Banbury Crossroads
Independent School

Off-Campus Safety and Procedures Background: Field trips comprise one important component of an enrichment program at Banbury Crossroads. We believe in the importance for children, of all ages, to gain first-hand contact with their outside world. This gives them access to a wide variety of community resources, stimulates their interest in varying topics, and allows them the opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge. Students and teachers contribute to the choice of destinations; field trips vary from year to year. Scientific, cultural, occupational, historical, political, environmental and recreational field trips comprise an exciting and important part of the students' school experiences. Many excursions are undertaken to introduce or celebrate specific curricular topics suitable for particular grades and subjects. Teachers utilize field trips to enhance understanding in a global sense, to accommodate the diverse learning styles of our students, and to vary the modes of learning beyond bookwork and sedentary activities. Other excursions are more multi-dimensional, and occur around special events, seasonal festivities or current events. In these cases, we think that the students will benefit from the experience. Field trips taking place outside the city are encouraged and may be planned for each year. The feasibility of these excursions depends on the ages of the students, and on the numbers of students and parents who can participate. In past years, skiing, canoeing, hiking and camping trips, as well as trips to provincial historical sites, other provinces and countries, have been great successes. We value these treks beyond the city limits, because we want our students to realize their place on earth as citizens of the world. Safety is of primary concern throughout every field trip. The students are the responsibility of the accompanying teachers, who act in loco parentis throughout the entire excursion. The school holds liability for trips beyond the school' walls; however, teachers are also held liable, personally, for accidents that occur during a school-sponsored activity. We must ensure that negligence will never be a factor in any accident. Through careful planning, preparation of the students, acknowledgement of foreseeable danger, and alert supervision, accidents should preventable. The only thing that would be intolerable would be to cancel all excursions through fear. Policies: As field trips are an integral part of the school's philosophy, it is incumbent for all teachers to plan and carry out regularly occurring field trips for their students, the frequency of which will vary according to the subjects taught and the resources available for such direct experiences. It is each teacher's responsibility to make arrangements for his/her students' field trips. This would include arranging the booking for the site, the transportation, the payment of fees, as well as overall safety and supervision, time-tabling, parental notification, and necessary accompanying materials. In some cases, students may arrange the visit, with guidance from staff. Parents, other staff and students will be notified of field trips in advance of their occurrence under most circumstances, and informed which students will be participating. Notification should normally consist of times, dates, places, potential hazards and precautions taken, transportation plans, supplies, provisions or equipment needed. Any prerequisite orientation or instruction that students must attend will also be explained to parents in advance. Notification will be provided by the following means: printed notices that students receive and are expected to take Banbury to the parents, class calendars, teacher websites, school website, monthly newsletter, notice boards at school, and pre-trip discussions with the students. Phone calls Banbury may also be necessary in the event that a student is absent from school. In rare, special cases, short-term and local spontaneous excursions may occur to capture teachable moments or special events. Parents may not receive advance notification in these cases. All field trips should be planned carefully, taking into consideration the educational, developmental and social suitability for the students To ensure optimal results from excursions, care needs to be taken to obtain adequate information regarding specific safety concerns associated with each trip. Subsequently, this information needs to be shared with all participants, detailing prerequisite skills, knowledge and experience in order to identify and contend with safety hazards, boundaries, weather, social conditions, etc. For high-risk sports and ventures, experts should be available for on-site assistance and instruction. Students must receive adequate preparation for these riskier activities, and participation will not be mandatory. All students and their parents must be informed of the potential dangers ahead of time. Supervision for all field trips must be tailored to the specific requirements of each activity, and be adequate for the safety of all individuals. For younger children, a smaller than usual supervision ratio is recommended. Any field trip with inherent catastrophic risk will not be taken by the school. Most field trips, and particularly full-day and extended field trips, should be planned well enough in advance to allow for financial preparation, transportation arrangements and information transfer. In addition, time must be provided for participants to gather suitable supplies and re-organize their academic schedules and goals. Parents and staff members who drive on excursions are encouraged to arrange for extra liability coverage on their personal insurance policies. The costs of damage to vehicles that arise through accidents that occur during school excursions must be covered by each driver's personal car insurance, as the school cannot arrange for car insurance for all drivers. All students must provide the office with a completed Annual Authorization for Field Trips form, signed by their parents or guardians. We use this document to cover all field trips for the year, including those embarked upon by the Student Councils. This alleviates the paper waste that would occur if we sent permission slips Banbury for every trip. All school personnel, staff and student alike, are covered with accident insurance through a policy undertaken by the school, which covers all activities initiated by the school, on and off campus. All Alberta