Risk assessment information for your school trip

Our safety management system

Voyager School Travel is an Assured Member of the School Travel Forum (STF) and has been awarded the prestigious Learning outside the Classroom Quality Badge (LOtC). This means that you can book your trip with confidence and reduce the amount of risk assessment paperwork you need to complete.

As a School Travel Forum member and holder of the LOtC Quality Badge you can be secure in the knowledge that we:

• Understand and facilitate the needs of educational travel
• Have effective Safety Management Systems in place, specifically focused on travelling with young students
• Offer fair terms and condition and the best financial security

A summary of our health, safety and safeguarding standards are contained in the Safety Management System (below). The information contained in the Safety Management System will be useful to you when you are writing a school trip risk assessment for your specific group. 

Our safety training, systems and procedures detailed in the Safety Management System are audited by independent experts every year so you can be sure that we maintain the highest standards. 

Download our safety certificates

Voyager School Travel holds the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality Badge which demonstrates that our quality and safety systems have been externally accredited.

The Outdoor Education Advisors Panel (OEAP) national guidance states 'when the provider holds the LOtC Quality Badge there is normally no need to seek further assurances from the provider about the safety of provision'. 

Voyager School Travel has also been awarded the Adventure mark, a non-statutory safety scheme devised by the Adventure Activity Industry Advisory Committee (AAIAC) for providers of adventurous activities whose safety management and related delivery systems have been inspected and found to comply with standards of good practice in the adventure activity industry.

Click on the certificates of compliance below.

School trip activity risk assessment samples

For all adventure activities run by Voyager School Travel staff, we provide schools with the relevant risk assessments, operating procedures and safeguarding policies that you will need to write your own group's risk assessment. Voyager School Travel adventure staff require two references, an enhanced DBS check and First Aid certification and our lead instructors hold an appropriate National Governing Body qualification.

For all other programmes, we provide generic risk assessments, supplemented with specific information about a destination, such as disabled access. We take all reasonable steps to obtain evidence from excursion providers that their service is suitable for school groups and that they have properly evaluated the health and safety aspects of the activity.  We will provide this information to the trip organiser so that they can make informed decisions about the suitability of the activity for their specific group.We also offer financial support for school trip leaders to take inspection visits and undertake their own risk assessments (see Inspection Visits section below).

Our safeguarding policy

We believe that a child or young person should never experience abuse of any kind and be safeguarded appropriately. We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people to help keep them safe. We are committed to practise in a way that protects them. All staff members, leaders and coach drivers that come into contact with children undergo a DBS and/or Police check under the Safeguarding Vulnerable groups Act 2006.

ABTA & ATOL bonding

Voyager School Travel is a full member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and is licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority under the Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL). 

All monies paid to Voyager School Travel are protected by either ABTA or ATOL. ABTA provides protection for school trips by rail, ferry or coach (backed by finance protrection with ABTOT) while ATOL provides protection for school trips which include a flight. More about the difference between ABTA and ATOL and what financial protection they provide.

You can check our ABTA certification by entering our company name or ABTA number Y0554 (Y ZERO FIVE FIVE FOUR) on the ABTA website: https://www.abta.com/abta-member-search

You can check our ABTOT certification by entering our ABTOT number 5483 on the ABTOT website: https://www.abtot.com/abtot-members-directory/

You can check our ATOL accreditation by entering our company name or ATOL number 9817 on the CAA website: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/check-an-atol/ 

Insurance documents

Unless specified otherwise, all our school trips include comprehensive travel insurance. Find the full policy below and read a summary of the ways you're covered on our school travel insurance page.

All sports and activity programmes have an appropriate operating licence, conform to Voyager School Travel’s Code of Practice and have suitable levels of Public Liability Insurance.

Transport arrangements for your school trip

Wherever possible, school groups will travel with our own coach company, Pegasus Coaches. By operating our own coach company we can guarantee a high standard of quality and care for our school groups. We provide a generic risk assessment for school groups travelling on our coaches which can be accessed below. 

All coaches contracted by Voyager, comply with all relevant UK and European legislation, including those laws concerning seatbelts on coaches and drivers hours. Coach operators used more than 5 times in a year will have an ‘in situ’ audit once every 3 years. Tour itineraries are agreed with the coach company to ensure the requirements of EU Drivers’ Hours legislation is adhered to. 

All air, rail and sea transportation complies with regulations set down by the appropriate Maritime and Coastguard agency, Civil Aviation Authority or equivalent regulatory body.

School group accommodation

Wherever possible your group will be staying at one of our residential school trip centres, or at a partner centre, where we can maintain the highest standard of accommodation and care for your group.

In the case that your group is not staying at one of our residential centres, a qualified member of the Voyager School Travel leadership team will have selected and audited your accommodation to ensure it conforms to all local and European legislation, as well as meeting Voyager School Travel’s published Health & Safety requirements.

Inspection visits for teachers

We understand that you may want to scope out your school trip for yourself before taking your students, so we welcome teachers to visit our own centres in France, Spain and Germany in order for any pre-planning and risk assessments to be completed. We can assist with the planning and costs for visits to other destinations too. Get in touch today to enquire about inspection visits for your chosen school trip.

Modern slavery statement

We are committed to make sure that modern slavery, human trafficking, forced labour or similar human rights abuses are not taking place within our business and will not knowingly support or deal any business that engages in such practices.

We require our third party agents to be alert to the risks that modern slavery presents and to confirm that they share our commitment to ensure that modern slavery is not taking place anywhere within their organisation or supply chain.