Train delay and School comments

Ideally we'd like the train operator to run their scheduled services as advertised to their paying customers....

What exactly would you like the train operator to do in this situation given the alternative transport offered wasn’t acceptable to the customer.
Train companies would always prefer to offer a single vehicle big enough to fit all of the passengers rather than multiple smaller vehicles that work out significantly more expensive but given the restrictions on which vehicles they are able to use it is next to impossible to source large coaches at no notice. The school was almost certainly able to source a coach where the railway company could not solely because the school is able to use coaches that the railway company cannot legally use.

Really? You are aware one or more of those children may have been abused as a result of this trip but you still think it will make them less stressed if they have the same situation in the future?

We had that at our school.

A selected group of children were taken to a sporting event. A very expensive sporting event, and they went for free. A teacher drove them into London on the school mini bus, about a two hour drive from school. On the way back they hit really bad traffic and the children were getting hungry. So the teacher pulled into a service station and got the children something to eat. Most picked McDonalds or KFC. But one boy didn’t want that, fair enough. So the teacher took him to all the possible food vendors, noodle places, pizza, jacket potatoes and the like. Nope, he didn’t want any of it. So the teacher asked him if he had anything left in his packed lunch that he could have. He did, so he had some of that.

They eventually got back to school at 10pm. The parents of the boy put in a complaint that he hadn’t had a hot meal that evening.

Yes, my thought process too. Being expected in school next day would be effect of Central Government Education policy, which then needs to be looked at.

They're Scottish kids, schools are much more sensible about attendance - they won’t be expected in the next day but it would impact their parents in terms of childcare for the day.

I think the teachers did a great job under the circumstances. The train operator failed miserably. There's still a perception in Train Operations (I work in public transport) that the average traveller is not disabled, travelling alone or with a partner, and has minimal hand luggage. This is far from the case and TOC contingency plans are a joke.

Resilience? Why? Htf were 50 kids going to organise themselves to get from Preston to frigging Edinburgh by themselves? If it wasn't for the teacher's resourcefulness they'd be sleeping on the station floor. If my kid was stuck, I'd be beside myself with worry.

But you remember this, and I feel rather vividly. Should this not form an experience which if it repeats, you would maybe, be a little less stressed?

Some situations are stressful no matter how many times you’ve gone through them. Becoming desensitised to what most people would agree is a very stressful situation isn’t a good thing or something to strive for.

Hang on a minute, you're aware of the reality faced but you want the parents to be happy about the chance for their kids to have a horrible time on their school trip, on top of whatever else they might be dealing with? That doesn't add up, OP!

School trips are a huge amount of work, teachers are already overloaded, there aren't enough teachers to go around and supply teachers don't organise trips, and school trips take teachers out of school meaning cover is needed which is expensive and/or unavailable.

Lots of reasons.

Not even in the station

It said the station would be closed

So OP wants them to sleep on the streets.

Because presumably booking a hotel would have been too much to

My DD hasn’t had a trip in 5 years either.

The year 6 residential was cancelled and there hasn’t been any trips in secondary school.

I’d never been on a public bus as a child.

As an adult I moved to an area which was serviced by a public bus and so I started using it regularly.

It was often delayed or cancelled and although it was annoying I managed to cope, even though I’d never experienced it as a child.

I think you’re confused about how you build a resilient child.

Why has he had no trip for 5 years? Secondary or primary?

But surely that would teach them that when life throws rotten lemons at you, you still have to get up and go to work. Mass detention for anyone who wasn't in school on time and working at their best. That'll give them a good life lesson. Then tell them the teacher left all their work on the coach and they have to redo it at home. That'll teach them that even when you work hard, sometimes it's for naught. And then cancel a different classes school trip to cover the costs, teaching them that sometimes when other people screw up, you suffer
Personally I don't let my kids have anything nice I'm their life until they're old enough to work and pay for it, having to provide for yourself is a good lesson everyone needs!!

My 12 year old has developed this attitude since covid and although I find it sad it has stood him in decent stead for the multiple times things have gone to shit for various reasons.

I'm getting tired of resilience turning into expecting people to treasure increasingly crap experiences. As if kids (and teachers) haven't had enough to get through in the last few years! I don't see that the kids were particularly lacking in resilience in this situation either, it looks like they got on with things? But of course it's not suitable for them to be stuck on cold streets overnight.

You want a load of 12 year olds to be stuck in a train station overnight in order to build resilience? Are you HIGH??

So after a long travel from London, you want the teachers to stay awake all night to supervise a load of preteens, for them to sleep on cold benches and floors without proper access to food and toilets because kids these days need toughening up?

God I hope you don't have kids.