Ease excursion rules: teachers

Primary school principals say children in State schools are missing out on activities outside the classroom because excursion guidelines are too cumbersome.

WA Primary Principals Association president Stephen Breen said the Education Department had gone too far in attempting to minimise risks and the fear of liability meant teachers were organising fewer excursions.

Many students were being deprived of hands-on experiences because teachers believed it was "too hard to tick all the boxes".

"Teachers are saying, 'If I have to jump so many hoops, I'd rather do it here with a video'," he said.

"That is tragic. We've gone too far one way and we have to come back."

Under the department's policy for off-site activities, the teacher in charge must prepare an excursion management plan and complete a 24-point checklist which then has to be approved by the principal.

The plan must include a risk analysis of the environment, transport arrangements, students' and supervisors' capabilities and the involvement of people from outside the school.

The policy says teachers should assess the suitability of a venue and ensure it has the appropriate level of public liability insurance.

If a venue selected for an overnight stay does not have smoke detectors, the school must provide them. Teachers must ensure that any non-teachers paid to be involved in activities with students have had a national criminal history check and obtained a permit to work with children.

The Education Department said it was reviewing its excursions policy and an updated version was expected by the end of the year.

WA Council of State School Organisations president Rob Fry said common sense should apply.

"We don't want it to get to the point where children are missing out because of it," he said.

Catholic Education Office director Ron Dullard said it had similar policies to the department's. While some schools might have been put off by the excursion rules, he had not heard any complaints for years.

Association of Independent Schools of WA deputy director Ron Gorman said it was increasingly complex to organise excursions, but schools saw them as an important part of a student's development.