Is there a legal ratio for school trips?
In the UK, there is nothing prescribed in law to dictate the ratio of teachers (or other adults) to children on a school trip. But, as you will be in loco parentis, you will want to ensure that there are enough adults to supervise the children effectively.
What ratio do we recommend?
We recommend school trip ratios of one adult to ten children (1:10) for day trips or one adult to eight children (1:8) for multi-day trips. This applies to both primary and secondary schools, across Key Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4.
When booking a trip with us, these ratios are accounted for in our quotes, but it's not a problem if you require more adults.
How to determine the ideal ratio
First and foremost, your employer or Local Education Authority may already specify a minimum adult-to-child ratio for school trips. If this is the case, then you must follow their guidance.
If this is not the case, then there are a few things that you should think about before determining your ideal ratio of adults to children. Essentially, it should be part of your school trip risk assessment. The Outdoor Education Adviser's Panel National Guidance OEAP NG (OEAP NG) advises that you will need to consider the following:
- Staffing
- Activities
- Group Characteristics
- Environment
1. Consider staffing
You will need to think about the staff members who would be available to accompany your trip. And in doing so, you will also need to think about their abilities and experience.
There is no requirement for children to be accompanied by staff of the same sex, but when this is not the case, you will need to think about the potential issues that might arise around privacy, safeguarding and pastoral support.
You can take staff members whose child is in the party, but you will then need to think about the fact that they might be distracted by the needs of their child and this could impede their ability to effectively supervise the rest of the party.
You could mitigate this by ensuring the parent does not have direct supervision responsibility for their own child or, if this is not possible, perhaps ensuring that other staff members are available to supervise the group should that staff member be distracted by the needs of their own child.
You will also need to think about what might happen if a leader becomes ill, injured or otherwise indisposed, perhaps dealing with a student who has become ill or injured, for example. You will still need to have enough members of staff to adequately supervise the group.
2. Review activities
You will need to think about the activities that you want the group to take part in.
You should always include at least one member of staff who is first aid trained.
And you should take into account the experience of staff members. For example, there may be some activities you wish to take part in where inexperienced staff may be more appropriately considered as participants, rather than leaders.
3. Think about group characteristics
The characteristics of the group are a huge consideration when determining your school trip ratios.
Things you will need to consider include:
- The age of your students
- Their abilities, behaviour and maturity
- The gender make-up of the group
- Any other specific individual needs, including allergies, dietary requirements, medication, and special educational needs.
Because the group characteristics will change with every single group, you will need to go through this process of determining the ratio of adults to children every time you plan a trip, even if it is a trip that you regularly run.
4. Consider the trip environment
Finally, it is incredibly important to consider the environment of your trip.
Is it in the UK or abroad? Are you going to an urban or remote location? Will it be quiet or crowded? Are there any extremes of weather you need to consider? What might the terrain be like? How easy will it be to communicate with your school and tour operator should you need to?
Don’t forget to think about the accommodation arrangements and any environments you will need to pass through too.
Summary
Unless you request otherwise, in our quotes we usually include free staff place ratios of 1:10 for day trips and 1:8 for multi-day trips.
Of course, if you need more accompanying staff, that’s not a problem, it may just increase the price per person slightly.
If you do require more accompanying staff, please contact your Travel Adviser, and they will be very pleased to help.