School Away-from-School Emergency and Communications Plan

This plan applies when an educational visit takes place away from school and an incident could occur, or when the visit requires planned communications with the school or families. It should reflect the locations, activities, participants and communications arrangements for the visit.

Visit details

Visit: [visit name]. Dates and times: [visit dates and times]. Location or route: [visit location or route]. Activities: [visit activities]. Participants: [visit participants]. Trip leader: [trip leader name and contact].

The school contact for this visit is [school contact name and contact]. The agreed family or other reassurance contact is [reassurance contact name and contact]. The communication methods available during the visit are [available communication methods].

Emergency response

If an incident occurs away from school, the trip leader and visit staff should use this plan to determine what to do and how to communicate with the school. The response should take account of the visit location, activities, participants and the communications arrangements available at the time.

The trip leader should communicate the incident to [school emergency contact] using [emergency contact method] and provide the information available about what has happened, where it has happened, who is affected and what communication is needed next.

The school should record the agreed communication route for the incident as [incident communication route]. Further instructions or updates should be issued by [person responsible for updates] using [update method].

Routine communications and regular check-ins

Routine communications during the visit should follow the agreed schedule: [routine communication schedule]. Regular check-ins should take place at [regular check in times or triggers] using [check in method].

For each check-in, the trip leader should communicate the agreed status of the visit to [check in recipient] and identify any change requiring further contact. If a planned check-in cannot take place, the agreed alternative contact route is [missed check in arrangement].

Calls to reassure people

Calls to reassure people should be made when required by the circumstances of the visit or incident. The person making the call is [reassurance caller]. The people to be contacted are [people to reassure]. The agreed message and information boundaries are [reassurance message].

The communication method for reassurance calls is [reassurance call method]. Any request for further information should be directed to [further information contact].

Contact arrangements

Before the visit, the trip leader should have access to the current contact arrangements for the school, relevant visit staff and the people designated to receive routine communications, emergency updates and reassurance calls. The primary contact route is [primary contact route] and the alternative route is [alternative contact route].

The school’s contact availability for this visit is [school contact availability]. The trip leader should use the contact route appropriate to the circumstances and the communications facilities available at the location.

Briefing for trip leaders

Trip leaders should be familiar with this emergency response plan and the communications plan before leading the visit. The briefing arrangements are [trip leader briefing arrangements].

The briefing should cover what to do if an incident occurs away from school, how routine communications are handled, the regular check-in arrangements, how calls to reassure people are managed and the contact arrangements for the visit.

Visit-specific communication record

The agreed emergency response arrangements for this visit are [visit specific emergency arrangements]. The agreed routine communication arrangements are [visit specific routine communications]. The agreed regular check-in arrangements are [visit specific check ins]. The agreed reassurance arrangements are [visit specific reassurance arrangements].