David Miliband

Wednesday, October 1, 2003

Taking children out on educational visits was defended by school standards minister David Miliband last week, after Paul Ellis, a geography teacher at Fleetwood High School in Lancashire, was jailed for eight months for manslaughter following the drowning of a ten-year-old schoolboy in his care on a school trip. Mr Miliband said, 'Teachers should not abandon school visits. Safely conducted and properly supervised, they are an important part of any child's education.' He said the Government was committed to supporting 'the professional competence of teachers who supervise educational visits, many of whom do so in their own spare time'. David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, also said that this case should not deter teachers from leading such trips. Guidance on health and safety on school trips has been issued by the Department for Education and Skills on www.teachernet.gov.uk/healthandsafety.