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9 March 2005 - HSE Report on School Trip
Tragedy
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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have published a report on
school trips, as a result of the death of the 10 year old boy, Max Palmer in the
Lake District in 2002. The young schoolboy was on a school outing
when the tragedy occurred.
The HSE back the educational value of school trips and have
published the report aiming at providing practical advice to anyone who has a
role to play in the organisation of such outings.
A very extensive investigation, by Cumbria Police and the HSE,
took place at Glenridding Beck as a result of this tragedy, which revealed many
important lessons to be learned.
Two main causes for the death of young Max Palmer were found to
be as follows:
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The inappropriate actions of the party leader before and during
the incident.
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The weaknesses of the management systems which allowed an
unsuitable leader to be in charge of a party of schoolchildren in a high-hazard
environment.
The main lessons learned by this tragedy were as follows:
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Leaders of these activities need to be competent and diligent,
and should always put the safety and best interests of the young people first.
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They should always follow the Department for Education and
Skills' (DfES) guidance on educational visits, which can be downloaded free from
its website.
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Schools and providers of outdoor education/adventure activities
need to have effective management arrangements in place to ensure that leaders
taking young people into hazardous environments are properly selected and
supported.
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Effective procedures for assessing and ensuring competence and
for monitoring leaders should be in place.
HSE's Head of Operations in the North West, Mr. Peter Baker
commented:
"This tragedy should not cloud the fact that the vast
majority of educational visits are excellently run by committed and professional
teachers. They are of immense value to children. On the very rare occasions when
things go seriously wrong, it is important that we learn the lessons.
"I would urge anybody who has an interest in educational visits, particularly
those involving adventurous activities, to read the report.
Mr. Justin McCracken, HSE Deputy Director General said:
"HSE believes that school trips are a vital part of a child's
education. It would be a sad day if misplaced risk aversion deprived them of
such opportunities. On the contrary, adventure activities provide the ideal
opportunity to make children 'risk aware' by involving them in practical
decision-making in challenging environments.
"HSE's views (and its recommendations following its investigation of the
Glennridding tragedy) mirror those of the Commons Education Select Committee.
HSE will continue to champion the message that sensible health and safety is
about managing risk rather than eliminating it.
"We applaud those teachers and helpers who give their time
and energy to follow best practice and do the job safely and properly. Long may
well-planned educational visits continue."
Whilst the parents of young Max Palmer said of the report:
"We, as Max's parents, feel that HSE's Glenridding website is
a positive step towards the prevention of further tragedies.
"It has never been our belief that school trips should cease as a result of
Max's death. We have always maintained that they form an important part of a
child's development and education. However, it is crucial that all the necessary
safety and supervision measures should be in place and should be strictly
adhered to.
"We are pleased that the report covers not just the events at the pool, but also
the wider management issues, so that other people involved in the management of
school trips can learn from the organisational shortcomings identified by the
investigation."
The HSE report on school trips can be accessed by
clicking the following:
HSE - School Trips - Glenridding Beck
DfES Guidance on Health and Safety on Educational Visits can be
accessed by clicking the following:
TeacherNet, Health & Safety on Visits
Article by Alexandra Johnston
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