Activities at Camps Organised and Conducted By the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation and Other Agencies

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Contents

Supervision & Welfare of Students Engaged in Sport & Physical Activity
Responsibilities of Principals
Supervision of Students Engaged in Specific Sports, Physical Activities and Outdoor Recreation Activities
Supervision of Students While Engaged in Activities Conducted Under the Auspices of the School
Guidelines for Billeting Students
Supervision at Major Events
Supervision Out of School Hours
Activities at Camps Organised and Conducted by the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation and Other Agencies
Small Group Activities
Unscheduled Activities
Liability
Physical Contact With Students

In addition to these guidelines, for school-endorsed activities conducted away from the school, the policy on Excursions and Other Visits (97/137) is relevant.

A range of partnerships has been established to enhance the educational opportunities available to students. Camps organised and conducted by the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation and a number of other quality service providers have a long and successful association with schools in offering a variety of quality outdoor education programs and elementary recreation pursuits. The camps also focus on activities designed to extend, reinforce and supplement the formal education of students in the areas of environmental education and living skills.

Camps and centres are in a unique position to achieve a range of positive outcomes by:

• providing an environment where learning takes place through direct experience
• providing opportunities for individual and group discovery
• providing a setting that allows teaching methods to be employed that are informative and stimulating to students.

Principals should be assured that a student supervision plan, incorporating both the visiting teachers and centre staff, has been prepared by the camp director in relation to the safety and welfare of the participants.

Supervision should be adequate in relation to the number, age, gender, maturity, special needs and anticipated behaviour of students, their accommodation arrangements and the nature and location of the planned activities. The plan should include explicit roles and responsibilities.

Since camp staff are responsible for the programs, and supervision is a shared responsibility during programmed activities, appropriately qualified camp staff, involved in the activities as leaders or instructors, may be counted as teaching staff in terms of meeting the requirements of the teacher:student supervision ratios outlined for specific activities in this document.

All instructional staff at Department of Sport and Recreation centres are qualified teachers, possess first aid and CPR qualifications and have participated in child protection training.

Parents and caregivers should be advised of all relevant details concerning the conduct and organisation of the camp program. Parents/caregivers are to be fully informed of the nature of the camp's sport and recreation activities and written approval obtained prior to student participation in these activities. The parent/caregiver must be given the opportunity to decline their child's involvement in any of the scheduled activities.

Camp staff must be aware of, and implement, DET requirements in relation to child protection.

Schools attending camps at centres other than those organised and conducted by the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation should:

• carefully check the sport and physical activity programs offered by that centre and ensure that the conditions for the conduct and supervision of the activities conform to DET guidelines
• retain responsibility for the supervision and duty of care for students
• be satisfied that the qualifications of centre staff, who are to conduct the outdoor recreational activities, meet DET guidelines
• ensure that the centre is aware of, and will implement, DET requirements in relation to child protection, including mandatory reporting.