1. Will the Minister make a statement on safety guidelines for foreign educational trips? (OAQ(5)0020(EDU)

Thank you, Steffan. Up-to-date advice on foreign trips is produced by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This advice is also signposted in all-Wales guidance for education visits, written by the Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel for Wales and the Health and Safety Executive. This advice is accessible from the Welsh Government’s website.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her answer. She will be aware, I’m sure, of the tragic death of Glyn Summers, who died whilst on a college trip to Barcelona in 2011. And whilst everybody here, I’m sure, would agree that we should give pupils and students every opportunity to travel abroad with their schools and colleges, I’m sure we’d all also agree that safety must be paramount. Is the Cabinet Secretary satisfied that current guidelines go far enough, and is she satisfied with current processes for when things go wrong? Will she consider whether or not to turn guidelines into regulation, or even legislation, to ensure that student and pupil safety is guaranteed as best as possible? And will she also consider how we can best deliver full transparency to parents and families, such as that of Glyn’s family, when things go tragically wrong?

Thank you, Steffan. Can I take this opportunity to offer my condolences to Glyn’s family for the tragic loss that they have suffered? I know that they are moved out of a sense of altruism to ensure that regulations are as good as they can be, so that no family should have to go through what they have been through.

I am aware that the First Minister’s office continues to look at some of the issues around the handling of this specific case, and the previous education Minister did ask Estyn to carry out a thematic review into issues around how further education colleges conduct themselves and conduct trips. At that time, Estyn believed that there were no systematic failures, but, obviously, things had gone wrong in this particular case. As I said, at that time, there was a belief that no further action needed to be taken. Predominantly, this is health and safety legislation, which is not devolved. But, if the Member has specific examples of how he feels that current guidance is not as strong as it could be, and it is within the powers of the Welsh Government and the National Assembly to change that, I and my officials would be happy to look at specific proposals that he could bring forward.

In Whitchurch, we’ve got a company called Schools Into Europe, and I’ve been told by the director there that there has been a drop-off in the number of schools undertaking trips abroad, which he does think is partly due to the confusion over travel safety guidance, and schools adopting their own ad hoc rules as to whether it’s safe to travel or not. So, following up to her answer to the previous question, could she ensure that there is more clarification to schools, and to local authorities, that the definitive guidelines are the Foreign Office guidelines, rather than having individual guidelines, which does sometimes make a bit of a mishmash, really, of guidance, and maybe is turning schools off undertaking what we know are very valuable trips?

Thank you, Julie. I’m grateful to both you and Steffan for recognising the importance of school trips and foreign visits as a part of an exciting curriculum that we can offer children and young people in Wales. They are an important part of education. Schools and local authorities that organise school trips should be aware of their duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, to ensure that sensible risk management procedures are in place for planning and organising activities.

But, in view of the concerns raised, I will indeed, Julie, ask my officials to remind schools and local authorities of the need to refer to up-to-date advice on foreign trips from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office when planning trips abroad. And my officials will also draw their attention to the comprehensive all-Wales guidance on educational visits, written by the Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel for Wales and the Health and Safety Executive. That guidance also contains links to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice, but that is the definitive advice.

It’s now a number of years since the Health and Safety Executive produced a statement, stating that school trips have clear benefits for pupils, but misunderstandings may discourage schools and teachers from organising such trips, and they want to make sure that mistaken and unfounded health and safety concerns don’t create obstacles that prevent these from happening. What engagement have you had, or could you have, with the Health and Safety Executive to ensure that the guidance given to local authorities and schools enables them to focus on how the real risks are managed, rather than on the paperwork that can accompany that?

Thank you, Mark. As I’ve said to previous Members, the Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel guidance is a web-based resource that is kept up-to-date constantly with changes in legislation and good practice by a working group of experts in the field. That website also has links to other relevant advice, whether that be from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or from the Health and Safety Executive. Now, as I’ve said earlier, there is much to be gained from allowing students, young people and children to participate in visits, trips, outdoor activities, and, if schools follow the advice that is available to them, they will be doing so knowing it is most up-to-date and is best practice.

Eluned Morgan is not in the Chamber to ask question 2.

Question 2 [OAQ(5)0031(EDU)] not asked.