Health and Safety not to blame says IOSH president

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has hit back at accusations that the health and safety profession is to blame for the decline of geography in schools.

In a response to an Ofsted report, which blamed over zealous health and safety legislation for a decline in the number of field trips, IOSH president Ray Hurst said that a combination of factors were to blame.

"Health and safety is once again wrongly being used as an easy, believable excuse," he said.

"There's no need to ban geography field trips, they just need to be well-planned and managed," Mr Hurst added.

Mr Hurst blamed schools fears of litigation combined with increasing demands on teachers' time, concerns about costs and worries about pupil behaviour as the real causes.

Founded in 1945, the IOSH is Europe's leading body for health and safety professionals.

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