Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC)
Outdoor Education ranges from a simple outdoor lesson in the school grounds to trips outside the school.
There are many worthwhile educational and social reasons for giving students the opportunity to participate in outdoor education.
Because of the range of types of outdoor education, in terms of safety there is a legal requirement of the Board of Trustees to ensure that outdoor education is undertaken in a responsible and safe way.
All groups going out of the school must prepare an Outdoor Education Safety Management Plan well in advance.
Aims of Outdoor Education
- To give students the opportunity to participate in activities that cannot be provided by the school
- To give students the opportunity to interact with each other in an environment outside the school
- To take advantage of the opportunities provided for young people in our community
- To give students the opportunity to practise self management in a different environment.
What is Safety Management?
Safety management is the process by which decisions are made to accept known or assessed risks and to prepare an action plan to minimise the possibilities of harmful events.
Safety management is also concerned with less severe hazards by putting in place warning procedures, safety mechanisms and contingency plans.
All potential venues must be visited prior to a school visit to assess suitability and safety.
Outdoor Education Policy
Papatoetoe Intermediate has an Outdoor Education Policy that is available for parents/caregivers to read if they wish.
Approval for trips
Staff are required to get permission from the Principal/Board of Trustees for all excursions.
Permission must also be obtained from parents/caregivers and any special requirements that the student may have needs to be documented by the staff.
Adult helpers
All outdoor education trips require adult helpers as well as teachers. All adult helpers must be over eighteen.
The ratios of students to adults varies according to the activity.
The role of the adult helpers is to assist with, instruction, supervision, emergency management or any other delegated tasks.
Fund Raising
All classrooms are encouraged to fund raise in order to cover some of the costs of outdoor education and in some cases the total cost can be raised.