Benefits outweigh the risks!
In the vast majority of situations the benefits of taking part in an Outdoor Learning opportunity, be it an adventurous activity or a visit to the local park, far outweigh the associated risks which are managed.
Nothing Ventured... Balancing risks and benefits in the outdoors By Tim Gill puts this into perspective.
Don't let perceived or over stated risk get in the way. Give our children and young people the opportunities they deserve!
Excursion Risk Assessments
These have to be created by HC staff/volunteers leading any off site excursion.
The Worked Example of an Excursion Risk Assessment that we have compiled provides guidance on the 1st page followed by an excursion risk assessment created for a series of trips. Use this as a starting point, use 'File Save As' to save the worked example to your computer and then modify the contents to reflect the situation regarding your trip.
Generic Risk Assessments
Generic Risk Assessments for Adventurous Activities are provided for HC staff and volunteers to refer to; there is no need to copy the contents of these over into your Excursion Risk Assessments.
Generic Risk Assessments for team sports can be found on the Active School Coordinators web page.
General Information re Risk Assessments
Highland Councils Policy on Risk Assessment
Highland Council's Guidance Notes on Risk Assessment