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Inclusion in educational visits: Supporting children and young people with SEND
Published
Educational visits are a valuable part of school life, offering children and young people the chance to explore new environments, deepen their learning, and build confidence and independence. For pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), these experiences can be especially meaningful. Health and safety provides a framework for enabling safe participation through thoughtful planning and reasonable adjustments.
Inclusion of children and young people in all aspects of schooling is an important principle. We seek to increase the participation of children and young people in the cultures, activities and their communities. As part of this principle, we seek to reduce barriers to play, learning and participation for all children and young people. A key tool in supporting this is making reasonable adjustments.
Understanding reasonable adjustments
The Equality Act 2010 requires schools to make reasonable adjustments to ensure SEND pupils are not disadvantaged. This applies to all aspects of school life, including educational visits. Reasonable adjustments might include:
- Providing additional adult support
- Choosing accessible venues
- Adapting activities to suit individual needs
- Using specialist transport or equipment
These adjustments should be considered as part of the trip planning process and schools are increasingly embedding inclusive thinking into the early stages of trip planning by considering the needs of all pupils and identifying what support might be needed to enable participation.
Balancing safety and inclusion
Health and safety is often part of these discussions and guidance is designed to support inclusion, not limit it. Risk assessments are a key part of planning any educational visits and should help schools identify practical solutions that enable safe participation, rather than act as a barrier. A well-conducted risk assessment will consider the specific needs of each child and explore how those needs can be met safely.
For example, if a child has a medical condition, the assessment should look at how staff can be trained to support them, what emergency procedures are needed, and whether any additional resources are required. It’s about finding solutions, not barriers.
However, there will be times when adjustments cannot be made because to do so would have a detrimental effect on other pupils and would therefore not be reasonable.
Planning for pupils who display behaviour that challenges can be complex, but they are not insurmountable. Many schools work closely with families and specialist staff to understand triggers, develop support strategies, and ensure that the right resources are in place. In rare cases, despite reasonable adjustments being made, a child’s behaviour or needs presents a significant, unmanageable and unacceptable risk to their own safety, the safety of other members of the group, and the visit staff, a difficult decision, based on evidence from the risk assessment process, has to be taken.
Working together
Successful inclusion on educational visits is built on collaboration. Schools benefit from the insights of parent carers, who know their children best. SENDCos, Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Advisers and external professionals can also provide valuable guidance to help schools feel confident in their planning. School’s will also liaise with activity providers and venues to plan appropriate adjustments.
When everyone works together, the question becomes not “Can this child go?” but “What do we need to put in place to make this work?”
For more information on inclusion and reasonable adjustments in off-site visits, please visit Reasonable Adjustments on Support for Families with SEND, Gloucestershire's Local Offer