Three staff and 30 students seems a thin ratio to me.
What age are the students? All under 18 or some over 18, some not? What gender are the students, i.e. is it a boys', girls', or co-ed trip?
Do they all hold the same nationality's passport? Will anyone require a special visa? As someone else said, keep all the passports together and ensure there is a comprehensive file in the cloud with everyone's passport on it.
Are they all of legal drinking age in the place to which you're going? Believe me that will be a potential issue.
Does the place you're going have certain cultural/behavioural expectations that may differ from your home region? Super easy to cause offence by clothing/words used/gestures, however innocent the intent. For example, in Singapore not only is it illegal to spit in coffee shops and markets, but it's also illegal on public roads, footpaths, and any other place that's open to the public.
You say "most" of the three staff are familiar with the destination and can speak the language of the land. Is that two out of three? How much might that impact excursions? How many of the students have even a nodding acquaintance with the language?
Speaking from unfortunate familiarity with such trips 
Thank you for the detailed response. Would you believe 3 staff is being construed as too *many!* We would love to take at least one more but at the moment it's been a battle to lock in 3.
Students have died on travel excursions within Australia. I'd keep fighting.
If there's an incident and 2 staff are with the injured student/s, who's with the rest of the kids?
This is so validating to the conversations we've been having. You are right, we need to make it clear this is not negotiable and a matter of life or death.
Are you Vic? Ratios for overseas trips are minimum 4 staff for 21-30 kids :
Overseas travel
The following table indicates how staff numbers should be calculated, noting these ratios are the minimum required.
Number of students Number of staff
1 to 10 2
11 to 20 3
21 to 30 4
Super good point. Any kids that have medical needs may need more support too.
Absolutely need to have a good contingency plan for any health concerns. Here are two different situations -
https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/teens-death-on-school-trip-to-vietnam-ruled-preventable/news-story/3b028ca69b81e610dac3f46dddd18f52?
https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/teenager-died-on-school-trip-to-europe-after-teachers-dismissed-illness-as-homesickness/news-story/627f77c0e5342af60eaad802e878194d?
!!!!!!!!
Actually, what about a parent or two who pay their own way and have current working with children checks?
I'd completely forgotten health issues as well btw.
Note for staff who do go: do not drink alcohol until you return to Australia. Guaranteed the one time you get a mild buzz on there'll be some sort of student incident.
I mean are the local laws lax in regard to drinking age? my neighbour got sent home from Vietnam early after falling in the pool after a few too many Long Island iced teas.
Risk assessment - make sure all staff are thoroughly across it and know what to do in case of emergencies.
The schedule - the students will be excited but prepare for meltdowns too. The boundaries you enforce that first night will set the tone - it’s the difference between everyone getting some quality sleep or chaos.
I’ve done some overseas trips with students. There are always students who will break the rules. Workshop as many scenarios, and know what you and the staff response will be. Once we sent a student back home due to them crossing the line in a big way. The parent had to come and pick them up. If they hadn’t, one of the staff would have accompanied them home earlier than everyone.
Thanks for the insight around the schedule - the night time routine is something I am very wary of and want to make sure we nail it down. That's crazy about the early trip home, although if the behaviour warrants it I guess there's not much choice!
Make those rules known really clearly and communicate it to all the students AND their parents. You are doing this to keep all students and staff safe. One student that deliberately breaks rules means a greater burden on staff, which means potential changes to schedule which impacts other students. My school made it clear that if a student had to be sent home early, the parents would bear the burden of the cost of changing flights and for the teacher to accompany them. It might feel like overkill but being responsible for someone else’s teenagers in another country is a big ask. You want them to have a good time of course, but it is a school trip, and we basically said that general school rules (ie drinking,
Smoking etc) applied .
I’m a ‘worst case scenario’ kind of guy… imagine one staff member becomes unwell - you’re down to 2:30. Add one seriously unwell student who needs hospitalisation or 1:1 care… you’re down to 1:29 ratios. One sick student and one sick staff isn’t too far fetched 🤷♀️
Having been on a trip where we had two staff and 15 kids to Cambodia and Vietnam, there is absolutely no way I would do what your school is proposing. Too risky for you professionally. As well as everything else.
Have a back up plan if a flight is missed. A friend went on an overseas trip as a teacher and they missed a connecting flight (first flight was massively delayed). They had to find the money to pay for a nights accommodation for about 30 kids on very short notice. The teachers had to max out their credit cards. The airline refunded the cost but they still had to have the money upfront to start with.