traffic laws will be followed. It is each driver's responsibility to ensure that the number of occupants in the vehicle does not exceed that mandated through the number of seatbelts and airbags. All occupants must be buckled up by seat belts in the proper manner. Students may not drive other students in their vehicles on school sponsored trips, with the exception of siblings, wherein the parents have approved of this transfer. Other pertinent regulations are that all children under 40 lb. must be in a car seat and children under 12 years of age cannot sit in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag. Students are expected to remain with the group during an excursion. All of the students on a field trip are the responsibility of the supervising teachers. They are under their care until the field trip is finished, and they are back at the school. For older students in Junior/Senior High, departures may be arranged directly Banbury from the field trip (only if the event is over at the end of the school day) as long as it is agreed upon in advance between parents, students and teachers. The front office should also be informed of such special situations. If the field trip does not occupy the entire time allotted to that class, and the students arrive back at the school early, then the accompanying teacher is responsible for planning appropriate activities for those students during the intervening time. In order to encourage positive public behaviour, both teachers and students are expected to behave appropriately. The main emphasis is to display respect and consideration. Procedures: Sites are usually determined on a class by class basis, although several groups may team up for an excursion. Suggestions for off-campus visits primarily arise amongst staff members, with independent ideas coming from students or parents. Information regarding the field trips is conveyed to parents via monthly newsletters, calendars, posted notices, teachers' websites or special notes sent Banbury. These events may also be listed on our school web-site. Teachers must inform other teachers whose students will be affected by the field trip. Respect should be given to the instructional needs of teachers who lose class contact time due to lengthy or repetitive excursions. Arranging appropriate timetables includes scheduling trips during class time, and attempting punctual returns, so as to be considerate of parents who pick children up from school and also of those students who take public transit at certain times. If trips extend beyond class time, this fact needs to be communicated in advance to the people involved. When planning all trips, teachers need to assess potential risks, asking themselves what could potentially happen, given the activity, the ages of the students, the external environment, and the knowledge regarding particular students. Teachers need to prepare for these possible situations, in order to ensure safety and enjoyment for all. A first aid kit must accompany all field trips, as well as extra supplies pertinent to the trip, that students may forget. Cell phones are recommended, and some day, the school may provide one. Transportation: Transportation to sites may be one of the following modes: City Transit Non-student volunteers or staff drivers Walking Bicycle Plane When arranging for excursions, teachers must take the appropriate steps to ensure that the transportation will be efficient and effective. This means that volunteer drivers are notified in advance (not at the last minute), that car seats and seatbelts are provided appropriately, that the drivers are given clear directions and maps to the site, and that a sufficient number of supervisors is provided. Individuals wishing gas money for field trips should notify the Principal. When using City Transit, teachers must procure bus tickets in advance, from the front office. They must ride the bus or C-Train with the students, and supervised accordingly. Young children may need extra supervision for such an excursion. Effective supervision requires the following procedures: Head counts on a regular basis; Frequent observation and awareness of environmental safety issues; Identification of social interactions likely to escalate into negative spirals; Ability to use effective communication skills and problem solving strategies to de-escalate emotional conflicts and to resolve the underlying issues; Communication of appropriate social conduct and of safety limitations based upon particular locations; Role modeling of enthusiastic learning, socially appropriate conduct, and following safe practices; Assurance that all students remain with the group and return to the school with the group, unless otherwise organized in advance. Assignment of maps when necessary, and a meeting place to prevent lost children. The phone number of the school should be made available to each child, so that communication may be possible in such a case. Emergency Procedures: A serious emergency would be defined as a lost child, a severe injury requiring hospital intervention, a car accident, a medical emergency, etc. In these cases, teachers are expected to: Deal with the emergency as required. For example, have someone call 911, administer first aid, return to the last place the child was seen, go to the meeting place, enlist the help of bystanders, etc. Deal with the rest of the group, by calling upon assistance from other supervisors or adults upon the scene; Inform the school, so that the parents of the affected student/s can be contacted by the school personnel. The school must act as the communication base for transmitting information, including health care numbers, between the emergency site, parents and the medical staff involved; Once emergency procedures have been initiated, arrangements should be made for the remainder of the class to return to the school. Payment for fees incurred in field trips is to be coordinated by the teacher involved, following the usual payment procedures. If the excursion is particularly costly, such as camping, horseback riding, or skiing, the school may request a proportionate contribution from parents to cover the cost. Out of country trips will be at the expense of the parents, with the school contributing to the coverage of costs through fund-raising. Ample time must be given to prepare classes and their supervisors in the prerequisite skills and knowledge to undertake field excursions. If expert advice or supervision is required, teachers should arrange such in advance.