Duty of Care guidelines
The NYSF Duty of Care Guidelines (November 2005) are based upon the ACT Department of Education and Training policy relating to school excursions which include overnight accommodation (www.det.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/17635/ExcursionPolicy.pdf).
Duty of Care Guidelines in relation to the Forum
- Parents or guardians will be informed of the nature and activities of the Forum, and must give written informed consent for their student’s attendance. They must also provide parent/guardian details, Medicare number, and current medical requirements and/or other needs of their student.
- Students will be informed of the supervisory, procedural and travel arrangements necessary for the safety and comfort of Forum participants, and must give written informed acceptance of those arrangements.
- The consent, information and acceptance forms described above must be provided before the student is accepted for the Forum. They will be kept on administration file and will be available to supervisors only if needed.
- Students will be informed on the day they arrive of fire precautions and emergency procedures applicable to their accommodation.
- All Forum activities are overseen by supervisors, including at various times the NYSF Director, NYSF Student Staff, and members of Rotary. Student Staff include Senior (age 18 or over) and Junior Staff (mostly age 18 or over, some 17), all of whom are specially trained for the role. These supervisors will be familiar with and will adhere to the requirements of these Guidelines. No alcohol will be consumed by supervisors while in that role.
- The supervisors will take all reasonable measures to ensure the safety of students under their care, as their legal duty of care requires. They will be aware of emergency procedures and will hold details of emergency contacts.
- Activities usually involve mixed gender groups, and both genders will then be represented amongst the supervisors whenever possible.
- The minimum supervision level will be 1 supervisor per 20 students, or 2 supervisors whenever possible where mixed gender groups are involved. When all students are together, there will be at least 8 Student Staff supervisors present.
- Accommodation for students is a residential block at the university. Students have separate lockable rooms, for which they only have the key. The resident Rotary father (see below) holds an emergency master key. Girls and boys are in adjacent rooms but have separate facilities. At least 8 Student Staff supervisors will be in residence in the same building. Each night members of Rotary will check that lights are out at the designated time and that all external doors are locked.
- During the Forum a Rotary mother and father will be in residence near the students at the university, to provide parental assistance. They will administer minor first aid (eg., bandaids, Panadol, etc.) only. If medical attention is needed, the student will be accompanied to hospital, or an ambulance or doctor will be called. In the event of an accident while visiting another institution, the group supervisor will liase with authorities in that institution to determine the appropriate action (eg., qualified first aid treatment at the institution, transport to a medical facility, or calling for a doctor or ambulance). All incidents, minor or otherwise, will be documented. Parents or guardians will be advised as soon as practicable of action taken in any emergency.
- Local Rotary parents host students in groups of two or more for a rest day at their homes during the Forum. It is the responsibility of individual students to inform their hosts of any relevant medical requirements. A list of students with the address and telephone number of the host Rotary parents will be kept on administration file. All students and host Rotary parents will be provided with the address and telephone number at which a Forum supervisor can be contacted in the event of any problem.
National Youth Science Forum