In the recent past I have had to work through the details of an overseas, residential fieldtrip field trip with individual students, carers and support services to assess its accessibility given the characteristics and needs of the students.
There is a good system in place that flags up such students ahead of any residential fieldwork where there might be concerns. However, the fieldtrip leader i.e., the person with the details needs to work through a carefully set out timetable of the activity. This is then discussed with our support services and the student. While this process can be quite time consuming, it does subsequently mean than you have useful list of details on the trip for you, all participants and to leave as a record e.g., in case of emergencies. However, what surprised me was the types of activities that were perceived as potentially problematic. They were generally not academic matters but more related to meals, travel and social spaces and activities. A key message was that the fieldtrip could be made accessible through relatively minor changes – just clear planning and strategies for when this might not work out e.g., a missed rail connection. This allowed the students to fully participate with support (here a charity organisation was involved) and also provided useful tips for subsequent activities e.g., other day fieldtrips and labs.