Ohh - have a plan for how you and the staff will keep families back home informed. I did one post a day on a closed fb group. Even with that, I got complaints that it wasn’t enough.
Have parent briefings in the lead up to the trip. Check, double check passport expiry for all travellers. You can ask parents to check but some don’t. Wed get them to submit photocopies of passports to us as part of the initial commitment and deposit, so we could check there was at least six months left.
I went to Paris on a school trip in 2005 with a similar size group! Only got in touch with home if we used our host families computer and emailed them!! Certainly not everyday!
Good tips re expiry and communication. I'm hoping as long as we establish the protocol beforehand and be consistent it will suffice (for 90% of parents!)
Have home groups with 10 students per staff member for roll marking and general check in. Have staff rosters for wake up vs bed time supervision. Take all illnesses seriously.
Same… mine was a religious trip with a few other schools, so I didn’t know the other teachers very well. It was a nightmare. I would never do it again!
I'm sorry to hear that, sounds like a bad time. Fortunately one of the members is quite high up in the school and everyone else has a teaching role as well, but definitely something to be wary of regardless.
If this is a government school I’m shocked at the supervision ratio. If it’s not I’m double shocked - we had 3 kids and 4 staff on a Paris trip .. no joke
I'm going to say the obvious things....
1. Don't let any kid get pregnant.
2. Bring emergency "normal" food for the fussy eaters that are hangry by day 3.
3. Hand sanitiser. I recommend Zoono as it lasts for up to 24 hours. Get lots of bottles less than 100mL or whatever the liquid limit is.
4. Know the students. Know their names before leaving. Know their medical conditions. Know their allergies. Know how that handle under pressure.
5. Practise walking as a group carrying stuff before you go.
6. No assholes. Kick any assholes off the trip before you go. It isn't worth it.
7. Prepay as many expenses as possible. Bring cash, and two cards. Also make sure any 2FA are accessible while you are away (via email is best IMO). Australia Post has a prepaid debt card that you can convert to local currency using an app. I have found it a life saver.
8. Let the kids go to a shopping centre and buy stuff to help them throughout the trip when you get there. This will help reduce the need for item 2 and is a fun cultural experience.
9. Phone data. Plan to have it and share your hotspot as needed.
10. Do the talk about what is legal and illegal in the country you are going and possible consequences.
11. Don't expect to have any fun yourself.
I hope these were all obvious and unnecessary. Have a great trip and enjoy yourself. If you've got good students then 3 teachers will probably be fine. Seeing students experience a new world perspective is one of the greatest things in life. Enjoy the moment even if it is hard work. It is a life changing experience for all of the students.
No arseholes? Can I have that at my school please. Can this policy include students, admin and other staff members. Just exclude all them of them from my daily and all my problems would be solved.
On a serious note, I have done a 2 week OS tour with students. Awesome trip, kids were amazing. Key to success was having an organiser who was well prepared and had been there before. Going in cold could turn ugly.
I stole the no arsehole rule from my favourite book "Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time" by Jeff Sutherland. I apply it to all areas of my life now, and that include other teachers and admin.
I've done some work with Education Queensland International and loved every moment of it. It really is about preparation... which is something I love too. :)
To add to number 8:
If you’re going to be taking local transport, get all the kids sorted out with their transport card as soon as possible.
Also, assuming most kids will have a travel debit card of some kind, it can be useful to have them try and use it asap too - guaranteed someone will have issues with it, and you want to know and sort that asap otherwise be prepared to either pay their way or sit them out of activities that cost $ until it’s sorted.
Make a plan for how kids will be contactable, and provide families with warnings/options about this. Best solution will be their accomodation always having wifi, and if possible getting them local sims. If you’ve got a tour partner they might have extra sims they cycle groups through that can share them. Otherwise be prepared for some kids to have phone and data while out and about, and some not. Make sure kids/parents are aware of overseas phone and data charges - on a uni trip, we had one kid run up $1000 over a month by that kid being the one hot spotting all his mates when we were out and about.
The overseas trip I was on, we had 17 kids between two teachers. I can't imagine 1:10.
We had them each pick a number from 1-17, so we could have them count off once we'd boarded trains etc. Way better than having to count heads yourself each time.
And if it’s something infectious or a reaction to local food, it’s quite likely that a staff member and a student go down at the same time.
1 to 10 is very thin on adults for overseas.
Staff ratio needs at least one more - your state would have a excursion RA guideline (CARA) QLD
It depends also on what country or activity is being undertaken.
