Rock Climbing - People

Staff

Staff members are those adults who provide the supervisory, instructional and educational elements of the program. All staff members must be approved by the school council.

All staff members who are not registered teachers must comply with the Working With Children Check. 

A teacher registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching and either employed by the Department  or the school council must be present and have overall responsibility for the activity.

Where not directly responsible for the instruction of the activity or assisting the instructor, the teacher present must understand the activity and the environment in which it will be conducted. This teacher must confer with the designated instructor about the supervisory role and establish areas of responsibility. If the teacher is not the designated instructor he/she is to act on the advice of the designated instructor on technical safety issues.

All staff members with known medical conditions that might compromise the group’s risk management plan should make accompanying staff aware of this condition. Be aware that issues of confidentiality will be involved in any such disclosure.

Staff conducting multi-pitch climbing must:

• have a high level of rope, group management and cliff rescue skills
• have extensive knowledge of the rock face, descent routes, escape route options and belay ledge management
• ensure a gradual progression in a climbing program over an extended period
• allow for more experienced students to apply earlier learned knowledge and skills for movement in a rock environment.

To find out more on multi-pitch climbing see: Definitions

Experience and qualifications

Staff involved in the planning and conduct of the activity should have sufficient knowledge and experience of the activity and the activity environment to operate in all foreseeable conditions.

The designated single-pitch rock climbing instructor/s must have one of the following:

• a Single Pitch Guide award accredited with the Australian Climbing Instructors Association
• equivalent documented abseiling training and experience from another training provider or education institution
• equivalent documented abseiling experience in lieu of certification/accreditation.

The designated multi-pitch rock climbing instructor/s must have one of the following:

• a Multi Pitch Guide award accredited with the Australian Climbing Instructors Association
• equivalent documented training and experience from another training provider or education institution
• equivalent documented experience in lieu of certification/accreditation.

Note: It is recommended that where the instructor does not have an award accredited with the Australian Climbing Instructor Association that they have lead climbing experience. Having lead climbing experience indicates that the instructor is more likely to have the broad range of technical skills required for instructing rock climbing experiences and will be able to respond to a wider range of situations.

Equivalent training and/or experience includes staff having experience and knowledge of:

• setup of secure and efficient top rope and abseil teaching systems using a variety of belays and sites
• methods for conducting students safely and efficiently on single-pitch climbs
• self-rescue techniques relevant to single-pitch situations
• site choice in relation to safety, environmental factors and outcome for the participant
• teaching techniques and group management
• environmental and land-management issues.

The designated assistant to the instructor must:

• have experience in the activity at the level being offered to students
• be familiar with the requirements of the activity
• be able to assume a supervisory role during the activity
• have the ability to participate competently in emergency response procedures
• have conferred with the instructor to establish the emergency response and supervision responsibilities.

Proforma of Staff Qualifications/Experience (Word - 132Kb) can be used to document staff qualifications/experience in lieu of qualifications.

Supervision

Supervision is the critical factor in managing risk in the outdoors.

A minimum of two staff members must be present for each activity, one with responsibility for activity instruction and the other able to assist the instructor.

The following table provides the recommended allocation of staff for rock climbing. It can be used as a starting point for establishing the supervision strategy. It should be applied when establishing the instructional and supervision strategy for the activity. (Students not directly involved in rock climbing, must be supervised separately with a minimum staff student ratio of 1 to 20.)

Activity	Staff numbers	Student numbers
Single-pitch top belay	2 3 4	Up to 12 13 - 18 19 - 24
Single-pitch ground belay	2 3 4	Up to 12 13 - 18 19 - 24
Tramline multi-pitch	2 3 4	Up to 4 5 - 6 7 - 8
Independent multi-pitch	2 3 4	Up to 4 5 - 6 7 - 8

The allocation of staff should be based on:

• age, maturity and gender of students
• ability and experience of students
• individual needs
• group dynamics of the student group
• experience, qualifications and skills of staff
• location conditions.

The teacher in charge is responsible for the supervision strategy, which must be endorsed by the school council as part of the excursion approval process. Staff members will supervise students according to that strategy.

If a decision is made to vary the recommended allocation of supervising staff, reasons for the variation must be documented.

Informed consent

The school must receive informed consent from parents or guardians that their child may participate in adventure activities.

Informed consent should be based on an understanding of:

• the educational purpose of the activity
• the nature and details of the activity
• the supervision strategy
• other information deemed relevant by the school or by parents/guardians.

Informed consent must be given in writing, including signatures, by parents or guardians.

First aid

At least one member of staff responsible for each group of students must hold, as a minimum, a Level Two First Aid qualification, and have a first aid kit applicable to the level of training.

Staff members must consider carefully the nature and location of the excursion as well as the medical history of the students to determine the level of first aid training required by staff.