MINISTERS and headteachers have joined together to urge teachers not to "abandon" school trips following the conviction for manslaughter of a Lancashire teacher.

Their plea came after the conviction of Paul Ellis, who was jailed for a year after 10-year-old Max Palmer drowned in the Lake District last year.

Heads have acknowledged that their staff may refuse to take such trips in future, given the risk of prosecution if things go wrong, but they stressed that if teachers followed safety guidelines, this was unlikely to happen.

Ellis's decision to go ahead with an activity known as "pool plunging" in an icy beck near Glenridding on a trip in May 2002, was described by the judge in his case as "unbelievably foolhardy and negligent".

An RAF group on a training exercise who passed the pool earlier decided against crossing it because they thought it was too dangerous, given the bad weather at the time.

Government guidelines say schools should have trained teachers to organise trips and advise colleagues on how to carry out the necessary risk assessments in advance.

Local education authorities are also supposed to have trained personnel to assist schools with planning such outings.

School standards minister David Miliband said: "Teachers should not abandon school visits -- safely conducted and properly supervised, they are an important part of any child's education.

"We value and are committed to support the professional competence of teachers who supervise educational visits, many of whom do so in their own spare time."

National Association of Head Teachers' general secretary David Hart said: "The Paul Ellis case should not deter teachers from continuing to lead school visits.

"Pupils benefit greatly from these visits and the overwhelming majority take place without any cause for concern whatsoever.

"If the DfES (Department for Education and Skills) guidance is followed by all those involved with the organisation of these educational activities, there is no reason why teachers and support staff should be at risk."

Lancashire County Council tightened up their policy on school trips last year as they wanted to enhance and develop the guidelines provided by the DfEs.

A spokesman for the Council said: "We now ask every school to appoint an education visits co-ordinator (EVC) and have provided the relevant training to these individuals. The role of the EVC is to oversee all trips, whether it be a walk to the local church or a canoeing expedition and they are required to be trained.

"The co-ordinator is responsible for making sure risk assessments are in place and all the correct approvals have been cleared and that the LEA is aware of what is happening if the trip is of a potentially risky nature.

"All school trips are classed as category A or B and it is important that they are planned thoroughly and that the appropriate approval(s) obtained before they are permitted to take place.

"Category A includes straightforward visits such as a local walk, but a category B event would include a potential risk such as being near water or mountains.

"All schools proposing to undertake a category B visit must notify the LEA who then vet all aspects of the proposed visit and grant approval providing it conforms to the LEA policy and guidelines. Part of that process is ensuring that the visit is being led by a registered leader or a reputable company. All leaders / providers of outdoor or adventurous activities require to have been registered by Lancashire so the school's EVC can be assured that their credentials and qualifications will have been checked before applying for permission for the trip to go ahead.

"We also have a team of staff who physically monitor outdoor trips by regularly attending in person and checking all activities are being carried out safely.

"We informed the Health and Safety Executive of the stricter guidelines that we introduced last year and always work closely with the HSE on any new guidance for schools."

Harry Devonport, Assistant Director (Strategy & Performance) for Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council said: "We have recently issued updated guidelines to all our schools based on the latest recommendations from the Government, which were completed before the case came to court.

"We have also scheduled training sessions this term for school educational visit co-ordinators about these guidelines which will include looking at what lessons can be learned."