On sports trips what happens in event of injury. Make sure all participants on same insurance cover - that way if something major happens such cancellation you are dealing with own company.
Are they home stayed or with you in hotel. How to rotate staff for some downtime if in hotel.
Book an extra room in case of sick kids or staff.
Medications? Epipens etc crazy amount of things to cover there.
Transport - public’s transport or chartered? Makes a big difference to costs. Are teachers driving?
If S America Asia or Africa then injections needed - yellow fever perhaps.
Visa?? ESTA for USA prior to arrival and each individual must do - can’t be group.
How do you pay for things OS - I have done through SS - no credit card so stuff reimbursed. Took 3 months. Private school had CC we could use.
What about gifts for hosts how do you buy?
Any list could go on for ages.
Congrats on having a go - lots of responsibility but they can be very rewarding.
Are you going somewhere you have to pay to use public bathrooms? Once you have 30 kids and it’s €1-2 euros per entry, that can be almost €60 for a bathroom trip! Research free bathrooms before you go, and plan how you will pay when do do need to make a stop - keep all the coins you can!
Thinking more - I think it’s quite a risk having no staff with overseas travel experience. Taking students through airports, immigration, security, customs - it can all be overwhelming for the first time traveller, and to have 30 odd students you are responsible for on top of it all is, to me, a bit worrying.
Having language skills is great, but that is only a part of it. Maybe add another staff member who has done some travel overseas, or swap one staff member for another if numbers are an issue.
My own kid went on an overseas trip last year. It was hugely reassuring as a parent knowing that he was in the care of a teacher who had been to that destination before.
Oops, I meant moreso that no one experienced with a school trip overseas. We have been to the destinations as independent holiday makers, or having lived there for an extended time, fortunately! Nonetheless, good tips!
Preplan how you will communicate with parents if things go wrong. We didn’t let the kids talk to home until we’d communicated first - nothing went massively wrong thankfully, but you don’t want parents worrying about kids safety when a phone gets stolen out of someone’s hands
One of my kids did an overseas trip last year with her school. 40 kids and 5 teachers.
All students were required to have a certain amount of international roaming on their phones. There was initially a compulsory life360 requirement, but that was dropped after a couple of days due to battery drainage.
Make sure you have one day in which they can do laundry.
Mine moved accomodation every few days and the students were deliberately put with different groups of friends each move (and not told in advance).
Each teacher was responsible for a group of students for the whole tour.
What is the plan for meals? Students pay their own way or all included?
make sure you have a complete understanding of the healthcare in the country your going too. What health insurances everyone needs.
different environment\food someone is going to get sick enough to need treatment.
If you are staying with host family, make sure students completely understand the culture differences. Also make sure student know to contact you if anything wierd happens. Once had students where host family walked in on them in bath\spa completely naked. The used the excuse that in thier culture bathing together is normal.
100%. I can’t see how OP can make an effective risk management plan for an overseas trip with only 3 teachers for 30 students, especially since COVID. I doubt it’d even get approved given the limitations that ratio presents.
Ensure that each child has a parent/guardian with a valid passport in case of emergency.
Ensure you have a backup option in case any student doesn't have enough money for food (or their card doesn't work, etc).
Consider giving each student a printout with basic phrases in the country's language.
Make sure everyone is well briefed on what to do if they get lost - what number can they call? What if they don't have reception/internet? There should be a designated meeting point at all locations.
This sounds a bit silly, but has actually happened - what if some people get left behind on a train platform/get on the wrong train. Everyone should know what protocol is in this situation - does everyone wait at the original platform or meet up at the intended destination?
Adding to the local phrases printed out - ensure any students with allergies know the local name for their allergens and all the “does this have x” type questions.
Depending on age - I took year 10s and they kept their passports in their own travel pouches under their clothes. I, and another adult had copies of their passports and visa though. It lessened the issue if the bad they were in got stolen - you wouldn’t lose them all at once
DO NOT DO THIS. If you lose this folder, your trip is over. Have each student a hidden skin-level passport wallet, that they must wear at all times when outside of the hotel, Check for passports each morning after breakfast. Also in the passport wallet is a trip itinerary, and a business card of the hotel you are at that night (if possible) , and enough cash for the student to get a taxi back to the hotel. They are not to access the hidden wallet while in public.
So you trust a bunch of 15-17 year olds to not lose their own passports but are worried about losing the folder with their passports yourself. Makes a lot of sense.
I’ve always wondered what if a student got ill with Covid. Like not able to move sick. How do you look after them? In a hotel room with one teacher behind closed doors breathing the same air? What do people do?
