Every operator says safety first. This is what ours actually says.

Twelve things, every tour, without exception.

1. The protocol is written, and it is this one

   Every Destinationz 360 tour runs to a single operational rulebook, not to the judgement of whoever is leading that week. A school can read it before committing, which is the entire point of publishing it.

2. Supervision ratios are named in the proposal

   The ratio for your group, your year group and your activity appears in writing on the costed plan, before the school commits. It varies by age and by activity, so a single sitewide number would be a fiction. The published ratio table is awaiting sign-off and will appear here.

3. Headcounts at every transition, recorded

   On the vehicle, off the vehicle, before and after every site, before and after every meal, and before anything moves. Counted against a written list by a named adult, and logged. Not done by eye, and not done by whoever is nearest.

4. A night protocol that does not flex

   Room and tent allocation, adult positioning, lighting to the toilets, in-room curfew and a count after lights out. The same on the last night as on the first, including when the evening is going well. The curfew time is awaiting confirmation. The internal record carries two different times and only one of them can be right.

5. Acclimatisation is part of the route, not spare time

   Any itinerary gaining altitude includes rest days built into the plan. They are not removed to recover a delay, because that is precisely the decision that produces an altitude incident.

6. Adventure activities are instructed, never merely supervised

   Certified operators, their own equipment, their own instructors, and waiver documentation completed before the activity. Where a certified operator cannot be confirmed, the activity is removed from the itinerary and the school is told why.

Points seven to twelve

The half nobody reads until something happens.

Contingency, vehicles, documentation, insurance, evacuation, and the person who picks up the phone.

Request a callback

7. Conditional excursions are flagged at the itinerary stage, with a plan B already built

   Weather, permits and road status decide some excursions on the morning. Those are marked conditional on the plan the school signs, and the alternative is costed and confirmed at the same time. A school should never discover a contingency on the day it is needed.

8. Vehicles and drivers are checked on paper before the day

   Permit, fitness certificate, insurance and the driver’s licence, verified in advance. Night driving limits and maximum daily driving hours are applied to the route before it is offered, not negotiated once the group is tired.

9. Medical, dietary and consent documentation is collected and carried

   Declarations gathered from parents, reconciled with the caterer and the hotel, and carried by the coordinator in hard copy as well as on a phone. A phone with no signal is not a medical record.

10. Insurance covers the group and the activities on the itinerary

    Checked against the specific activities planned, rather than assumed from a policy name. Adventure activities are commonly excluded by default and that exclusion is confirmed or removed before departure.

11. An evacuation route and the nearest facility, for every night

    Written into the plan for each location, along with who makes the call and in what order the school and the parents are informed. Known before the first day, not researched during an incident.

12. One coordinator, one number, a note home every day

    A Destinationz 360 coordinator travels with the group and is the single point of contact for the school, at any hour. A short written note goes back to the school each day, so the head of department is never finding out from a parent.