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Health, safety & Risk Assessment

Guidelines for Visitors to the Harbour
Child Protection
Risk Assessment

Chichester Harbour Education has a comprehensive and well maintained Health and Safety Policy relating to all Conservancy activities.

In addition the Education Service has its own policies and procedures for educational activities as well as comprehensive risk assessments and a child protection policy.

Guidelines for visitors are included below and are also available to download (36k).

Guidelines for visitors

We look forward to welcoming you to Chichester Harbour. These notes are intended to help you plan an educational visit that is safe, informative and enjoyable. Please circulate them among any adults accompanying your visit. Our policy is to take groups out of doors regardless of the weather. In extreme conditions schools may cancel trips and will not be charged.

Before the visit:

Please discuss your requirements as fully as possible with Conservancy Education Officers (John Tierney & Jean Lyle). You are welcome to visit Dell Quay Education Centre for a preliminary look round and discussion, or to meet education staff at the location of your field visit. To arrange for visits or discussions contact Dell Quay Education Centre (01243 789173) or email education@conservancy.co.uk

Safety:

Staff from schools or colleges are responsible for the safety and welfare of pupils or students during the field visit. Please ensure that at least one supervisor with appropriate knowledge and experience is designated to take responsibility for first aid and that sufficient first aid kits are carried. Pupils or students should not venture onto soft mud or go into the sea. At Dell Quay Education Centre, care should be taken on the quay itself because of its height above the low tide mark and the tidal water that flows around it. Please let us know your school policy on the taking of photographs.

Supervision:

School or college staff are responsible for the conduct of pupils or students during the field visit and should be with the group at all times. Conservancy education staff are available to assist but are not responsible for the behaviour of pupils or students.
CHC recommends the following ratios of adults (teachers/helpers) to pupils;

• under 5 - 1:5
• up to 8 years old - 1:6
• 8 – 12 years old - 1:10
• 13 years and over - 1:12

Conservancy education staff should not be included in these ratios.

What to bring:

Please ensure that pupils or students bring clothing that is adequate for the weather conditions and activities to be undertaken, especially with regard to footwear, waterproofs, warm clothing or the danger of sunburn. It can feel much colder at East Head and on the Solar Boat than on land. For visitors to the muddy foreshore, Wellington boots are particularly recommended.

Pupils and students

Packed lunch (in a box or wrapped in plastic)
Drink, in plastic screw top bottle or sports bottle
Raincoat or anorak
Stout footwear or Wellington boots
Warm clothing (hats, gloves, jumpers)
Plastic bag for sitting on
Sun hat and sunscreen

Adults

First Aid kit(s)
Hand wipes
Paper / pencils
Clipboards with elastic bands

Facilities:

Dell Quay Education Centre is a fully equipped classroom with seating for up to 40. There are toilets with access for people with disabilities. There is equipment for making hot drinks.

Equipment:

The Dell Quay Education Centre provides a range of field equipment. If this is lost or broken, Chichester Harbour Education regrets that it will be necessary to add the cost of replacement to the final invoice.

Transport:

Drop off and pick up points will be recommended in the programme for the day, as well as parking arrangements. At many venues parking for coaches is not permitted and drivers are asked to take vehicles away for the duration of the visit. Vehicles displaying orange badges may park next to the Centre by prior arrangement with the Education Officer (John Tierney).

Child Protection Policy

The child protection policy, good practice guide and reporting procedure handout can be viewed as pdf files and downloaded from here:

Child Protection Policy PDF (35K)
good practice guide PDF (25K)
reporting procedure handout PDF (22K)

Risk Assessment

Generic risk assessments are carried out for locations and for activities. For example a field trip to Fishbourne for stream dipping might be covered by a risk assessment for the Fishbourne site plus a specific assessment for the stream dipping activity. There is an on-going programme of risk assessment, as well as the less formal, on the day assessments for individual trips or activities. Below is the current list of assessments that may be read or downloaded as pdf files, along with the Assessment of Risk Chart that explains the evaluation criteria. New risk assessments will be added when available.