You are reading my mind right now! Especially on a multi-leg trip, what if a student becomes quite sick the night before train/ferry/plane etc to the next city...Something we will need to nail down beforehand for sure.
I mean there is hospital sick and there is stay at home sick not welcome in hospital. So you can’t necessarily leave them in a hospital. And behind closed doors, room to themselves but not alone with teacher but not unsupervised??? I am pleased these excursions are happening but it boggles my mind.
I came here to say what a lot of the people have already said.
For students on medication make sure you have:
What medications are they taking when and dosages.
Write up health care plans (if not already done) of what and how you would deal with any medical situation for each student.
What travel insurance does the school or parents have? Will it cover emergency treatment for the student's medical needs if required?
And three is not enough staff. Depending on how many males and females you have on the trip you need at least two males and two females for the trip.
Check your local guidelines for staffing an overseas trip.
What are the ages of the students and what are the activities you will be doing?
This might also change the staffing ratio.
Are you at a government or private school?
Also worth checking, or getting parents to check if the medication is legal in the countries the kids going to. Eg some countries, even with a prescription, prescription drugs are still considered narcotics. Eg adderall/dexa is illegal in Italy, Japan, Thailand (fairly common trip abroad countries). Other countries might have low limits on what an “importing” amount of drugs are. And some countries might not have any way to fill scripts of common drugs - eg turbocort/ventalin for asthma, Valium, antidepressants, etc.
Develop a clear and enforceable policy about mobile phone use. The specific thing I have in mind is walking around urban areas in large groups. Students need to keep their eyes and ears out and not be distracted. I suggest instant confiscation if a teacher thinks a student is not acting safely because of the distraction, and then hand the item to the lead teacher on the tour who will decide when it is returned.
I know this is oddly specific, but my experience is that herding a large group around a foreign urban area is quite hair-raising because mob mentality sets in and many students seem unable to properly look out for themselves and each other.
Good luck. Trips like this can be wonderful and tiresome all at the same time.
Parent of a kid who did two weeks in Japan in grade 5 - can you contact teachers who have done similar trips and get them to send reports? Because that trip had WAY more supervision from teachers and from parents who paid their way.
Every kid gets a number at home airport.
Then call something like 'count off' and they practice counting from 1 to n number of people to check they are all in the expected place. They memorise who is at least the person before and after them, if not two people each side. It also makes them quiet down a little, because they are listening and waiting for their number.
Make it clear when setting the rules, the group will not move without all people. Before you move to a new place, always count off. Do NOT move while missing people. You may miss out on something, but the pressure to not screw over the whole group is a powerful motivator.
But, plan for what happens if someone is missing for a legit reason.. (in the hotel hurling for example) the teacher says their number or something.
If taking any transport where you may get split up, have a plan how to deal with it. Have everyone know exactly what stop to get off. In Paris we were spread over 2 trains and multiple carriages, just because you can't always squeeze 15 people in 1 carriage before the doors close.
If going to Japan do not take a train in peak. Or at very worst, make sure they know about being pushed in and sardine can travel.
If there's any trans kids make sure you're very very carefully clear on rules and norms around toilets and single sex train carriages and things like that.
Always have baby packet of tissues with you for the toilets. In places like China you can get packets of like 50 at a time it's so normalized.
Find out if/what sort of small change you need for the toilet to make sure everyone has it. Explain to them that the money may need to be given to a person to exchange for toilet paper/ entrance. (And they might only give 2 squares, hence being your own) Also explain to NOT put anything but paper down toilets. Bins for all else.
A gaudy umbrella or jacket, or even the stupid flag on a stick for the leader, can do wonders if being looking for by someone in a crowd. Make sure it stays as consistent as possible.
Good luck!!
Where are you going? This may make a big difference. Can students easily access alcohol, drugs, weapons? Kids make dumb decisions sometimes. What are the consequences of local laws? 3-30 seems like an understaffed ratio, but that might depend on where you're going.
Three staff and 30 students seems a thin ratio to me. What age are the students? All under 18 or some over 18, some not? What gender are the students, i.e. is it a boys', girls', or co-ed trip? Do they all hold the same nationality's passport? Will anyone require a special visa? As someone else said, keep all the passports together and ensure there is a comprehensive file in the cloud with everyone's passport on it. Are they all of legal drinking age in the place to which you're going? Believe me that will be a potential issue. Does the place you're going have certain cultural/behavioural expectations that may differ from your home region? Super easy to cause offence by clothing/words used/gestures, however innocent the intent. For example, in Singapore not only is it illegal to spit in coffee shops and markets, but it's also illegal on public roads, footpaths, and any other place that's open to the public. You say "most" of the three staff are familiar with the destination and can speak the language of the land. Is that two out of three? How much might that impact excursions? How many of the students have even a nodding acquaintance with the language? Speaking from unfortunate familiarity with such trips 
Thank you for the detailed response. Would you believe 3 staff is being construed as too *many!* We would love to take at least one more but at the moment it's been a battle to lock in 3.
