Posted by Peter Roche on December 05, 2000 at 19:41:37 from 212.188.141.179:
In Reply to: Re: Company Status; was TARS Membership List posted by Peter Roche on December 05, 2000 at 19:38:33:
As far back as the 16th National Committee Meeting on September 2nd 1995 it was recognized that the Society could not take responsibility for unaccompanied minors, so a Protocol to cover this was added to Peter's review of the Society's legal responsibiliities.
Out of this Protocol the Safety, Insurance & Events Working Party under the expert Chairmanship of Bill Janes was formed.
When this group met to thrash out the problem of junior safety, corporate and individual responsibility, fresh in its mind was the tragedy of Lyme Bay where a group of young canoeists had been taken far from shore into the dangerous waters of Lyme Bay. If I remember correctly nobody in charge of that group had the necessary knowledge and expertise for such an undertaking, especially where the use of life-jackets was concerned.
As you will remember several members of this expedition were drowned, mainly because they had not been told to inflate their life-jackets.
This single event galvanized peoples minds, especially those concerned with safety and in particular child safety.
The one glaring fact that came out of the Working Party's deliberations was that at any time anybody present at a TARS event should be able to point to a child and say "That child is safe because he/she is here with so- and-so and with parental permission."
Around the same time as Lyme Bay another avoidable incident occurred which underlined the importance of two things; being aware if a child has a disability, and the fact that plans can change.
A party of school-children had been taken on a trip to a local Country Park for a nature walk. It being a very hot day the Teachers decided that the children would benefit from a swim. Unbeknown to the Teachers one of the childen suffered from Epilepsy, got into difficulties and drowned. The Health & Safety Executive condemned the school for being unaware of this childs special needs.
These tragedies and the possibility of a similar fate occuring at a TARS event spured the Working Party into producing an interim Report followed by a final Report with its recommendations to the Natonal Committee at its 18th Meeting on 26th May 1996.
One individual opposed them on the grounds that they would act as a disincentive to Juniors and their parents, but despite this the recommendations were overwhelmingly adopted, the result being an acceptance of a comprehensive Safety Policy that encompassed Awarenesss, Risk Assessment, the now infamous KNAPSACK cards and the most important element the Junior Information & Consent Forms.
Following the Horning AGM in 1997 Brigit Sanders commented on "The first class projects for Juniors, which kept them occupied but under supervision for the whole weekend".
So, please, don't undo all the work that has been done simply because one individual, the same individual who voted against the introduction of Junior Consent Forms, and whose control in the past of Juniors has come under scrutiny, will not accept the will of the Members.
Val