Governors and Management Boards

Overview

Governors and management boards play an important role in enabling high-quality educational visits and outdoor learning. Their responsibility is to ensure that visits are safe, inclusive and well managed while supporting staff to provide valuable learning experiences for pupils.

Governors act as a ‘critical friend’ to school leaders. This means offering support while also providing appropriate challenge to ensure that policies and procedures are effective.

Where a setting does not have a governing body, these responsibilities normally sit with the employer, often through the Head/Manager’s line manager.

Key Responsibilities

Governors and board members help ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place for educational visits and outdoor learning. This includes:

Access to Competent Advice

Employers must ensure that the school has access to appropriate guidance, training and professional advice from a competent Educational Visits Adviser. Training, advice and support is available through EVOLVE Advice.

Effective Safeguarding Arrangements

Confirming that an appropriate number and combination of suitably selected, vetted, trained, competent and informed visit staff are deployed (including volunteers). Ensuring appropriate monitoring of pupil, staff and provider behaviour. Clear lines of reporting and access to the DSL.

Risk Assessment

Ensuring that the school undertakes a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and records the significant findings of this process.

Provider selection

Ensuring that appropriate providers are selected and that the school cooperates with the provider to achieve safety. Monitoring of the provider's continued suitability.

Strategic Role of Governors

Governors and board members are not normally involved in the detailed planning or risk assessment of visits unless they have specific expertise.

Their role is strategic oversight - supporting leaders, asking constructive questions and ensuring that educational visits remain safe, inclusive and educationally valuable for all learners.

FAQs

Links to further reading:

OEAP National Guidance available at https://oeapng.info