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 (e.g. raising alarm, provision of
first aid) and incorporate the advice from local authorities, for example, location of automated external defibrillator (AED).
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 (e.g. out-of-bounds areas, location of first aid support and equipment) 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. raising alarm) and safety procedures (e.g. active and direct supervision for each supervisory role) 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 and adult supervisors on correct techniques (e.g. safe play, first aid support). 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.
Mouthguards and a medical declaration are required for activities when there is a high risk of mouth injury. Schools are required to provide information about the different types of mouthguards to parents/carers to assist them make an informed choice for the student, for information and examples, see
Health Direct Australia and
Sports Medicine Australia recommendations.
The medical declaration must include the following statement:
'I understand that mouth protection is mandatory in this sport. I have read the information provided to me about mouth protection and accept responsibility for the type of mouth protection I/my child will wear whilst playing this sport.'
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.
See
number of adult supervisors below.
Participants must adhere to all rules and advice communicated by the facility operator/owner and any safety signage at the facility/location.
Before the activity, all adult supervisors:
- must be familiar with the contents of the CARA record, including the emergency and supervision plans.
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.
The activity must be suspended if the conditions become unfavourable (e.g. extreme temperatures).
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:
Additionally for
high risk activities:
Medium risk activities
At least 1 adult supervisor is either:
- a registered teacher with competence (knowledge and skills) in teaching field hockey
- an adult supervisor, working under the direct supervision of a registered teacher, with
Foundation coach accreditation from
Hockey Australia for the current season.
High risk activities
At least 1 adult supervisor is either:
- a registered teacher with qualifications in HPE (or equivalent demonstrated capability) and competence (knowledge and skills) in teaching field hockey
- an adult supervisor, working under the direct supervision of a registered teacher, with
Development coach accreditation from Hockey Australia for the current season.
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.
Confirm sport structures (e.g. goal posts) are regularly inspected to assess and maintain structural integrity. See
safety alert—risks associated with metal sporting equipment.
Participants must wear
personal protective equipment appropriate to the activity and playing surface (e.g. enclosed footwear).
Fit-for-purpose goalpost padding made from impact absorbing foam.
Shin pads for all players.
Goalkeeper protection includes headgear (helmet with face mask, throat protector), leg protection (leg guards, kickers, leg and foot pads), torso protection (chest, groin/pelvic protectors) and gloves. Mouthguards are not required when wearing face masks. For further information, consult the
International Hockey Federation (PDF, 527KB) (FIH) Rules of Hockey.
Additionally for
high risk activities:
- playing area orientated as close as possible to north-south.
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, 1.4MB) for first aid and hygienic practices
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Chemicals
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Lines are marked on grass in accordance with the
line marking of sports fields fact sheet
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Environmental conditions
Weather, sun, humidity |
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, 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
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| Facilities and equipment hazards |
Control measures |
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Activity location |
Location must be suitable for the activity being undertaken to ensure safe participation and that safety rules and procedures can be followed. Undertake a reconnaissance of new or infrequently used venues to ascertain suitability |
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Boundary clearance |
Establish a 5m clearance zone around the playing area (1m along the side lines and 2m behind the goal lines). If this cannot be achieved, consider ways of reducing risks (e.g. reducing the field size, padding the obstacle).
Surround synthetic pitches with a barrier (e.g. fence)
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Fast moving objects
Balls |
Use nets when hitting at goal. Consider chain-link mesh safety screen behind each goal and wherever balls are most likely to leave the playing area at speed.
Consider gloves, masks and protectors for short corner plays.
Goalkeepers wear masks (recommended) for corner plays.
Goalkeepers only be delivered to defend 1 ball at a time during skills practice.
Stop play to retrieve balls during skills practice.
Closely monitor wet field play (e.g. to prevent undercutting)
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Faulty or dangerous equipment |
Use markers made from non-injurious material (e.g. cardboard, foam).
Check equipment for damage before and during the activity.
Check footwear before each match to ensure they provide sufficient protection for the feet. Look for non-slip soles, no buckles or zips, no loose, sharp-edged or excessively worn studs and no sharp-edged soles.
Check the method of fixing nets to the goal-posts and cross-bar is secure and safe. Metal cup-hooks should not be used and any spring hooks should have screw caps
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Playing surface
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Conduct a field check to identify and manage surface hazards. Clear the playing surface from loose items or debris. Do not participate on a surface that is slippery, unduly rough or chopped up.
Cover/fill playing surface hazards (e.g. sprinkler heads, holes) to be level with the surrounds
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| Student considerations |
Control measures |
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Physical contact
Breaks/sprains, cuts/abrasions/grazes, concussion, accidental bumping
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Use headgear (recommended for activities involving collision).
Enforce rules to prevent rough play. Consult
play by the rules (conduct and behaviour resources).
Do not allow students to return to play after injury until the injury has been managed according to established procedures. If in doubt, the student should not play until medically cleared
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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.
Continually monitor participants for signs of fatigue and exhaustion.
Ensure drink breaks occur regularly. Make water available for individual participants between drink breaks
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Student issues
Student numbers, special needs, high risk behaviours, medical conditions, separation from the group
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Select students for on-field position(s) on the basis of ability, size and suitability.
Remove accessories (e.g. jewellery, lanyards) before participating.
Ensure fingernails, hair and clothing (e.g. pockets) do not interfere with the activity
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