School Trips and travel arrangements

[Escapingthemadness]

My son is in Reception, and off on his first school trip this week.

I am really pleased they are taking them out, the school have a lovely day planned for them. My issue, is the travel arrangements.

The school have a mini bus, plus they are hiring another. The children are all aged 4/5 Years but they wont be in car seats!

Car seat safety is very important to me, i have always researched, and purchased the safest seats i can for my children, and i cant help but worry about him travelling without a seat. Why when there is a car seat law, are schools aloud to take children out in a vehicle without them?

What do other schools do? What are other parents thoughts?

I won't stop him from going as its part of the excitement of the trip, but it just concerns me that children are travelling at risk. A full adult seatbelt doesnt fit a child of this age correctly.

[Tiggles]

I don't know about all coaches, but I own a minibus previously used for school transport. All the seatbelts have adjusters that bring the seatbelt to the right height for each child.

[OddBoots]

It's the same with ours, the seatbelts adjust to fit small children.

[Periwinkle007]

I assume the belts will be exactly the same as any coaches hired for school trips. I can't imagine the chaos if they asked each child to take a booster seat with them for a trip. I have to confess that whilst I am extremely careful about my children using their booster seats it never even occurred to me when my reception daughter went on a trip on a coach recently with school, I just asked if it had belts.

[bdbfan]

In the case of a collision involving a coach, the impact felt by the passengers is much less than those in a car.

[Hulababy]

Although I was always very careful in cars regarding car seats, DD has always just gone on school trips on coaches without, right from early in reception.

The law has exemptions, which includes coaches, buses, etc.

[PastSellByDate]

Hi Escaping:

First - the school has to log fieldtrips (if in state sector) with LEA & includes risk assessment (there are all guidance of seating requirements for children).

Odds are if they're hiring - they have arranged for new vehicles which as many have said will be adjustable for young children.

I suppose the way to think about it is millions (and I mean millions) of people take double decker buses for millions of miles (km for those metrically inclined) throughout England - most seem to come out of it o.k.

HTH

[PastSellByDate]

And if you want to be really worried

ask yourself whether the school explained who is the designated first aider on the trip and what level of training they have...

Many schools just gloss over this - and they shouldn't.

[Still18atheart]

At my school school minibuses were used for daily pick up and drop off everyday. The school was 40 mins away. None of the reception dcs had car seats. This was 5 years ago

[PatriciaHolm]

It's normal. No trip my children have been on in primary involved car seats; the coaches/buses will ideally have seatbelt adjusters. The law has exemptions for such things.

[cory]

I was once in a bus that was driven into by a car at the end where I was sitting. I heard the bang but barely felt the impact. Slight scratch to the bus. The front of the car completely crumpled.

Your ds will be an awful lot safer in the school minibus even without a seatbelt than he is in your car with one. But will probably be wearing an adjustable seatbelt for extra safety.

Very few children are killed in buses or minibuses. A good many are killed in their parents' cars.