures and maintaining records of attendance and non-attendance at any activity of the school.
   3. The Teacher in Charge is responsible for ensuring Excursions are conducted in accordance with all relevant policy and procedures.
   4. The Executive Branch Manager, Education Programs and Services, is responsible for this policy, as the Policy Owner.
   5. Parents are responsible for ensuring their child attends the excursion or, if not participating in the excursion, attends school in a way and at the times the school requires the child to attend. They are also responsible for ensuring that the school has sufficient information about their child’s known medical condition to enable effective risk assessment to be undertaken by the school.
6. Monitoring and Review
   1. The Policy Owner monitors the policy. This includes an annual scan of operation and review. A full review of the policy will be conducted within a five-year period or earlier as required.
7. Contact
   1. For support contact Education Programs and Services on (02) 6205 1683 or CurriculumSupport@act.gov.au
8. Feedback
   1. Any feedback about this policy should be raised with the policy owner. Refer to Contact information above.
9. References
   1. Definitions
      • Excursion: any structured learning experience provided by, or under the support of, the school which is conducted outside the school site.
      • Duty of care: a duty to, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure the health, wellbeing and safety of persons who are under the school’s care and charge (including workers and volunteers) while on the excursion.
      • Physical Activities: are structured and planned learning activities involving movement that deliver skills, knowledge, understanding, fitness and/or personal and social capability as the primary pedagogy to achieve outcomes for students.
      • School Site: A documented area, formally approved by the Executive Group Manager, Service Design and Delivery, in consultation with Risk, Security and Emergency Management. School sites can include areas within or adjacent to the school, that do not require a road to be crossed and are regularly serviced by the ACT Government. Playground equipment not managed by schools and nature reserves would be considered off site. The documented areas can be found at the Approved School Sites for the Purpose of Excursions.
      • Additional definitions are set out in the Excursions Procedures.
   2. Legislation
      • Children and Young People Act 2008
      • Director-General’s Instructions
      • Disability Discrimination Act 1992
      • Education Act 2004
      • Education and Care Services National Regulations
      • Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) Act 2001
      • Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) Regulation 2002
      • Sex Discrimination Act 1984
      • ACT Discrimination Act 1991
      • Work Health and Safety Act 2011
      • Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011
      • ACT Child Safe Standards
   3. Implementation Documents
      • Excursions Procedures (356kb)
   4. Related Policies and Information
      • Disability Standards for Education 2005
      • First Aid Policy
      • Physical Activities Policy
      • Incident and Emergency Management Policy
      • Risk Management Framework (internal access only)
      • School Management Manual (Internal access only)
      • Students with a Disability Meeting their Educational Needs Policy
      • Sun (UV) protection for Students Policy
      • Volunteers and Visitors in Schools Policy
      • Work Health and Safety Management System (internal access only)
      • Approved School Sites for the Purpose of Excursions (internal access only)

Excursions Policy: 00046 is the unique identifier of this document. It is the responsibility of the user to verify that this is the current and complete version of the document, available on the Directorate’s website at http://www.education.act.gov.au/publications_and_policies/school_and_corporate_policies/A-Z.