By: Blonde One
Last week at work I encountered the most scary paperwork that I had ever seen. It has taken me a week to be able to write about it, or talk about it without having a full blown panic attack! I have begun to tackle the risk assessment for my trip to Morocco with a group of teenagers.
This document comes in 3 parts: generic, specific and establishment.
Generic – 28 pages of all of the possible risks that may be encountered during a trip anywhere abroad. It involves all sorts of things that I don’t even want to contemplate, but includes words such as hospitalisation!
Specific – 6 pages of risks that are specific to Morocco. This one is equally as scary as the last with its talk of scorpions.
Establishment – this one is only 2 pages long and is much less intimidating than the others.
That totals 30 pages of reasons to not do a trip abroad with kids!
Of course the risk assessment is the most important document when running a trip and I don’t mean to be flippant. Its use is essential for keeping everyone as safe as possible while having an amazing adventure. Having said that, I have identified another secondary purpose of a risk assessment: to test the determination, commitment and stamina of leader. If you still want to do the trip after 30 pages of potential problems them you really must want to do the trip!
I can fully sympathise with you over risk assessment. I had the temerity to lead 46 teenagers and five adults on a choir trip to Paris 10 years ago (how time flies) and even then the paperwork was ENORMOUS. The only things I hadn’t mentioned in my assessment were a) an amorous waiter hounding a young female member of staff and b) a pupil crashing to the ground and opening up her chin whilst ‘only playing leapfrog, Miss’. However, it was,all worth the effort in the end! Good luck! B2GM x
Oh no … there is no mention of unwanted attention from waiters on my paperwork! Should I add it?!
I would say that it depends how good looking the waiters are …
I take my hat off to you, Blonde One. I have difficulty facing up to such a simple thing as the mound of magaazines on my table at breakfast time each day. Every organisation I belong to seems to think it must send me at least one a month.
It’s perhaps a more pleasant mound of paperwork to be buried under?!
Indubitably!
P.S. Add the waiter immediately – (waiters won’t wait.)