Outdoor Education Advisers' Panel

Interesting letter to Education Guardian 29-3-05

Tuesday March 29, 2005
The Guardian

Risk and reward from school trips

Phil Revell wrote a good piece on why school trips shouldn't be stopped by fears of accidents, compensation claims and criminal prosecutions (Outdoors is great, March 15). He made one mistake, however, when he lumped "safety campaigners" with the NASUWT in opposing school trips. The union is wrong (again?), but safety professionals are not in their camp. We believe risks are to be managed, not avoided. Any other approach will leave our children poorly equipped for life. They need to understand risks and how to assess and control them. The modern safety stance is very straightforward: understand your risks, and work out how to protect yourself. This applies to crossing the road, climbing a mountain or even using a computer to type an email. So please don't accuse the very people who help local authorities, teachers and heads across the UK to manage risks and to help shape policies that maintain activities.
Lawrence Waterman
Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, Wigston, Leicestershire