Safety Guidelines
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GUJARAT EDUCATIONAL TOUR OPERATORS’ ASSOCIATION SAFETY GUIDELINES
Here’s a comprehensive list of safety measures to be considered when conducting school educational tours for students:
1. Pre-Trip Planning and Preparation
• Risk Assessment: Conduct thorough risk assessments of all activities, locations, and transportation methods.
• Pre-Trip Briefing: Hold detailed briefings for students, parents, and teachers about the trip itinerary, rules, and safety protocols.
• Parental Consent: Obtain signed consent forms from parents or guardians, including medical history and emergency contact information.
• Medical Information: Collect and review medical information for each student, ensuring that special needs (allergies, medications) are understood and accommodated.
• First Aid Training: Ensure that staff are trained in first aid and CPR, and that a well-stocked first aid kit is available at all times.
2. Supervision
• Student-to-Staff Ratio: Maintain a low student-to-staff ratio to ensure adequate supervision.
• Experienced Guides: Employ experienced and certified guides for activities like trekking, and certified instructors for adventure activities.
• Buddy System: Implement a buddy system, pairing students to ensure they look out for each other during activities.
3. Transportation Safety
• Reputable Transportation: Use only licensed and reputable transportation providers with a track record of safety.
• Driver Verification: Verify that drivers are experienced and have clean driving records, especially for long journeys.
• No Overloading: Ensure that the number of students and staff is according to the carrying capacity of the Vehicle.
• Health Certificate: Obtain a health certificate of the Vehicle.
• Fire extinguisher: Always carry a fire extinguisher in the bus. At least one group leader should know how to operate it.
4. Accommodation Safety
• Safe Lodging: Choose accommodations that are safe, secure, and well-maintained, with fire safety measures in place.
• Room Assignments: Assign rooms to students in a way that allows for easy supervision, keeping boys and girls in separate areas.
• Night Security: Ensure that accommodations have night security personnel and locked entry points.
5. Activity Safety
• Qualified Instructors: Ensure all adventure activities are led by qualified instructors with experience in handling groups of students.
• Safety Gear: Provide and enforce the use of appropriate safety gear (helmets, harnesses, life jackets) for all adventure activities.
• Weather Considerations: Monitor weather conditions closely and adjust or cancel activities if conditions become unsafe.
• Emergency Procedures: Establish clear emergency procedures for each activity, and ensure that all participants are aware of them.
• Emergency: In case of an emergency, the student should be taken to the nearest doctor/hospital. Take one of the accompanying teachers and also inform the office first and then the parents. In case of a girl participant, lady teacher/lady volunteer should accompany.
6. Health and Hygiene
• Sanitation Facilities: Ensure access to clean and sanitary restroom facilities during the trip.
• Food Safety: Provide safe, hygienic, and nutritious food, accommodating any dietary restrictions or allergies.
• Hydration: Ensure students have access to clean drinking water at all times to prevent dehydration.
7. Communication
• Emergency Contacts: Keep a list of emergency contact numbers for all students and staff readily accessible.
• Communication Devices: Provide staff with communication devices (mobile phones) to stay in touch with each other and the head office
• Regular attendance: Take attendance at regular intervals throughout the trip, specially while travelling.
8. Behavioral Guidelines
• Code of Conduct: Establish and communicate a clear code of conduct for students, outlining expectations for behavior during the trip.
• Consequences for Misconduct: Define and enforce consequences for any breaches of safety rules or behavioral guidelines.
The following procedure to be followed by the Adventure instructors:
Check all the equipments thoroughly and tally them with the list given.
• Discard damaged or partly damaged equipments.
• A thorough briefing should be given to the participants about the activity.
• Introduce the participants with all the equipments.
• Introduce the participants with all the other instructors and assistants/helpers.
• Show them a demonstration with emphasis on the technique to be used and safety measures we undertake during the activity.
• Seat harness to be tied only by a lady volunteer/lady teacher to the girl participant.
• The instructor should see to it that no participant attempts any adventure activity without shoes, seat harness, helmet, mittens, anchor, belay or any other equipment used in the activity. Should personally check all these along with the Carabineer & Seat harness lock before any participant starts the activity.
• No water activity should be done without a life jacket.
• Motivate the participant by assuring them that they can do it.
• Have patience, when the participant is attempting the activity as he/she may be doing it for the first time. Shouting on the participant will make them more nervous.
• The instructor will be fully responsible for the safety of the participants during the Adventure activities.
• The instructor will supervise the discipline of participants as well as the group leaders during all the Adventure activities.
• Avoid exchanging contact details with the students.