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Description of Location
The village
Austerfield is situated on the A614. It is a linear village, with housing concentrated around the main road. The main study area is situated between two long sweeping bends, and involves stops on pathways on the main road and also down side roads.
The paths are wide in places with grass verges between the path and the road; here groups can walk in pairs. In other places the path narrows and groups will be required to walk in single file.
The road has busy periods of the day but for the most part could be considered reasonably quiet for a main ‘A’ class road. A large amount of the traffic consists of freight transport and lorries transporting sand from the quarry adjacent to the village.
The nature reserve
The site is of mixed topography, with some hilly areas and depressions, previously quarried areas and areas of open water and it is mainly covered by mixed woodland and scrub. To reach study areas entails crossing some haul roads still used by vehicles going to and from the working quarry adjacent. Vehicles may be expected to be travelling through the area at some time during the activities. Parts of the journey involve passing over rough ground and through woodland.
Likely Hazards
The village
• Traffic intensity throughout the period of the study.
• Travelling along busy roads.
• Parked vehicles obscuring the view of oncoming traffic and pedestrians.
• Crossing the road.
• Blind spots at certain parts of the road, creating areas that would be difficult to safely cross.
• Paths narrowing.
The nature reserve
• Heavy plant equipment and lorries involved in the extraction and transportation of sand from the adjacent working quarry moving around the old quarry via various haul roads.
• Travelling over rough ground.
• Plants such as nettles.
• Trip hazards such as logs and stones.
• Children wandering out of sight of supervising staff.
Existing Precautions
• Children are informed of the dangers the may face on the journey through the area.
• They are involved in decisions on how they may best complete the journey in the safest way possible.
• Staff and adult helpers are required to wear yellow high visibility jackets at all times whilst in the village.
• Staff and adult helpers are distributed evenly along the line of children whilst walking, and one adult, preferably the activity leader, must always be at the front, with another at the back.
• Crossing the road is only undertaken at points where visibility is clear and safe.
• The preferred crossing method is to line all the children up side by side on the path, and cross them all at once with staff and adults to act as crossing patrols at both ends of the line.
• Staff and adults should be aware of all those pupils placed under their supervision. Centre staff should not be included in this provision as they are in overall charge of the activity and should only be involved in its safe control.
• Children who behave in an unacceptable and unsafe manner will be excluded from the activity for the safety of others. They will not be allowed to leave the area until they can be properly supervised.
• The minimum required in a first aid kit will be carried at all times, including a mobile phone.
• Children will be required to walk at all times.
Additional factors that could be taken into account to reduce risks or risk factors
• Children may have some experience of working next to a busy road through previous training or undertaking this task at a different time.
• Experience in general aspects of road safety.
• Provision of yellow, high visibility jackets for all of the children, in addition to those provided by us for the adults.
• Increasing the ratio of staff participating.
• Organising the children into groups, each with an adult leader.
• Ensuring the schools policy on helping adults is known and understood before the visit by all those adults participating.
• Ensuring the activity provider has a thorough understanding of all your requirements for the activity, the numbers, age, general health, special needs of the pupils, and where necessary staff involved, ability range of pupils and those likely to cause problems.
• Consideration for the group’s general safety, by excluding those likely to create a serious problem from the activity, or by specific control methods to be used for such pupils; i.e. 1:1 ratios with staff / helpers.
• Please also consider when making your assessments, as the generic one does not include, the competence, experience and qualifications of all supervisory staff sent by the schools.
• Does anyone on the trip hold First Aid certification?
• How long has the teacher in charge of each class been qualified?
• Has that person previous experience of organising / participating in a school trip?
• But above all... do the pupils understand what you expect of them from the visit? Have they, and how have they been prepared for this experience?
Last update: July 2007
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