Excursions and variations of routine procedure

School excursions are a great opportunity for students to practise safe behaviours in real life environments and reinforce the key road safety messages.

They are structured learning experiences that may pose risks. The Excursions and variations of routine procedure provides guidance to schools on managing those risks.

When planning school excursions, it's essential to prioritise road safety to ensure the well-being of students and staff. Here are some key considerations:

1. Pre-Excursion Planning:
   • Conduct a thorough risk assessment of the excursion route and destination. Identify potential hazards, including busy roads, safest route, and pedestrian crossings. (2.1 Manage potential risks from procedure)
   • Consider student needs - accessible transport for students with disability and additional learning and support needs. (2.4 Consider student needs from procedure)
   • Choose transportation appropriate to the distance and comply with relevant regulations. (2.5 Plan activities, venues, transport and accommodation from procedure)
2. Communication:
   • Inform parents and guardians about the transport arrangements and safety measures
   • Provide students with clear instructions on road safety and behaviour while travelling. (2.6 Plan for parent and carer communication and consent from procedure)
3. Supervision:
   • Maintain adequate adult supervision based on the age and number of students. Ensure that there are enough supervisors to manage the group safely, especially crossing roads. Use this time as a teaching opportunity.
   • Establish a buddy system to keep track of students during the excursion.

4. Emergency Procedures:

   • Have a plan in place for emergencies, including contact information for parents and emergency services.
   • Ensure that first aid kits and trained first aid personnel are available during the excursion.
5. Behaviour Expectations:
   • Set clear expectations for student behaviour while travelling, including:
     • the importance of wearing seatbelts
     • following instructions
     • safe pedestrian behaviours.
6. Weather considerations: check the weather forecast and be prepared to adjust plans if necessary, wet or extreme weather can impact on road safety.

7. Post-Excursion Review:

   • After the excursion, conduct a review to identify any issues that arose and discuss improvements for future outings.

Following these guidelines schools can help ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone.

Support resources

Toolkit for domestic excursions (DOC595KB

Excursions risk assessment (DoE - staff only)

Work Health and safety hazard Excursions - domestic factsheet (PDF 129KB DoE - staff only)

Advice about seatbelts for cars and buses:

• vehicles designed to seat 12 or fewer people, including the driver
  • Children must wear the seatbelt provided in the vehicle.
  • Children under 7 years travelling in vehicles must be restrained in suitable and approved child restraints or booster seats that are properly fitted to the vehicle and adjusted to fit the child’s body correctly. More information is available from Transport for NSW
• taxis
  • Children aged between 4 and 7 years of age are not required to be restrained by an approved child restraint or booster seat. Parents and carers can provide a suitable child restraint if they choose to do so.
  • By law, all passengers are required to wear a seatbelt in a taxi.
• buses carrying more than 13 people
  • When hiring buses for excursions, schools should hire buses with seatbelts, if possible, especially for long distance travel. The number of passengers in a vehicle must not exceed the number it is licensed to carry.
  • Children between 4 and 7 years of age are permitted to travel on a bus without using an approved child restraint or booster seat, e.g. public or school buses. However, schools should conduct a risk assessment to determine if this is the safest mode of transport for young children for the distance and location being travelled to/from.
• buses fitted with seatbelts
  • Children between 4 and 7 years of age are permitted to travel on a seatbelt-fitted bus without using an approved child restraint or booster seat.
  • It is the law that a passenger must use a seatbelt on a bus if one is provided.

Transport for NSW's school travel information for Opal cards and group bookings

Sample consent forms for students in private vehicles

These sample forms are for schools to use and localise to meet the needs of their school community

• Student as driver parent consent form (DOCX 41.96 KB)
• Student as passenger parent consent form (DOCX 39.75 KB)
• Parent/staff use of private vehicle consent form (DOCX 70KB)

refer to Variation of routine- Excursions checklists forms and templates

Further information

Legal information bulletin #24 - Cars at work

• directing staff to use their cars

Legal information bulletin #8 – Claims for motor vehicle damage

• Who can use their motor vehicle for department activities
• staff using their own motor vehicles

Advice for Principals to share with school community about safe travel