Safety

British Standard 8848:2014 Compliant

All school trips and expeditions provided by The School Travel Consultancy conform to British Standard 8848:2014, declared by The Young Explorers’ Trust (YET) on the basis of the operating procedures and safety management systems evidenced on 18th March 2024 and a sample of ventures examined to the year-end 2023. YET act as an external ‘other party’ to audit our operational processes. See www.theyet.org and www.bsigroup.com for more information.

FCDO Advice

All tours and expeditions are run within The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice. FCDO advice is monitored daily and tour operators have the resources to react quickly should that advice change. We are members of the FCDO Travel Aware Campaign. For the latest travel advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office check: www.gov.uk/travelaware and follow @FCDOtravelGovUK on Twitter.

Planning

Each of our educational journeys and school expeditions have been thoroughly researched and planned with school groups in mind, taking into account the ages of the participants, the likely inexperience of many of the students and the goals of the lead teacher. Our standard portfolio of trips and expeditions can be tailor-made to each school’s requirement, ensuring the adventure meets expectations and the needs of each group.

Throughout the build up to your trip, we offer comprehensive support and detailed supporting documentation, including leadership team handbooks for the teachers.

Preparation

Proper preparation is a vital part of the safety management process.

Through pre-travel training sessions and guidance documents, students and staff are given the necessary training and skills to safely undertake each journey. We cover important topics such as attitude to safety, health and hygiene, personal safety, money management, kit, trip specific hazards and much more.

Our aim is not only to keep students and staff safe on our trip, but also give them the skills and knowledge to enable them to go on to a lifetime of safe adventures.

Safety Management System

Our Safety Management System (SMS) lays out our method of approach to maintaining the safety of our clients and staff. If you would like to receive a copy, please get in touch.

This SMS covers areas such as implementation and management, monitoring, trip selection, planning and preparation, transport, accommodation, activities and excursions, threat assessments, incident management and response, leader selection, communications, child protection policies and the school and teachers' responsibilities.

We contract with the school through a dedicated service contract, and with the students/parents through our booking terms and conditions (available on request).

Financial Protection

All the flight inclusive tours and expeditions are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. Our ATOL licence number is 11054. 

When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotels and other services) is listed on it.

Please see our booking conditions for further information or for more information about financial protection and the CAA website for more details on the ATOL Certificate: https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/About-ATOL/

Leaders

Each trip is accompanied by a full time professional leader, comprehensively trained in first aid, critical incident management and the complex art of managing logistics. We take great pride in selecting and training only the best in-country leaders and they are always something that our clients comment positively on.

Everyone likes to brag about something and, well, we brag about our leaders!

This is why:

9.74 out 10: The average rating for our expeditions leaders from students across all of our expeditions.

95% of teachers and students state our ‘Local Leader’ was important to the overall expedition experience.

100% of students rated them as enthusiastic!

Put simply, our leaders are experts in their own countries and they bring an enthusiasm and energy to our adventures that a UK Mountain Leader simply can’t match. Our leaders know the culture, the local languages, the politics, the geography, the trek routes, the evacuation routes, the flora, the fauna. They are the superstars of our trips, and we know you couldn't be in better hands.

Risk Assessment

Country and itinerary specific risk assessments are provided prior to departure. In addition, your leader has the training to dynamically risk assess your journey when on the road. Group management risk assessments are provided to assist you as group leader.

Crisis Response

24 hour emergency back-up and critical incident support is on hand in the unlikely event of an incident whilst overseas.This is made up of our team in the UK, travel insurance providers, our in-country operations team and additional support agencies where necessary.

Communication

Each group carries satellite, radio and/or mobile communications as your itinerary and terrain demands, ensuring communication is possible in all situations.

Accommodation and Transport

All accommodation and transport are risk assessed and checked by local operations teams. Minimum requirements for vehicle standards and driver hours are strictly enforced.

Insurance

Comprehensive public liability insurance up to £10,000,000 is in place. Travel Insurance is an important part of any booking. We recommend everyone who travels with us has taken out adequate travel insurance which includes cover for the full value of your expedition with us. Indeed this is compulsory for all those travelling. Please contact us if you would like to know more or see a copy of our policy. In the past we always included a group travel policy in the cost of your expedition. Recently more and more schools have asked if they can use their own policies, the RPA for example. Of course we can give you a price with insurance and without. Or alternatively you can gain you own quote and pay the insurance company direct. Please ensure the insurance policy covers all of the activities included in your itinerary and the pre-existing medical conditions of the group.

If you would like to obtain cover for your expedition, please feel free to contact specialist Insurance Brokers, Campbell Irvine Direct for a quote.

To arrange cover or to obtain a quotation, please contact Campbell Irvine Direct.

Tel: 01702 427 236

Email: info@campbellirvine.com

Please Note: Full details of the cover provided are shown on your Policy Document. You will be asked to read it carefully to ensure you are happy the cover provided which is offered on a Non-Advised basis from a single insurer.

A copy of the policy document is available upon request. The policy contains a 21 day Cooling Off Period and details of how to make a claim and who to contact in the event of a medical emergency.

The policy includes certain terms conditions, exclusions and excesses. In particular cover is excluded for any defined pre-existing medical condition from which you or any person upon whom travel depends are suffering. If in doubt, please contact the insurers medical help line on 01702 242 7237 or online at www.policyscreening.com/cidirect as additional cover may be purchased directly from the insurer’s medical screening help line for certain pre-exiting medical conditions.

STC Expeditions is an Unregulated Introducer of Campbell Irvine Ltd. who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This can be checked on the FCA's register by visiting the FCA's website at www.fca.org.uk or by contacting them on 0800 111 6787.

Pre-Travel Screening

We rely on the skills and experience of James Moore and his team at Travel Health Consultancy to medically screen all travellers' application forms. This ensures everyone is fit and healthy to undertake their chosen journey.