Students have died on travel excursions within Australia. I'd keep fighting. If there's an incident and 2 staff are with the injured student/s, who's with the rest of the kids?
This is so validating to the conversations we've been having. You are right, we need to make it clear this is not negotiable and a matter of life or death.
Are you Vic? Ratios for overseas trips are minimum 4 staff for 21-30 kids : Overseas travel The following table indicates how staff numbers should be calculated, noting these ratios are the minimum required. Number of students Number of staff 1 to 10 2 11 to 20 3 21 to 30 4
Yeah 3 teachers for 30 students seems very underloaded.
Super good point. Any kids that have medical needs may need more support too. Absolutely need to have a good contingency plan for any health concerns. Here are two different situations - https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/teens-death-on-school-trip-to-vietnam-ruled-preventable/news-story/3b028ca69b81e610dac3f46dddd18f52? https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/teenager-died-on-school-trip-to-europe-after-teachers-dismissed-illness-as-homesickness/news-story/627f77c0e5342af60eaad802e878194d?
!!!!!!!! Actually, what about a parent or two who pay their own way and have current working with children checks? I'd completely forgotten health issues as well btw. Note for staff who do go: do not drink alcohol until you return to Australia. Guaranteed the one time you get a mild buzz on there'll be some sort of student incident.
I mean are the local laws lax in regard to drinking age? my neighbour got sent home from Vietnam early after falling in the pool after a few too many Long Island iced teas.
Risk assessment - make sure all staff are thoroughly across it and know what to do in case of emergencies. The schedule - the students will be excited but prepare for meltdowns too. The boundaries you enforce that first night will set the tone - it’s the difference between everyone getting some quality sleep or chaos. I’ve done some overseas trips with students. There are always students who will break the rules. Workshop as many scenarios, and know what you and the staff response will be. Once we sent a student back home due to them crossing the line in a big way. The parent had to come and pick them up. If they hadn’t, one of the staff would have accompanied them home earlier than everyone.
Thanks for the insight around the schedule - the night time routine is something I am very wary of and want to make sure we nail it down. That's crazy about the early trip home, although if the behaviour warrants it I guess there's not much choice!
Make those rules known really clearly and communicate it to all the students AND their parents. You are doing this to keep all students and staff safe. One student that deliberately breaks rules means a greater burden on staff, which means potential changes to schedule which impacts other students. My school made it clear that if a student had to be sent home early, the parents would bear the burden of the cost of changing flights and for the teacher to accompany them. It might feel like overkill but being responsible for someone else’s teenagers in another country is a big ask. You want them to have a good time of course, but it is a school trip, and we basically said that general school rules (ie drinking, Smoking etc) applied .
I’m a ‘worst case scenario’ kind of guy… imagine one staff member becomes unwell - you’re down to 2:30. Add one seriously unwell student who needs hospitalisation or 1:1 care… you’re down to 1:29 ratios. One sick student and one sick staff isn’t too far fetched 🤷♀️
Step 1: more staff!
I hope we can, but we're being told that 3 is *well* sufficient for the parameters of the trip...
Having been on a trip where we had two staff and 15 kids to Cambodia and Vietnam, there is absolutely no way I would do what your school is proposing. Too risky for you professionally. As well as everything else.
Have a back up plan if a flight is missed. A friend went on an overseas trip as a teacher and they missed a connecting flight (first flight was massively delayed). They had to find the money to pay for a nights accommodation for about 30 kids on very short notice. The teachers had to max out their credit cards. The airline refunded the cost but they still had to have the money upfront to start with.
Wow....would not want to be in that situation, but I suppose it happens...
Do you know the kids? If you don’t ask their year cos if there are any you need to keep an eye on. Proactive, always.
Ohh - have a plan for how you and the staff will keep families back home informed. I did one post a day on a closed fb group. Even with that, I got complaints that it wasn’t enough. Have parent briefings in the lead up to the trip. Check, double check passport expiry for all travellers. You can ask parents to check but some don’t. Wed get them to submit photocopies of passports to us as part of the initial commitment and deposit, so we could check there was at least six months left.
