Educational day trips can resume from 12 April

The government has updated its guidance on education visits, which it says can resume from 12 April for day trips.

It says any educational day visits must be conducted in line with relevant coronavirus (COVID-19) secure guidelines and regulations in place at that time. This includes system of controls, such as keeping children within their consistent groups and the COVID-secure measures in place at the destination.

Schools should undertake full and thorough risk assessments in relation to all educational visits to ensure they can be undertaken safely. As part of this risk assessment, schools will need to consider what control measures need to be used and follow wider advice on visiting indoor and outdoor venues. Schools should consult the health and safety guidance on educational visits when considering visits.

It says domestic residential educational visits can recommence from 17 May.

The Field Studies Council Chief Executive Mark Castle said: “It’s a huge relief to all of to have some dates to work towards. We have never asked for special treatment, only to be allowed to follow the roadmap. It means we can slowly begin welcoming learners back to our Covid-secure centres and play, what we believe, to be a vital role in the nationwide school catch-up programme.

“Being able to open our centres again means we can support teachers and school pupils, both of which have faced an incredibly challenging year. We can help re-connect children with their friends in inspirational places; we can provide acres of wide-open spaces for children to safely learn, play and improve their well-being and, most importantly, we can help make up for lost learning time.

“There really isn’t a single lesson in the school day which cannot be enriched by connecting to nature, or a subject on the curriculum that can’t be enhanced by outdoor learning and our team of specialised tutors are raring to get going and provide whatever support they can.

“For older pupils they will be helping cement in-class learning with practical skills and real-life experiences and for younger primary pupils they will be helping to rebuild confidence by using the environment and natural world to motivate and re-engage them with learning again.  

“The benefits of spending time at our centres are endless and we cannot wait to get back to doing what we do best after such a challenging 12 months.”

Martin Smith, Chair of the Outdoor Council, said: “We welcome the decision to restart educational visits in the UK and get schoolchildren back enjoying the great outdoors.  Day visits restarting from 12th April and residentials from 17th May are huge milestones for our sector, our staff, and schools and schoolchildren in England. We would like to specifically thank the committed officials at the Department for Education and local MPs who have worked so hard with our sector to ensure we can get up and running safely. Also to our member organisations and their members for their hard work and patience during this period.

Jim Whittaker, Chair of Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres, said “This is great news. We have worked so hard and it’s brilliant to have some clarity. Our attention now turns to delivering safe educational visits in line with our proposals and the roadmap and we will continue our work with the Department to that end. Our members can’t wait to get back to doing what they do best, delivering life-changing outdoor education for schoolchildren and young people, especially in the context of the recovery from Covid. We look forward to welcoming you all in the coming months.”