How to Deliver ‘Dip Monitoring’ of your Trips and Visits

The Outdoor Education Advisers Panel (OEAP) – now also know as AAOLEV (The Association of Advisers for Outdoor Learning and Educational Visits) – note that it is a statutory requirement for employers to monitor the implementation of their health and safety arrangements. In terms of the management of trips and visits, this usually requires an EVC to undertake a programme of 'dip monitoring' to spot check the efficacy of trips. This might include checking that the educational aims of the trip are being achieved, on-site management of a trip is effective, that the staff and other adults are following the risk assessment and/or the provider is delivering the procured services effectively.

Senior leaders are encouraged to think of these as ‘learning walks’ but for trips. Monitoring should always be done in such a way that it is a positive experience for leaders, with constructive feedback to enable them to reflect upon and improve their practice. It can be integrated with appraisal, and, in schools, with observation of teaching and learning – in this case outside the classroom.

Given the already significant workload of any EVC, Handsam suggest a frequency of circa once or twice a term, aiming to achieve 3-6 per academic year. This would be likely be deemed suitable and sufficient and is within the range suggested by OEAP. The types of visits selected for assessment should vary and be chosen based on a risk or concern basis, keeping cost to a minimum.

Records must be kept and the Handsam system evaluation form, which is the last stage of every trip, can be used for this.

Please note that when EVCs are attending a trip as a part of the staffing, it is not appropriate to also use this as an opportunity to monitor. Yes, that is a very good opportunity to learn from the trip, but monitoring should always be delivered by a dispassionate third party to the trip to be credible and effective.

Why Should We ‘Dip Monitor’?

A case brought by the HSE in Sheffield saw the local authority being prosecuted as the employer when an accident occurred on a school trip run by a maintained school. The case failed, based on the evidence given by the authority’s visits advisor that an effective programme of monitoring was in place to meet the legal obligation the employer had to evidence it was discharging. This is very significant evidence that delivering a programme of dip monitoring is an effective part of any organisation’s trips and visits provision.

OEAP / AAOLEV national guidance

To find out more visit the OEAP national guidance page here:

https://oeapng.info/search-results/?download_search=monitoring

And download document ‘3.2b Monitoring’

How Can Handsam Help?

Handsam now include monitoring in our OEAP-accredited training and now include a question on this in our H&S audit:

Does the EVC deliver any sort of monitoring of trips over an academic year? If so, how does this feedback into trip standards?

Handsam can also now offer an external monitoring service which is available at school or trust level. Please contact us for details and pricing via info@handsam.co.uk.

If you would like to book full, 1-day EVC or half-day EVC refresher training CLICK HERE