DfE clarifies advice on school trips abroad

Are school trips abroad allowed in 2021?

At the end of the summer term 2021, the DfE updated its advice on international educational visits providing clarity to school travel organisers looking to book and take future trips.

The new advice, which was updated on July 19, clarifies that school groups can resume international travel from the autumn term (subject, of course to prevailing travel rules). More importantly, the DfE update finally gives an unequivocal greenlight to schools wishing to book international school trips for the future.

Government guidance on booking school trips abroad – the key points

• Pre-planned school trips abroad can RESUME subject to international travel rules
• The DfE guidance states unequivocally that schools can organise NEW international visits for the future
• Any new bookings must have adequate FINANCIAL PROTECTION and TRAVEL INSURANCE in place
• All trips must be subject to a full and thorough RISK ASSESSMENT which includes the prevailing public health advice

Click here to read the Educational Visits section of the updated DfE's COVID-19 operational guidance for English schools

Note that the guidance for Scottish schools is different and can be found here.

Voyager School Travel’s response to the DfE school trip advice

This clarification is welcome news though, unfortunately, it came too late in the term for teachers who were hoping to secure their 2022 trip before the end of the summer term.

Bearing in mind the long lead times involved in organising a school trip abroad, we commit to do everything we can to help schools organise their next trip in time for when life should return to normal in 2022. This includes extending our Peace of Mind Promise to trips returning before 31 July 2023 and launching ready-made late booking packages which Fast Track the usual planning process to ensure you get a trip in the diary for summer term 2022. .

Extra booking flexibility

We understand that schools are looking for school trip providers who offer additional reassurance and flexibility from their school trip organiser and that’s why we’ve extended our COVID Peace of Mind Promise to bookings made in the autumn term.

Help with enhanced risk assessments

What’s more, to help teachers navigate through the additional paperwork, we’ve created a COVID travel hub that gives all the information required to complete an enhanced risk assessment for their next trip.

The COVID-19 Travel Hub answers all your ‘what if’ questions   

Children have missed out on so much, so we are making it our mission to give schools the information and reassurance they need to restart their educational trips confidently.  

We understand it can be overwhelming to consider all the ‘what if’ scenarios associated with organising a group trip abroad. So our Covid-19 Travel Hub contains everything you need to book with confidence including details of our additional financial protection, insurance cover and safety and wellbeing protocols for school trips.