The government has unveiled new guidlines to protect children on school trips - warning that more must be done to ensure that potential risks to pupils are fully assessed before visits are given the green light.

Following a series of high profile accidents involving children on trips, each school is being told to appoint an outdoor education adviser to oversee and monitor school visits.

Forum Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Gerald Imison, deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, told ePolitix.com: "ATL welcomes the provision of guidelines for school trips. It believes that these activities must remain an important part of the education experience on offer to all children but that lessons must be learnt when tragedies occur.

"Any attempt to reduce the risk has to be valuable but we must question whether the appointment of an Educational Visits Co-ordinator (EVC) in each school will help, particularly when this will be another task for an already over-burdened teacher. Safety cannot come on the cheap.

"An EVC at school level will present difficulties when there are a range of different activities that will need to be covered. The specialist skills required have to be provided through LEA's or the natural caution of teachers will lead to them being reluctant to be involved and that would be very sad for schools and for children".

Forum Response: Professional Association of Teachers

David Brierley, a solicitor at PAT, told ePolitix.com: "PAT was consulted by the DfES and we provided extensive responses from our members. The guidance is written for teachers and we support this initiative to identify and promote good practice.

"School trips have a vital role in education. Pupils benefit enormously from school trips so it is very important that they should continue. These guidelines will help to make school trips safer."