Schools must consider age, maturity and skill level of students when planning curriculum activities.
Adjustments are required for
students with disability to support access and participation in the curriculum. Consult with the parents/carers of students with disability or, when appropriate, the student to ensure risks related to their child's participation in the activity are identified and managed.
Schools must consult current student medical information and/or health plans in accordance with the
managing students' health support needs at school procedure. Record information about any student condition (e.g. physical or medical, such as
epilepsy) that may inhibit safe engagement in the activity and include specific support measures within emergency procedures.
For activities with students with a medical condition or disability that may impact on safety during the activity, consultation with parents is required prior to allocating supervision to determine the impact of students' medical condition or disability on safety during the activity.
For participants with known allergies, schools must comply with the
supporting students with asthma and/or at risk of anaphylaxis at school procedure and the school's
anaphylaxis risk management plan (DOCX, 159KB), including an adult supervisor of the activity with
anaphylaxis training.
Emergency plans and injury management procedures must be established for foreseeable incidents, for example, separation from group,
snake bites and incorporate the advice from local authorities.
Adult supervisors must have:
- emergency contact details of all participants
- a medical alert list and a process for administering student medication
- communication equipment suitable to conditions (e.g. mobile phone) and a process for obtaining external assistance and/or receiving emergency advice.
Safety procedures must be determined for the location that consider specific course hazards (e.g. road crossings, narrowed path) and incorporate advice from off-site facility, if relevant.
Access is required to
first aid equipment and consumables suitable for foreseeable incidents.
Induction is required for all adult supervisors on emergency procedures (e.g. evacuation), safety procedures (e.g. course supervision specific to the hazards at each location, communication of emergency advice to adult supervisors) and correct techniques. If the activity is conducted at an off-site facility, induction is to be informed by advice provided in consultation with expertise at the venue.
Instruction is required for students on safety procedures and correct techniques (e.g. safe overtaking). Rule-reminders are to be provided throughout the activity.
Parent consent (DOCX, 309KB) is required for all activities conducted
off-site and all
extreme risk level activities conducted onsite. It is
strongly recommended that parent consent is obtained for
high risk level activities conducted on-site.
Supervision
Principals, in consultation with the qualified adults, make final supervision decisions for the activity that considers the local context.
Appropriate adult supervision must be provided to manage the activity safely (i.e. prevent an incident from occurring and manage an incident if one were to occur, including managing emergency situations). The principal must give active consideration to the minimum standards set in the CARA guideline for the activity, the CARA planner and the risk assessment when determining the appropriate level of supervision.
Specific roles for supervisors must include emergency and general supervision roles. Road/water crossings, course hazards and places where participants may go off-course must be directly supervised and controlled.
A course organiser must be appointed to make risk, hazard and safety decisions specific to the course. The course organiser, in consultation with other adult supervisors:
- must assess
weather conditions prior to undertaking the activity
- must inspect the intended course in order to identify variable risks, hazards and potential dangers.
Before the activity, all adult supervisors:
- must be familiar with the contents of the CARA record, including the emergency and supervision plans
- must be sufficiently located around the course to provide adequate supervision and direction.
During the activity, all adult supervisors:
- must provide active and direct supervision—be constantly vigilant, attentive and rescue ready
- must comply with control measures from the CARA record and adapt as hazards arise
- must
not rely on students to recover a person in difficulty at any time
- must immediately notify the course organiser when emerging risks and hazards cannot be adequately managed.
The activity must be suspended if the conditions become unfavourable (e.g. thunderstorms, extreme temperatures).
Participants must adhere to all rules and advice communicated by the facility operator/owner and any safety signage at the facility/location.
Number of adult supervisors
Principals, in consultation with the qualified adults of the activity, determine the final number of supervisors to fulfil instructional, emergency and supervision roles for the local context that consider the nature of the activity, students' ages, abilities and specialised learning, access and/or health needs. In some instances, the final supervision ratio may be 1:1.
If the minimum safety standard cannot be met, modify the activity (or elements of it) and use the
hierarchy of controls to implement alternative control measures to meet or exceed the minimum safety standard (e.g. reduce the number of students participating at any one time).
See
frequently asked questions (FAQs) for further support.
