We Passed with Flying Colours! Our STF & LOtC Renewal

In the world of school tour-operated travel, two accreditations showcase safety and quality like nothing else, and they are the School Travel Forum (STF) and the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge (LOtC).

Both are industry certifications to stand by and are a clear sign the company planning, organising, and tailoring your school tour is meeting the very highest standards they’ve both set.

We can proudly say that we recently passed our yearly renewal of both without them recommending any changes to how our tours are operated. Basically, we passed with flying colours!

This is what they cover and why they’re important to your school tour.

School Travel Forum – Founding Members

The STF are a not-for-profit organisation who promote best practices and safety in school travel, like having the proper health & safety, financial protection, and quality measures in place.

How does this apply to Rayburn? They’ll look at all parts of our offering to make sure we’re assessing every aspect. They’ll check we’re using the correct methods in risk assessing our hotels; our staff are DBS checked; and that we follow up our trips with ways to constantly adapt and improve, like our post-trip questionnaires and phone calls.

They’ll verify that with an expert external health and safety consultancy firm within the travel industry, who assess us every year.

Plus, to become a member of the STF we need to show we have robust and proper financial protection in place that covers school funds in the event of insolvency. They are also the awarding body for the LOtC badge (more on that later).

Our history and commitment to the STF comes to the fore with our long and involved history with them. Our Chairman is a Founder and the first chairman, our Joint-Managing Director a one-time committee member and treasurer, and our Head of Operations and Customer Relations now sits on the committee.

It means we get both an intimate insight into best practices as well as allowing us to be a voice in maintaining those high standards.

Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge – Something Special

The Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge (LOtC) is the gold star showing we’re checking our educational school trips are checked for a vast array of factors, like safety and quality, and who work closely with the STF.

Recognised by the Department of Education and Welsh Government as well as being the only national award of its type, it’s a stamp of approval showcasing Rayburn Tours have your students and schools complete learning experience at the forefront of our minds.

These are the 6 LOtC Quality Indicators:

Safety: RT must make sure every part of your trip is safe for your school and students, like transportation, accommodation, and activities
Cleanliness: every aspect of your trip we organise should be clean and well-maintained, like coach travel
Customer Service: goes without saying, but we need to provide excellent customer service, including clear communication and support throughout your school trip
Value for Money: our school trips should offer value for the cost paid, like providing a complete educational experience
Accessibility: we need to ensure your school trip is inclusive and accessible to all types of needs
Quality Learning Experience: your trip should offer educational themes aligned with your curriculum goals, giving your students opportunities for learning and personal growth outside the classroom

Rayburn Tours is committed to ensuring that best practice and safety are at the top of our list of priorities when organising school tours. Because we’re an STF member and hold the LoTC Quality Badge, it’s embedded in the work we do day in and day out, and we’re constantly embodying their high standards in our company culture.

Their annual audit and assessment show we’re doing all we can to be the best in our industry. Basically, it’s always reassuring and satisfying to get sign-off without the need to change any of our processes. We passed with flying colours!

Kelly Wigley
Head of Operations and Customer Relations for Rayburn Tours

Even More

The STF and LOtC aren’t the only models of excellence we hold ourselves to. ABTOT, ABTA, and the ATOL cover vital areas of financial protection for your school trip, as well as promoting the very highest standards within the UK travel industry.

School Tours with High Standards

Ultimately, with the STF and LOtC part of Rayburn’s armoury, you know booking your tailor-made school trip meets the very highest standards and is the perfect ground that educates, inspires, develops, and creates unforgettable memories and moments.

We’re ready to chat when you and your school are.

See Our School Tours

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