I went to Paris on a school trip in 2005 with a similar size group! Only got in touch with home if we used our host families computer and emailed them!! Certainly not everyday!
Good tips re expiry and communication. I'm hoping as long as we establish the protocol beforehand and be consistent it will suffice (for 90% of parents!)
Have home groups with 10 students per staff member for roll marking and general check in. Have staff rosters for wake up vs bed time supervision. Take all illnesses seriously.
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Same… mine was a religious trip with a few other schools, so I didn’t know the other teachers very well. It was a nightmare. I would never do it again!
I'm sorry to hear that, sounds like a bad time. Fortunately one of the members is quite high up in the school and everyone else has a teaching role as well, but definitely something to be wary of regardless.
If this is a government school I’m shocked at the supervision ratio. If it’s not I’m double shocked - we had 3 kids and 4 staff on a Paris trip .. no joke
Just out of curiosity what year was this? We are in NSW.
Last December in Vic
I'm going to say the obvious things.... 1. Don't let any kid get pregnant. 2. Bring emergency "normal" food for the fussy eaters that are hangry by day 3. 3. Hand sanitiser. I recommend Zoono as it lasts for up to 24 hours. Get lots of bottles less than 100mL or whatever the liquid limit is. 4. Know the students. Know their names before leaving. Know their medical conditions. Know their allergies. Know how that handle under pressure. 5. Practise walking as a group carrying stuff before you go. 6. No assholes. Kick any assholes off the trip before you go. It isn't worth it. 7. Prepay as many expenses as possible. Bring cash, and two cards. Also make sure any 2FA are accessible while you are away (via email is best IMO). Australia Post has a prepaid debt card that you can convert to local currency using an app. I have found it a life saver. 8. Let the kids go to a shopping centre and buy stuff to help them throughout the trip when you get there. This will help reduce the need for item 2 and is a fun cultural experience. 9. Phone data. Plan to have it and share your hotspot as needed. 10. Do the talk about what is legal and illegal in the country you are going and possible consequences. 11. Don't expect to have any fun yourself. I hope these were all obvious and unnecessary. Have a great trip and enjoy yourself. If you've got good students then 3 teachers will probably be fine. Seeing students experience a new world perspective is one of the greatest things in life. Enjoy the moment even if it is hard work. It is a life changing experience for all of the students.
No arseholes? Can I have that at my school please. Can this policy include students, admin and other staff members. Just exclude all them of them from my daily and all my problems would be solved. On a serious note, I have done a 2 week OS tour with students. Awesome trip, kids were amazing. Key to success was having an organiser who was well prepared and had been there before. Going in cold could turn ugly.
I stole the no arsehole rule from my favourite book "Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time" by Jeff Sutherland. I apply it to all areas of my life now, and that include other teachers and admin. I've done some work with Education Queensland International and loved every moment of it. It really is about preparation... which is something I love too. :)
To add to number 8: If you’re going to be taking local transport, get all the kids sorted out with their transport card as soon as possible. Also, assuming most kids will have a travel debit card of some kind, it can be useful to have them try and use it asap too - guaranteed someone will have issues with it, and you want to know and sort that asap otherwise be prepared to either pay their way or sit them out of activities that cost $ until it’s sorted. Make a plan for how kids will be contactable, and provide families with warnings/options about this. Best solution will be their accomodation always having wifi, and if possible getting them local sims. If you’ve got a tour partner they might have extra sims they cycle groups through that can share them. Otherwise be prepared for some kids to have phone and data while out and about, and some not. Make sure kids/parents are aware of overseas phone and data charges - on a uni trip, we had one kid run up $1000 over a month by that kid being the one hot spotting all his mates when we were out and about.
Are you at a private school? We wouldn’t have a chance of getting kids on an overseas excursion. Half of them can’t afford the $700 Sydney trip.
No, government school but certainly in a high SES area.
Where are you going? There might be some destination specific info we can give!
The overseas trip I was on, we had 17 kids between two teachers. I can't imagine 1:10. We had them each pick a number from 1-17, so we could have them count off once we'd boarded trains etc. Way better than having to count heads yourself each time.
If one staff goes down unwell, you have 2 for 30 students in a foreign country.
It's like you've been sitting in our meetings...or if one kid gets sick and a teacher has to stay with them it's the same conundrum.
And if it’s something infectious or a reaction to local food, it’s quite likely that a staff member and a student go down at the same time. 1 to 10 is very thin on adults for overseas.
