Student Travel Safety
Our Approach to Student Travel Safety
Student travel safety starts with people. Our approach combines trained, background-checked leaders at an 8-to-1 student-to-leader ratio, a director on call 24/7 for emergencies, on-call medical and mental health support from Cornerstone Safety Group, and an emergency plan for every destination.
Student travel safety planning starts before your group leaves and continues after it returns. Here are the questions schools and families ask us most.
Who leads Global Works trips?
We staff our programs at an 8-to-1 student-to-leader ratio. All leaders are background checked and certified in First Aid and CPR, and many hold Wilderness First Aid or Wilderness First Responder certifications. Every staff member attends a comprehensive training in Colorado each year.
We hire leaders for their experience with students, language skills, organization, flexibility, and good judgment. About 80% of our leaders return each year, and their average age is 28. Meet our team.
Who supervises students day and night?
Our trip leaders live and travel with the group throughout the program, including overnight. They aren’t guides who clock out at the end of the day. They travel, eat, and stay with students as members of the group, and they act as mentors as much as leaders. Being part of the group day to day helps them notice when a student needs support.
Who supports our leaders in the field?
Global Works partners with Cornerstone Safety Group, a risk management consultant that specializes in travel and experiential education. Cornerstone gives our programs on-call medical, mental health, and risk management support during our programs.
How are we prepared for emergencies?
Every Global Works destination has an emergency plan and risk assessment. Leaders are trained on how to respond to illness, unexpected situations, and emergencies, and we review and update these plans regularly.
Our approach to risk is built on seven guiding principles, from supervision to reflection. Read how we think about risk management.
How can families and schools reach us during a trip?
During our programs, a Global Works director is on call 24/7 through a dedicated emergency phone number to support students, leaders, teachers, and parents or guardians. If a call goes to voicemail, the on-call director will call back.
How do leaders check in with students?
Leaders check in with students throughout the trip, both one-on-one and as a group. These check-ins give students a comfortable, private way to share any medical, social, or emotional concerns, and help leaders stay aware of how the group is doing.
How do we prepare with schools and families before the trip?
Safety planning starts well before departure. Schools work directly with our Custom Group Travel Director from the first conversation, and our trip leaders hold pre-trip meetings with school chaperones so everyone knows the plan and each other before the group travels. Families and educators talk with our Home Office staff and trip leaders ahead of time.
During the program, our contracts, agreements, site scouting, and supervision guide every day. After the trip, we reflect, discuss, document, and improve.
Who are our local partners?
Global Works has long-standing relationships with the activity providers and community partners in each destination. They know our safety standards and provide clear instruction and guidance for the activities students take part in.
Student travel safety FAQ
We staff our programs at an 8-to-1 student-to-leader ratio.
Yes. Our trip leaders live and travel with the group throughout the program, including overnight. They act as mentors, not as guides who leave at the end of the day.
Yes. Every leader is background checked and certified in First Aid and CPR, and many hold Wilderness First Aid or Wilderness First Responder certifications.
A Global Works director is on call 24/7 during our programs through a dedicated emergency phone number. If a call goes to voicemail, the director will call back.
Our leaders are first-aid certified, and our risk management partner, Cornerstone Safety Group, provides on-call medical, mental health, and risk management support during our programs.
Yes. Our trip leaders hold pre-trip meetings with school chaperones so everyone knows the plan before the group travels.
Yes. Emergency and cancellation coverage is available through our partner, battleface.
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