Outdoor Education
Outdoor Education experiences, especially those away from the school site, inherently involve a higher level of risk. The safety of the venues and of the equipment used for activities is generally outside control of the school. To help you ensure a wonderful, safe experience for students, RESIG has compiled the below resources and information to help you understand the options available to reduce the risk associated with these events, and a potentially higher deductible if a claim does arise.
Good risk mitigation begins with the agreement with the venue hosting the camp. The contract with the venue must be strongly worded to avoid the school accepting too much responsibility as well as to avoid granting any rights to the venue under the school’s coverage.
2025 Contract for Services Agreement
The following table provides a breakdown of events known to RESIG to be available at a handful of popular outdoor education venues. Green activities are those that are low risk and not subject to any additional deductible. Yellow activities are subject to a high-risk deductible but have been pre-screened and have proven risk reduction in place at the venue. Red activities are subject to a high-risk deductible and RESIG recommends against their use. Please note that venues may have made changes since this table’s last updates, and it is best to check with the venue to confirm the safety protocols in place.
Outdoor Education Venue Spreadsheet
Here are ways you can help mitigate some of the risks commonly associated with Outdoor Education
Ropes Courses
- One way to avoid the risk associated with high ropes courses is to choose only low ropes activity elements during trips to these venues. It is the stance of RESIG that community and team building exercises that provide educational content can be accomplished with low ropes activities and challenge courses.
- If a school plans to use a high-ropes course, they should verify that certifications are up to date. For high ropes course equipment to be certified, an inspection must be conducted by a qualified inspector who will determine any safety deficiencies and needed repairs.
Water Activities
- Only allow students to engage in swimming when an appropriate certified lifeguard to student ratio is available.
- Only allow students to swim in public pools, not pools at private residences.
- Confirm the venue will administer swim tests to students to determine which swimmers are allowed in deeper areas of a pool.
- Discuss appropriate behavior around beaches, lakes, and rivers
- When allowing students to utilize human-powered watercraft, make sure all students are equipped with and wearing an appropriately rated life jacket.
Appropriately screen volunteers. Read more HERE
Provide appropriate transportation. Read more HERE