Safety

At Outward Bound adventure and challenge takes place in the outdoors. We believe it is an amazing environment in which to learn. Students are placed in unfamiliar settings where there are real consequences - this provides them with an opportunity to learn through experience.  Outward Bound has a comprehensive and rigorous safety programme in place, to ensure it delivers quality courses in a safe and supportive environment.

We have our own dedicated Safety Manager and an External Safety Committee made up of independent outdoor industry experts. There is a regular programme of external safety audits in place for each activity, and Outward Bound International carries out its own audits of the New Zealand programme every four years. It currently rates our safety programme as ‘exemplary’. The last review of our safety policy was conducted in 2007.

Our instructors are integral to safety. We select only the best in the business who have the right combination of skills, experience and abilities. On top of their existing experience, our instructors are required to complete a rigorous six month training and induction programme. All our courses have at least two instructors assigned to them.

To ensure participants' safety, our Duty Manager regularly monitors weather warnings with the MetService. Staff get the latest weather updates at morning meetings. We ensure everybody is regularly updated by marine radio and/or mobile phone. Potential weather problems are identified in advance and activities are adjusted accordingly. Our Duty Manager is on call 24 hours a day.