School Educational Visit Pre-Departure Assurance Checklist

Record the visit destination, dates, activities, participant groups, visit leader and supporting staff in the school's visit documentation.

Decide whether the visit is covered by the school's current policies and arrangements. Consider its distance, activity type, location and need for staff with specialist skills.

Where the visit is outside existing school policies or arrangements, ensure that the planning is proportionate and focuses on managing genuine risks.

If the visit is not covered by current school policies or arrangements, confirm that an appropriate risk assessment and detailed plan are recorded before departure.

For a visit requiring additional planning, record the person responsible for managing it and confirm that they have the skills, status, competence, risk understanding and activity familiarity needed for the role.

If the visit requires informed approval, record approval from the headteacher or governing board before departure and retain the approval with the visit documentation.

Determine whether the visit includes nursery-age children, requires a higher level of risk assessment, or takes place outside normal school hours.

For nursery-age children, verify written consent. For older children, verify written consent where the visit requires a higher level of risk assessment or takes place outside normal school hours.

For a visit requiring consent or parent or carer notification, confirm that relevant information has been provided and that parents or carers have had an opportunity to withdraw their child.

If an outside organisation provides an activity, check that it has appropriate safety standards and public liability insurance. Record the checks and supporting evidence.

If the provider does not hold the LOtC Quality Badge, assess and record its suitability, including insurance, legal requirements, health and safety and emergency policies, risk assessments, control measures, vehicle use, staff competence, safeguarding, accommodation, subcontracting and any required licence.

Where an outside organisation is used, retain a written agreement that identifies the responsibilities of the school and provider, particularly where the provider will supervise children.

If the visit includes caving, climbing, trekking or watersports, identify each activity in the visit plan and risk assessment before departure.

For specified adventure activities, confirm that the risk assessment considers the children's abilities. For watersports, confirm that the need for instructors and lifeguards has been considered.

If an organisation provides an adventure activity requiring a licence, verify and record that the required licence is held before departure.

The visit plan and leader briefing must state that caving, climbing, trekking, watersports and other specified adventure activities are not to be added during the trip unless they were identified and risk assessed beforehand.

For a visit where an incident could occur away from school, confirm that an emergency response plan covering incidents away from school is available to the relevant staff.

For a visit requiring planned communications, confirm that the communications plan covers routine communications, regular check-ins and calls to reassure relevant people.

Confirm that each trip leader is familiar with the emergency response plan and communications plan relevant to the visit.

Before departure, brief the visit team on the final visit plan, risk controls, responsibilities, consent-related information, provider arrangements, activity controls and emergency communications relevant to the particular visit.

Record any incomplete or unresolved pre-departure action, identify the responsible person and resolve or formally defer it in accordance with the school's arrangements before departure.

Use the completed visit documentation and recorded unresolved actions to decide whether the particular visit may proceed under the school's approval arrangements.