The Board of Education “Board” affirms the educational value of well-planned and supervised outdoor classroom activities, curricular, and extra-curricular field trips. The primary purpose of these trips should be to enhance the educational experiences of the participants. These experiences enrich the curriculum and provide opportunities for young people to develop their academic, intellectual, social and physical capabilities. Such trips will supplement the curricular and extra-curricular programs in schools.
Under the Workers Compensation Act, any field trip location is considered the “workplace”. Workplace is defined as “any place where a worker is or is likely to be engaged in any work and includes any vessel, vehicle or mobile equipment used by a worker in work” (Workers Compensation Act Part 2 Division 1 s. 13).
Given that field trip locations are workplaces, the employer, supervisors, and workers must be made aware of all known or reasonably foreseeable health and safety hazards to which they are likely to be exposed. The field trip proposal form identifies potential health and safety hazards for staff and students, and provides assurance to staff and families that all reasonable foreseeable hazards have been assessed and risks have been mitigated.
This policy, district practice, and accompanying forms demonstrates due diligence.
Other proposed changes include:
- Alpine (downhill) skiing and snowboarding are proposed to be offered to students in grade 4 and higher;
- Removing the risk assessment and supervision ratio calculation tool and providing hazard, risks, and risk management mitigation strategies for field trip organizers;
- Changing the definition of backcountry to ensure that the District’s small, rural, and remote communities are not inadvertently impacted by the definition;
- Introducing new appendices in the district practices that outlines common activities and supervision ratios as well as define commonly visited locations as low risk or higher care.
Read the proposed policy
Read the proposed district practice
View the proposed Parent/Guardian Informed Consent for Low Risk Field Trips form
View the proposed Parent/Guardian Informed Consetn for Higher Care Field Trips form
To assist field trip organizers with planning higher care field trips, the District is proposing removing the risk assessment and supervision ratio calculation tool and providing hazard, risks, and risk management mitigation strategies.
View the proposed Skiing/Snowboarding Higher Care Field Trip Proposal form (e.x. Kimberley Alpine Resort)
View the proposed Blue Lake Higher Care Field Trip Proposal form
View the proposed Canoeing/Kayaking Higher Care Field Trip Proposal form
First reading feedback is now closed and feedback received to date will be presented to the Policy Committee. The second reading feedback window will open after the June 13, 2023 Board of Education meeting and will remain open until August 25.
Policy Feedback