Schools must notify the LEA in advance about "extended day trips", defined as 30 miles or more radius, and seek approval well in advance for residential or overseas trips. See the full guidance manual for more details. There is room for doubt about the authorisation required for events organised by other schools or third parties, such as the Berkshire Young Musicians Trust. To resolve this uncertainty, the following rules should be used:
- Firstly, the need to notify (or seek approval) for any off-site activity involving pupils always rests with the school, with the exception described under 'Joint submission' below. All schools involved in a visit must obtain authorisation via their EVC and Headteacher, based on risk assessment, since each school remains responsible for the participation of their own staff and pupils, even where they form a minority of the participants or the event is organised by an external body.
- Joint submission is appropriate if a lead school for the visit is identified, ie it is wholly organised and managed as one visit, rather than visiting a common venue or sharing transport, accommodation, etc. The key test is: does a single party leader have full authority over all adults and pupils (with the emphasis on 'full'), for the duration of the visit? For such joint visits, emergency out-of-hours contacts for each school involved should still be identified.
- The off-site regulations apply to all off-site activities involving pupils organised with the involvement of the school, with the exception of work experience placements, which are approved via the school's work experience provider
