More students will die during adventure pursuits if schools continue to follow badly outdated Education Department guidelines for safe supervision, say outdoor-safety organisations.
Outdoors New Zealand chairman Noel Scott said yesterday that a 1985 Education Department document wrongly gave student-to-adult ratios as a basis for safe supervision.
"This is clearly a foolhardy
approach, as we know an incompetent person can little look after themselves, let alone four to six children," he said.
Safety management should be based on the competency of the teacher or instructor, the risks involved in the activity and the conditions at the time.
His comments followed the deaths of two Hanmer Springs schoolgirls in a canoeing accident in North Canterbury last Friday during a school trip.
Police and Maritime Safety Authority investigations into the incident have started.
Police are looking at the possibility of criminal charges arising from the deaths, and authority director Russell Kilvington said its options included prosecution under the Maritime Transport Act for reckless navigation.
Mr Scott, a former minister of sport and recreation, said that while there was no indication that a lack of safety management caused the deaths, national standards needed to be set before the traditional school-camp season next month.
It was almost impossible for schools to establish whether the outdoor-pursuits people they were employing were suitable.
There were more than 50 qualifications in the sector, widely varying in quality.
Education Outdoors New Zealand chairman Mike Boyes said one standard for all would be difficult to achieve.
Instead, it should be compulsory for schools to have appropriate safety management plans, to be reviewed by the Education Review Office.
Safety management should be part of of teachers' training.
"Schools need to ensure the teachers have the training to plan safety activities in their environment, and knowledge of ratios, experience levels and outdoor qualifications.
"If they [schools] don't have safety management planning, we are going to continue to kill our children."
Water Safety Council chairman Alan Muir said tighter controls became an issue two years ago after two students drowned in the Waihao River.
A forum of industry representatives was formed and an Education Ministry-driven working party was set up 18 months ago to produce a safety management resource for schools. But progress had been slow.
"It's been far too long and here we have another tragedy. There needs to be a real kick along on this."
The working party was to meet on Friday.
Outdoors New Zealand chief executive Chris Knol said his organisation was setting up a internet-based service advising schools what standards to set and to expect from outdoor-pursuits contractors.
- NZPA
