Outdoor School Safety & Management Review

The Washington State Outdoor School Safety and Management Review is designed to provide an assurance that the site has reported they comply with legal obligations and best practices to ensure the emotional and physical safety of everyone on the outdoor school site. To receive OSWA state reimbursement for their overnight outdoor school experience, the school must attend a site that has completed and received the Safety and Management Seal of Compliance.  The Safety & Management Review, reviews three site practices/policies components: Human Resources, Facility, and School Partnership.  

Outdoor Schools will review and renew their compliance each year.

The self-reported affidavit includes: 

Human Resource Component

To ensure the emotional and physical safety of all individuals on-site, training and policies must reflect; site program personnel and site support staff respect the fundamental rights, dignity, and worth of all people. Program personnel and support staff strive to be sensitive to cultural and individual differences, including those due to age, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and socioeconomic status. Program personnel and support staff do not engage in any form of discrimination, sexual harassment, or exploitation.

• Hiring process includes an interview, reference check and background check.

• Staff, student and adult relationship parameters including harassment, intimidation and bullying are addressed 

• Staff have a grievance method, will not be penalized for reporting ethical or legal infractions

•  All staff attend appropriate training for the position they hold.

• i.e. Blood Borne Pathogens,(all) 

• Hazard materials (as appropriate)

• Standard first aid (everyone who is alone with students away from camp) 

• HIB, social media use, volunteer roles, emergency procedures

Facility Component

• Health Department approval

• Fire Safety Review 

• Site specific emergency procedures

•  Have listed school district as additionally insured on certificate of Insurance/liability

• Welcomes all students regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability sexual orientation or socioeconomic status. 

Partnership Component

• Signed contract with school

• A delineation of responsibilities 

• Reviews site emergency procedures with school partners

• Partners to provide appropriate accommodations to enable ALL students to attend as individual OS plan states.

• IEP Educational Plans

• 504 for medically fragile children

School Districts that implement their program at a State Park facility will follow district board policies for the operation of their program.

School Districts that rent a facility* that does not provide program staff are still expected to comply with the safety and facility components. Contact roberta@outdoorschoolswa.org for additional information.

*For Rental Facilities-  the following components are required.

Facility Component

• Health department certificate of inspection- passed

• Fire Marshal occupancy

• Site specific emergency procedures are posted

• Have listed school district as additionally insured on certificate of Insurance/liability

• Welcomes all students regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability sexual orientation or socioeconomic status.

• Staff have background check

Partnership Component

• Signed contract with school.

• A delineation of responsibilities (i.e. who is responsible for food, maintenance, students)

• Reviews site emergency procedures with school partners

• 24-hour call list in case of facility emergencies

Congratulations to the following sites for submitting their protocols and procedures for review:

• Black Diamond Outdoor School

• Camp Casey Conference Center

• Camp Fire Camp Sealth

• Camp Fire Camp Killoqua

• Camp Fire Camp Kirby

• Camp Gallagher

• Camp Ghormley

• Camp River Ranch

• Camp Zanika

• Cedar Springs

• Cispus Learning Center

• Columbia Gorge Discovery Center

• Islandwood

• Lake Retreat Camp

• Lazy F Camp and Retreat Center

• Mount Rainier Institute

• Mount St Helen Institute

• NatureBridge

• North Cascades Institute

• NW Maritime Center

• Ocean Park Camp & Retreat Center

• OSPREY Camp at Camp Solomon Schechter

• Salvation Army Camp Arnold

• Sound Experience

• Sound View Camp

• Warm Beach

• Waskowitz Outdoor Education Center

• Western Washington Girl Scout Camps:

              River Ranch

              Robbinswold

              St Albans

              Lyle McLeod

• YMCA Camp Dudley

• YMCA Camp Orkila

• YMCA Camp Seymour

• YMCA Lake Wenatchee