Educational Trips Policy

This policy is applicable to all pupils in the School, including those in an EYFS setting.

Cheadle Hulme School is committed to incorporating educational trips into its curriculum to enhance pupils’ relevant understanding and experiences. School trips will be used to help to develop a pupil’s investigative skills and longer trips in particular will encourage greater independence and teamwork. Trips will have clear, relevant and achievable educational aims and objectives.  Their inclusion will be subject to them being practicable considering the limits of staffing, cost and time as well as following Public Health and foreign travel advice.  

Each Department will be entitled to one trip out of School per key stage each year.  Longer residential trips will normally be organised to take place during school vacations in order to minimise disruption to teaching in the timetable.

The School will endeavour to ensure that all educational trips are organised so that they are accessible and affordable to all pupils, including those with disabilities. Particular consideration will be given when selecting venues and organising transport. When parents of pupils are informed of a prospective trip/tour, those in receipt of a Bursary will be encouraged to contact the Finance Department in writing, as soon as possible, to ascertain whether they qualify for assistance in meeting some of its cost (subject to the trip costing over £100).

Each trip will be risk assessed for content, suitability and the need for additional mitigations above the norm, with transport, location, activities being standard areas for concern and focus.  Furthermore, staff will dynamically manage risk travelling to and from and during any trips, taking necessary steps to maintain the educational outcomes, safely, or referring back to the supervisor for logical deviations.

The safety of participants is paramount. Each trip will have a designated Trip Leader who must have experience of leading or assisting on previous trips.  Staff will act ‘in loco parentis’ on trips and all participating staff will be conversant with, and follow, the School Trips Procedures at all times, while planning and throughout the duration of any trip. Staff will also have regard to any relevant legislation or guidance.

Staff:student ratios will vary according to the activity, age, duration, group, location and mode of transport and will be finalised as part of the prerequisite risk assessment. All residential trips involving boys and girls will ideally be accompanied by at least one male and one female member of staff.

The trip leader may use a volunteer adult who is not a member of the School staff, only after checking with the Human Resources Department that the necessary safeguarding checks are carried out and completed prior to the trip leaving the School.

Prior to departure, the School will inform parents and pupils about any specific requirements about standards of behaviour for the duration of the trip. This will include any arrangements that parents will be expected to make should any student breach those standards.

The Senior School Trips Procedure will provide specific guidance to assist Trip Leaders in the preparation and running of their trips.

SLT member responsible:

Senior Deputy Head

in collaboration with the Head of the Junior School

Governor sub-committee responsible:

Safeguarding & Pupil Experience Committee

Date of approval

September 2025

Date ratified by Governors

September 2025

Proposed review date:

June 2028

Policy procedures:

School Exchanges & Hosting Procedure

School Trip Procedures for the Senior School

Terms and Conditions for Hosting (Parents and Carers)

Terms and Conditions for School Trips (Parents and Carers)

Other related procedures:

Co-Curricular Policy   

Code of Conduct for Senior School Pupils (inc School Trips)

Critical Incident Management Plan

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy

Staff Recruitment Procedures 

Visitor Management Procedures

Other internal procedures and staff  guidelines can be found on the Staff Site.

To view previous versions of this policy please email us on enquiries@chschool.co.uk