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Guidance on COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools

As part of our recent Webinar Series - Returning to Normal in COVID Times at International Schools – Kevin Lloyd of The School Collaborative held a discussion with Ben Cooper of World Travel Protection to address a variety of concepts on how schools can support student travel, trips and events, including:  
- Duty of Care for schools
- Insurance and supporting resources
- Risk assessments
- Awareness of changing environments during travel
- Communications
- Bus travel

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Best practices within the school community includes the utilization of a Campus Resiliency Team (CRT) or sometimes referred to as a Crisis Management Team or Emergency Action Committee, etc. This group, regardless of its title, not only convenes in response to potential or actual crisis or emergency situations, but also meets on a regular basis to plan and discuss overall safety, security and emergency preparedness policies and strategy that will lead to a more resilient organization. This wider group of stakeholders serves as a “force multiplier” for the direct hire employees charged with managing these programs on a daily basis and assists the campus directors in determining that the right assets, resources and emphasis are placed for all life-safety and business continuity programs. Convening of this group also allows the risk management personnel to seek “buy-in” from other stakeholders early in the process of strategy and policy development, making successful implementation more likely. A regular, recurring schedule of CRT meetings should be established where risk is the main topic.  Items of discussion may include safety, security, emergency preparedness, child protection, emergency communication, policy and procedure development, mitigation strategies, training and drill regimens, risk elements of off-campus travel or after-hours activities or special event planning among other topics.

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The fourth of our series on Returning to Normal in COVID times at international schools.

At international school opportunities for international trips is a key component of the experience offered.  Whether class trips, sporting events or other competitions, the opportunity to travel has been a normal, expected and important offering.  COVID-19 has halted this opportunity for students.  Going forward, it is expected these opportunities will resume, however with new challenges.

Our webinar today will interview Ben Cooper of World Travel Protection who will explore implications and share insights that schools can consider as they endeavour to offer international experiences to their students, whether hosting events on campus or sending students abroad.  

📅 Please Register Here for This Webinar

Ben Cooper - International Travel Risk Management Expert - World Travel Protection EMEA

World Travel Protection’s Ben Cooper’s responds when asked what he does for a living is “I work with an amazing company that gets people home when they are ill, injured or unsafe overseas.” 

Ben was drawn to work in travel risk management by his fascination with geopolitics, which plays an important part in assessing travel risks. The majority of Ben’s career has been spent supporting organisations with projects in remote, high risk or logistically challenging environments, from offshore wind farms and oil rigs to onshore remote research projects and mine sites.

As Head of Sales & Commercial across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Ben works closely with clients from the company’s UK base. According to Ben, WTP’s clients come from a diverse range of businesses, including universities, security firms, travel management agencies, business continuity advisors and human resources consultants. 

Working closely with clients means Ben is always managing unusual and exciting projects, often with complex logistical arrangements. Whether a film crew in a COVID-19 environment or university students travelling to high-risk locations; various layers of support and risk mitigation are involved, for travel and at the locations.