Welsh schools £1m accident claims bill - 11/04/2008

Accident claims resulting from school trips are set to cost Welsh councils nearly £1 million in compensation pays outs.

In the past three years councils have paid out more than £154,000 in insurance claims for accident, injury and loss, but their estimates show a potential £994,900 may be added to the bill once all the claims are settled. And that figure could be even higher as some councils say they cannot predict what the final pay-outs might be.

Teaching unions say teachers are increasingly unwilling to arrange school trips because of the risk of claims from pupils. One, NASUWT, has even advised its members not to do school trips. The NUT, however, said they were a vital part of education and it had advised its members to continue to do them as long as all relevant safety checks were made.

Peter Durkin, who is corporate director for resources at Torfaen County Council, said, “Schools have systems in place to protect pupils, staff and visitors which are effective, as is shown by the low number of claims we have received and the success in defending those claims that are made. Schools carry out risk assessments before they take pupils on trips away to identify any hazards and actions to be taken to eliminate or reduce them.”