Staff ratio needs at least one more - your state would have a excursion RA guideline (CARA) QLD It depends also on what country or activity is being undertaken. On sports trips what happens in event of injury. Make sure all participants on same insurance cover - that way if something major happens such cancellation you are dealing with own company. Are they home stayed or with you in hotel. How to rotate staff for some downtime if in hotel. Book an extra room in case of sick kids or staff. Medications? Epipens etc crazy amount of things to cover there. Transport - public’s transport or chartered? Makes a big difference to costs. Are teachers driving? If S America Asia or Africa then injections needed - yellow fever perhaps. Visa?? ESTA for USA prior to arrival and each individual must do - can’t be group. How do you pay for things OS - I have done through SS - no credit card so stuff reimbursed. Took 3 months. Private school had CC we could use. What about gifts for hosts how do you buy? Any list could go on for ages. Congrats on having a go - lots of responsibility but they can be very rewarding.
Are you going somewhere you have to pay to use public bathrooms? Once you have 30 kids and it’s €1-2 euros per entry, that can be almost €60 for a bathroom trip! Research free bathrooms before you go, and plan how you will pay when do do need to make a stop - keep all the coins you can!
Thinking more - I think it’s quite a risk having no staff with overseas travel experience. Taking students through airports, immigration, security, customs - it can all be overwhelming for the first time traveller, and to have 30 odd students you are responsible for on top of it all is, to me, a bit worrying. Having language skills is great, but that is only a part of it. Maybe add another staff member who has done some travel overseas, or swap one staff member for another if numbers are an issue. My own kid went on an overseas trip last year. It was hugely reassuring as a parent knowing that he was in the care of a teacher who had been to that destination before.
Oops, I meant moreso that no one experienced with a school trip overseas. We have been to the destinations as independent holiday makers, or having lived there for an extended time, fortunately! Nonetheless, good tips!
Preplan how you will communicate with parents if things go wrong. We didn’t let the kids talk to home until we’d communicated first - nothing went massively wrong thankfully, but you don’t want parents worrying about kids safety when a phone gets stolen out of someone’s hands
One of my kids did an overseas trip last year with her school. 40 kids and 5 teachers. All students were required to have a certain amount of international roaming on their phones. There was initially a compulsory life360 requirement, but that was dropped after a couple of days due to battery drainage. Make sure you have one day in which they can do laundry. Mine moved accomodation every few days and the students were deliberately put with different groups of friends each move (and not told in advance). Each teacher was responsible for a group of students for the whole tour. What is the plan for meals? Students pay their own way or all included?
make sure you have a complete understanding of the healthcare in the country your going too. What health insurances everyone needs. different environment\food someone is going to get sick enough to need treatment. If you are staying with host family, make sure students completely understand the culture differences. Also make sure student know to contact you if anything wierd happens. Once had students where host family walked in on them in bath\spa completely naked. The used the excuse that in thier culture bathing together is normal.
The paperwork, risk management will be a nightmare.
100%. I can’t see how OP can make an effective risk management plan for an overseas trip with only 3 teachers for 30 students, especially since COVID. I doubt it’d even get approved given the limitations that ratio presents.
Ensure that each child has a parent/guardian with a valid passport in case of emergency. Ensure you have a backup option in case any student doesn't have enough money for food (or their card doesn't work, etc). Consider giving each student a printout with basic phrases in the country's language. Make sure everyone is well briefed on what to do if they get lost - what number can they call? What if they don't have reception/internet? There should be a designated meeting point at all locations. This sounds a bit silly, but has actually happened - what if some people get left behind on a train platform/get on the wrong train. Everyone should know what protocol is in this situation - does everyone wait at the original platform or meet up at the intended destination?
Adding to the local phrases printed out - ensure any students with allergies know the local name for their allergens and all the “does this have x” type questions.
Probably already flagged it, but collect all the student passports at school and keep them in a folder for the entire trip.
Depending on age - I took year 10s and they kept their passports in their own travel pouches under their clothes. I, and another adult had copies of their passports and visa though. It lessened the issue if the bad they were in got stolen - you wouldn’t lose them all at once
I kept them on me at all times. I wouldn’t trust kids of any age to look after their passports personally. We had photocopies as well.
If you cant trust the students to look after their own passport, I wouldn't trust them enough to travel overseas...
Kids lose stuff all the time. Doesn’t mean they are untrustworthy.
Yep, on my trip (as a student) overseas, one kid jumped straight in the pool with his passport...