Supervisor qualifications
Qualifications support the minimum safety standard for this activity. Principals make final decisions* in determining supervisor capability (competence, relevance and currency) and whether the activity leader meets an appropriate teaching standard.
*See
FAQs for further support.
All adult supervisors must comply with the
working with children authority—blue cards procedure.
Qualified adults for the activity
Recovery/emergency—CPR, first aid, rescue
An adult with current emergency qualifications is required to be quickly accessible to the activity area.
Supervisors must have CPR and first aid qualifications relevant to the activity.
Emergency qualifications may include:
Medium risk activities
At least 1 adult supervisor is either:
- a registered teacher with competence (knowledge and skills) in teaching cross country running
- an adult supervisor, working under the direct supervision of a registered teacher, with accreditation as a
level 2 recreational running coach through Athletics Australia or equivalent.
See
FAQs for further support.
Facilities and equipment
The qualified adult supervisor of the activity, in consultation with the principal, determines the requirements for facilities and equipment appropriate to the local context.
Location must be suitable for the activity being undertaken to ensure safe participation and that safety rules and procedures can be followed.
The intended course must:
- avoid running on public roads, where possible
- provide access to emergency vehicles
- cater for the capability and skill level of participants
- is well-defined and clearly marked on both sides
- is clear of obstacles and spectators.
Course hazards must be clearly identified and marked around the course. When courses use public roads and/or shared paths, adhere to
pedestrian safety tips.
The starting/staging area must have sufficient space to avoid trips/falls/pushing at start of event, and an adequate straight section to spread the field of athletes.
Participants must wear
personal protective equipment appropriate to the activity (e.g. enclosed footwear).
Water must be available at the start and finish area.
Common hazards and controls
Further to those listed, include any additional hazards and control measures considering the local context of the activity.
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Biological hazards
Body fluids (e.g. blood, saliva, sweat)
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Manage open wounds before, during and after the activity. Consult
infection control guidelines and Queensland Health's
exclusion periods for infectious conditions poster (PDF, 1.5MB) for first aid and hygienic practices
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Environmental conditions
Weather, sun, humidity
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Assess
weather conditions prior to undertaking the activity, inspecting the intended location in order to identify variable risks, hazards and potential dangers.
Follow the
school's sun safety policy, including appropriate clothing (e.g. long sleeved shirts), sun protection (e.g. sunscreen) and shade facilities when outside.
Follow the
managing excessive heat in schools guidelines when participating in very hot or extreme heat conditions. Consider water mist locations in hot weather.
Establish hydration protocols for participants before during and after the event. Make water available more frequently around the course in conditions of extreme temperature
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| Facilities and equipment hazards |
Control measures |
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Chemicals |
Follow the
line marking of sports fields fact sheet, if line marking is required |
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Electricity |
If power is required:
- use portable safety switches where there are no residual current devices installed
- use battery powered or non-powered equipment where possible
- ensure extension leads do not pose a tripping hazard
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Hazardous equipment |
Use course markers made from non-injurious material.
Consider alternatives to hammer cap starting pistols (e.g. electronic starting pistol, gas powered horn, whistle, portable PA system).
Starter pistol caps, if used, must be used in accordance with the
explosives safety alert issued by the Resources Safety and Health Queensland. That is, the caps must:
- be carried in a rigid container and
never carried loose in pocket or hand
- be limited to the immediate number required
- avoid exposure to high temperatures
- avoid conditions where impact or abrasion may occur
- be loaded into the starter pistol only when it is about to be used.
Wear hearing protection when using any starting pistol or air horn
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Vehicles |
Closely supervise the course at vehicular access points
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| Student considerations |
Control measures |
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Collision
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Ensure participants are sufficiently spaced at the start to avoid collisions.
Keep non-participants clear of the running course
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Injury
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Students aware of the location of emergency and first-aid equipment
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Physical exertion
Exhaustion and fatigue
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Conduct
warm-up/cool-down activities.
Instruct students to proceed at their own pace.
Continually monitor participants for signs of fatigue and exhaustion.
Manage injuries according to established procedures. If in doubt, do not allow students to return to participation after injury until medically cleared
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Student issues
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Ensure students have undertaken sufficient training before competing.
Implement procedures (e.g. roll marking mechanisms) to account for all participants before, during and after the activity
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