Safety

Round Square International Service Projects operate in some quite remote areas, and challenge students to the edge of their comfort zones. It is the nature of such environments that hazards do present themselves, and these are hazards which are not necessarily encountered in the normal home or school environment.

School ventures are normally very safely run, but as in any area of life accidents can and do happen. The safety of the young people and adults working on a RSIS Project is paramount and we work hard to ensure that risks are limited and that we are doing everything we can to ensure that the possibility of accidents occurring is minimised. It is necessary that all RSIS participants take on the responsibility of creating a positive health and safety culture, ensuring that they and their team are safe at all times.

Round Square adopts the Health and Safety ethos of the Young Explorers’ Trust (UK):

YET encourages all those providing expeditions for young people:

-          to adopt as the primary concern safety measures which embody their duty of care

-          to seek to eliminate the danger of fatalities, disabling injuries, emotional distress and serious illnesses

-          to reduce minor accidents, injuries and illnesses to a level no higher than might be expected in the everyday life of an active and adventurous young person.

SAFETY ETHOS

Round Square is committed to ensuring that all reasonable measures are put into place so that its’ schools, students, parents, in-country hosts and leaders are assured of a high level of safety throughout the Project. This is achieved by:

-          International Service Projects provided by Round Square conform to BS8848  "Specification for the provision of visits, fieldwork, expeditions and adventurous activities, outside the United Kingdom". Independently assessed and declared by the Young Explorers' Trust on the basis of operating procedures and safety management systems evidenced on 2nd March 2010. This declaration is valid until 2nd March 2013, following a further interim review in 2011 and 2012.

-          Writing, maintaining and reviewing (annually) a written Health and Safety Policy and Leader Manual

-          Communicating these policies (and associated documents) to Leadership Teams and other interested parties worldwide

-          Producing detailed Risk Assessments and Incident Management Plans for each RSIS Project Trip. In addition, each partner organisation used in each of our destinations is required to complete paperwork to assess their safety systems and procedures.

-          Running Project Planning and Leader Training Workshops worldwide.

-          Ensuring that teams have access to a 24-hour emergency on-call service based in the UK while they are away on Projects.

-          Ensuring that Project Leaders and Deputy Leaders are selected through a thorough selection procedure to ensure they are best qualified for the job, terrain and student group they will be working with. This takes into account previous experience of Project Leadership, First-Aid qualifications, Criminal Record Background checks and technical skills appropriate to the terrain.

-          Ensuring that the students on each Project embrace the safety policies in place and are an active part of the dynamic risk-assessment process.

-          Reviewing and evaluating the success of each Project (through a series of reports and debriefs) so that any learning points can be applied to future Projects. 

-          Round Square is fully insured (Travel and Medical) through Bluefin Insurance Brokers, London; for Public, Employers and Tour Operators Liability through Campbell Irvine Insurance Brokers, London.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND REVIEW

Policy making, planning, implementation and review of the RS Health and Safety Policy are all overseen by several layers of responsibility within Round Square:

Policy making:

Policies are written by the RSIS Project Co-ordinator, and reviewed by the External Operations Committee and International Executive Co-ordinator. These are ratified where necessary by the Board at the AGM in October or March every year.

Policies are reviewed annually to ensure that post-Project feedback, reports, incidents and near-misses are taken into account.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND REVIEWS

The RSIS Project Co-ordinator engages in industry meetings and forums to ensure that Round Square is kept in touch with the latest policies and guidance in the UK, with any necessary training needs identified and addressed.

Although Round Square is an international organisation, it is registered in the UK and therefore uses the highest level of guidance and best practice available in the UK. Guidance from other countries from around the world is also be taken into account, and the highest level of safety management will be adopted.

Round Square also uses the services of various technical advisors and consultants who work with the RSIS Project Co-ordinator to ensure that best practice procedures are being followed during the Project planning cycle.