The aim of risk reduction is to implement a range of strategies that will minimise risks to an acceptable level in an attempt to prevent incidents occurring. A range of strategies appropriate for reducing risks in outdoor education, may include:
- Being familiar with Workplace, Health and Safety guidelines which outline accepted codes of practice for the activity being conducted. For example, the DET has an A-Z of sports and activities that can be offered in a school setting. For each, they have very detailed guidelines about how these are to be conducted. Click on the following link to look at individual sports in more detail. Specific sport and physical activity guidelines
- Disclosing risk to all the people involved in the activity before undertaking any program. This will include parents/ guardians of young people under the age of 18. As part of the disclosure process, this will also involve clarifying the responsibilities the participants have to keep themselves and others safe. Increasing knowledge about the activity and developing skills prior to engaging in any potentially risky activity is also important. An example of this may be a safety briefing and instructions prior to starting a ropes course.
- Ensuring appropriate equipment is used for all activities. All equipment must meet industry standards, be checked before every use and maintained regularly. This is especially important in activities such as rock climbing or abseiling. To read more about the care of ropes for these activities, click here.
- Develop a risk management plan for each activity. This should include the identification of potential hazards, the causal factors that may lead to this risk and most importantly, what measures will be put in place to reduce the risk of an incident from occurring. This document can become a legal document in the case of an incident occurring. As discussed previously, the DET provides a template for different activities to use to create a risk management plan. All outdoor education providers should have one that should be provided before engaging with them.