Emergency Procedures

Teachers in charge of pupils during a visit have a duty of care to make sure that the pupils are safe and healthy. They also have a common law duty to act as a reasonably prudent parent would. Teachers should not hesitate to act in an emergency and to take life-saving action in an extreme situation.

If an accident happens, the priorities are to:

• assess the situation;

• safeguard the uninjured members of the group;

• attend to the casualty;

• inform the emergency services and everyone who needs to know of the incident.

Emergency procedures framework

If an emergency occurs on a school visit the main factors to consider include:

• establish the nature and extent of the emergency as quickly as possible;

• ensure that all the group are safe and looked after;

• establish the names of any casualties and get immediate medical attention for them;

• ensure that all group members who need to know are aware of the incident and that all group members are following the emergency procedures;

• ensure that a teacher accompanies casualties to hospital and that the rest of the group are adequately supervised at all times and kept together;

• notify the police if necessary;

• notify the British Embassy/Consulate;

• inform the school contact. The school contact number should be accessible at all times during the visit; details of the incident to pass on to the school should include: nature, date and time of incident; location of incident; names of casualties and details of their injuries; names of others involved so that parents can be reassured; action taken so far; action yet to be taken (and by whom);

• notify insurers, especially if medical assistance is required (this may be done by the school contact);

• ascertain telephone numbers for future calls;

• write down accurately and as soon as possible all relevant facts and witness details and preserve any vital evidence;

• keep a written account of all events, times and contacts after the incident;

• complete an accident report form as soon as possible;

• no-one in the group should speak to the media.