The transport
The standard and type of transport used.
Independent safety rating
BUSK Benchmark Coach Safety
Cozy Travel is a member of BUSK’s Benchmark Scheme, the UK’s independent safety and compliance rating for coach and minibus operators, and holds the maximum 6-star rating.
If you’re a teacher, youth leader or parent looking for coach hire for your group, you will find the advice on this page very useful.
Advice from BUSK
Arranging transport for others
When making transport arrangements for others, the law requires the organiser to be aware of their legal obligations, and expects safeguards and systems to be in place for this purpose.
On this page BUSK UK, leading independent advisors on transporting children and young people safely by road, give guidance on how best to do that. For more information visit busk-uk.co.uk.
For schools
What are the legal obligations for schools arranging trips and visits abroad?
Obtaining three quotes from a transport company and choosing the cheapest is definitely not demonstrating the correct culture and attitude to the safety of pupils in a school’s care. The law requires a school to provide a ‘safe journey’.
An adequate written risk assessment that clearly identifies any risks to passengers, and shows how potential risks will be reduced, is crucial. Risk assessments do not have to be onerous, and once completed should be revisited once a year to reassess standards. This specific risk assessment is not about the activity or purpose of the trip. It covers:
The driver
Qualifications and experience of the driver, including when two drivers are needed on longer trips to comply with Drivers’ Hours Regulations.
The route
The route to be travelled.
Forward planning
Emergency plans in the event of breakdown, accident or illness.
Seat belts
Transport and seat belt policy
Every school should have a Transport Document that includes a Seat Belt Policy, clearly detailing how seat belt wearing will be enforced. Safety advice given to the school by the coach company must be taken seriously.
Once on board a coach it is the driver who is in charge, not the teacher. Schools must follow a transport company’s safety rules and instructions in the same way they would when travelling by sea or with an airline. This is a legal requirement. Schools must be aware of and follow seat belt legislation in all respects.
Free help for schools: schools may contact BUSK for free help and advice on producing a transport and seat belt policy. More information about the requirements on schools organising trips and visits abroad is at busk-uk.co.uk.
Duty of care
What happens if a school does not fulfil its legal duty of care?
In 2006 Corporate Manslaughter laws were amended to make it easier for courts to prosecute transport companies, local authorities and schools that failed in a legal duty of care to protect others.
Where it can be shown that a school failed to take adequate care in making transport arrangements for pupils, and it can be proven that this resulted in the death of a pupil, the school’s management team could be found guilty of Corporate Manslaughter. This could result in a large fine, and courts have the power to give a school a Publicity Order, effectively ordering the school to advertise in the media that it had been found responsible for a child’s death.
This information has been prepared by BUSK and approved by Mike Imperato of New Law Solicitors. The advice given would be no less than a court would ask and expect to see if legal action was taken against a school should something go wrong. A court would expect a school’s governing body to have an audit trail defining transport arrangements and how the transport was chosen. Choosing the cheapest company will not satisfy a court that the school had done everything necessary to fulfil a duty of care for its pupils.
Coach travel is comparatively safe when hiring from a reputable operator that observes all the safety rules and meets compliance requirements, but it is teachers and governors who are required to provide a ‘safe journey’. Parents trust schools to make transport arrangements for their children based on safety, not cost.
Simply safe: the way to go
Book with a 6-star BUSK operator
Ask us for our School Information Pack, including a full risk assessment to help you plan your trip.
Our BUSK Benchmark rating
Rating: 6 stars (the maximum)
Licence no: BE2117
Expiry date: 31 March 2027
BUSK, the child transport safety consultancy, is known throughout the UK for improving the safety of children travelling by road. Benchmark members are checked and approved by BUSK to make sure they are legally compliant and operate only to the highest safety standards.
