Unwelcome advances to students by strangers when overseas
I have been notified recently of a few unwelcome encounters, all of them on ski trips so far, where (mostly) men exiting the bar area of the same hotel where UK schools are staying have sought to engage inappropriately with female students participating on the visit. In some cases, this has correctly led to police involvement locally.

Advice is now to add a section in the school risk assessment for all visits where hotels open to the public are used, recognising this phenomenon, and offering mitigation, such as additional briefings to students, closer supervision when exiting/entering the accommodation at night, sub-groups of 3 only, all such incidents to be reported immediately to school staff etc. Further guidance will be issued in due course.

Surrey Outdoor Learning and Development 2024 Conference
The SOLD 2024 Beyond the Classroom Conference (26th April) is back and is aimed at KS1; 2 Head/Deputy Head Teachers, primary sports coordinators, outdoor learning leads, SEN specialist teachers or any primary school educationalist passionate about getting children into the outdoors. Also suitable for teachers involved with transition from primary to secondary and OAA in KS3. Please click the link below for further details and booking arrangements. For further details and booking information go to https://www.surreyoutdoorlearning.uk/schools-and-youth-groups/primary-schools/beyond-the-classroom-conference

Mobile Phone use during offsite visits
A new National Guidance advice sheet ‘Mobile Phones on Visits’ has been published. This can be downloaded here Contents | (oeapng.info) This compliments new DfE advice on mobile phone use in schools Mobile phones in schools - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Visit Leader responsibilities during visits.
In addition to the generally recognised and accepted principles of sound party management, visit leaders are reminded that supervision and duty of care extends to mealtimes during visits, and planned ‘downtime’ for students either within or outside of accommodation. Feedback from residential providers is that supervision during these times is being somewhat neglected, causing participants to ‘frolic’ unnecessarily and leaving provider staff to enforce policies and rules.

Latest OEAP National Guidance updates
The following documents from OEAP National Guidance have been recently updated or created.
3.2d Approval of Leaders - this guidance has been updated to clarify that in certain circumstances, school visit/activity leaders may not be qualified teachers. Leaders must meet employer requirements.
4.4p Visits and the Environment is a new guidance document on how to minimise the environmental impact of educational visits.

6w FAQs mobile phones on visits (see below for more on mobile phone guidance)

New guidance on information and consent
8.1e Model Parental Information and Consent Form - a new document which can be used as an example for creating consent forms for parents/carers of educational visits participants under the age of 18. It includes sections for collecting health and medical information as well as requiring parents/carers to give consent related to participation in activities, going overseas, medical treatment, photography and more. The OEAP notes that the form should be tailored to your specific school setting and visit. Other relevant National Guidance related to consent is: 4.3d Parental consent and informing parents and 4.4j Participant information and data protection