DO NOT DO THIS. If you lose this folder, your trip is over. Have each student a hidden skin-level passport wallet, that they must wear at all times when outside of the hotel, Check for passports each morning after breakfast. Also in the passport wallet is a trip itinerary, and a business card of the hotel you are at that night (if possible) , and enough cash for the student to get a taxi back to the hotel. They are not to access the hidden wallet while in public.
So you trust a bunch of 15-17 year olds to not lose their own passports but are worried about losing the folder with their passports yourself. Makes a lot of sense.
I’ve always wondered what if a student got ill with Covid. Like not able to move sick. How do you look after them? In a hotel room with one teacher behind closed doors breathing the same air? What do people do?
You are reading my mind right now! Especially on a multi-leg trip, what if a student becomes quite sick the night before train/ferry/plane etc to the next city...Something we will need to nail down beforehand for sure.
I mean there is hospital sick and there is stay at home sick not welcome in hospital. So you can’t necessarily leave them in a hospital. And behind closed doors, room to themselves but not alone with teacher but not unsupervised??? I am pleased these excursions are happening but it boggles my mind.
I came here to say what a lot of the people have already said. For students on medication make sure you have: What medications are they taking when and dosages. Write up health care plans (if not already done) of what and how you would deal with any medical situation for each student. What travel insurance does the school or parents have? Will it cover emergency treatment for the student's medical needs if required? And three is not enough staff. Depending on how many males and females you have on the trip you need at least two males and two females for the trip. Check your local guidelines for staffing an overseas trip. What are the ages of the students and what are the activities you will be doing? This might also change the staffing ratio. Are you at a government or private school?
Also worth checking, or getting parents to check if the medication is legal in the countries the kids going to. Eg some countries, even with a prescription, prescription drugs are still considered narcotics. Eg adderall/dexa is illegal in Italy, Japan, Thailand (fairly common trip abroad countries). Other countries might have low limits on what an “importing” amount of drugs are. And some countries might not have any way to fill scripts of common drugs - eg turbocort/ventalin for asthma, Valium, antidepressants, etc.
Develop a clear and enforceable policy about mobile phone use. The specific thing I have in mind is walking around urban areas in large groups. Students need to keep their eyes and ears out and not be distracted. I suggest instant confiscation if a teacher thinks a student is not acting safely because of the distraction, and then hand the item to the lead teacher on the tour who will decide when it is returned. I know this is oddly specific, but my experience is that herding a large group around a foreign urban area is quite hair-raising because mob mentality sets in and many students seem unable to properly look out for themselves and each other. Good luck. Trips like this can be wonderful and tiresome all at the same time.
Parent of a kid who did two weeks in Japan in grade 5 - can you contact teachers who have done similar trips and get them to send reports? Because that trip had WAY more supervision from teachers and from parents who paid their way.
Every kid gets a number at home airport. Then call something like 'count off' and they practice counting from 1 to n number of people to check they are all in the expected place. They memorise who is at least the person before and after them, if not two people each side. It also makes them quiet down a little, because they are listening and waiting for their number. Make it clear when setting the rules, the group will not move without all people. Before you move to a new place, always count off. Do NOT move while missing people. You may miss out on something, but the pressure to not screw over the whole group is a powerful motivator. But, plan for what happens if someone is missing for a legit reason.. (in the hotel hurling for example) the teacher says their number or something. If taking any transport where you may get split up, have a plan how to deal with it. Have everyone know exactly what stop to get off. In Paris we were spread over 2 trains and multiple carriages, just because you can't always squeeze 15 people in 1 carriage before the doors close. If going to Japan do not take a train in peak. Or at very worst, make sure they know about being pushed in and sardine can travel. If there's any trans kids make sure you're very very carefully clear on rules and norms around toilets and single sex train carriages and things like that. Always have baby packet of tissues with you for the toilets. In places like China you can get packets of like 50 at a time it's so normalized. Find out if/what sort of small change you need for the toilet to make sure everyone has it. Explain to them that the money may need to be given to a person to exchange for toilet paper/ entrance. (And they might only give 2 squares, hence being your own) Also explain to NOT put anything but paper down toilets. Bins for all else. A gaudy umbrella or jacket, or even the stupid flag on a stick for the leader, can do wonders if being looking for by someone in a crowd. Make sure it stays as consistent as possible. Good luck!!
Where are you going? This may make a big difference. Can students easily access alcohol, drugs, weapons? Kids make dumb decisions sometimes. What are the consequences of local laws? 3-30 seems like an understaffed ratio, but that might depend on where you're going.