Paying for school trips

[Workinghardeveryday]

I was under the impression that no child could be excluded from a school trip even if it wasn’t paid for?

We got a letter on their first day of high school advising there is a school trip for RE in less than two weeks time.

I rang to give consent, to be told I had to log onto Parent Pay, make my payment of £30 each child and give my consent there.

I explained I don’t use Parent Pay and would give my consent over the phone or via email.

I was advised this is not possible the deputy head rang me, she advised she wouldn’t want my children to be excluded from the trip (twins so £60!!) unless I pay.

my point was, their costs are covered by the parents not the school.

Paying for teachers transport is part of the cost of the trip just as much as the insurance since without it the trip couldn't happen.

Schools are unbelievably skint. They just don't have funds slushing around to pay for these extras as anything other than extras. The alternative to paying is for your DC not to go. It's harsh but that's how it is these days.

The school to pay? Who do you think "the school" is? This is like the attitude that "the government" will pay. Schools have no money. Funding is very tight. Too tight to properly teach children with SEN, too tight for basics never mind trips. You are not even trying to pay your way! You need to set up a payment plan or come up with something more helpful than no offer at all.

Good point.

There use to be (imagine it's still there) something in school trip polices in dfe about not making travel unnecessarily.

So - for example - if you are visiting a mosque for RE. You should walk 10 minutes to nearest if it exists.

Or take transport to one 5/10 miles away if closest.

You don't need to - and shouldn't - charge parents to travel an hour away to something that can meet the curriculum that nearer.

Like I already said, trip has to be paid in full before they go, no time for a payment plan.

But it is discrimination against the kids who can’t pay it.

I think the thread went a bit strange from the start. In the current climate it really shouldn’t be a shock that someone is going to struggle to budget for an unexpected £60.

That doesn’t mean the OP is entitled, or any of the frankly horrible comments here. It’s a perfectly reasonable point.

Surely as teachers we know about the Matthew effect (don’t we?) It applies here. What the school have done is wrong.

As a teacher that runs lots of trips due to the clubs I run- approx 20 a year. The cost of a standard 51 seater coach is £500 for a typical one hour journey each way plus wait time. If you can put 45 students in plus 5 staff that’s £11.11 but if it’s just a class of 30 then it’s £17. Insurance isn’t billed to students in our school but I would estimate it at £2. Not sure what the £30 is made up of if there’s no entry fee. Could you offer a contribution?

We did a residential recently and the travel costs to that were £860 each way so not too far off £2000 - that’s without accommodation and food etc- I think the total trip came to £13,800 to run. We have means tested support and it’s staggered based on income- all schools should offer some support. Do they get free school meals- there’s always a reduction for pupil premium children.

We'd have to charge for:

• transport
• insurance
• Staff cover

The way I see it, there are two issues here. One is that the OP doesn't have parent pay, which is easily resolved. The other is that she can't afford it, which is not. If she can't pay, then either they can't go, or the school might be able to help her.

I don’t really disagree with what you’re saying @MrsHamlet but I don’t think it’s acceptable for them just not to be able to go (I don’t mean this is what you personally are saying.)

If we have that system, where the children with well off and/or involved parents benefit from school trips and those who either don’t have much spare money or their parents do have the money but won’t hand it over - which unfortunately isn’t unheard of either - then it’s not hard to see that straightaway disadvantaged students are at more of a disadvantage.

And I know PP is supposed to address this but not every struggling family are PP.

The last trip I ran, we covered the cost for one student because I knew she wouldn't be able to come otherwise. We do have a fund for students who are not PP but who need help - but people have to ask.
It looks like all trips are off for us, except for essential field trips. We can't make the finance work, even to take the minibus to the next town for a football match.

And thinking about it, if you ask anyone who was poor when they were younger, what they most dread tends to be that poverty being exposed in some way. Like the tickets students used to display to show they were entitled to FSMs, or not having the money for a school trip, or not being able to afford regulation school shoes or a coat.

I don’t think we can or should be expected to solve all these problems but I do strongly believe as schools we should be mindful and sensitive towards them. I am organising a trip just now and purposefully started to organise in June so parents had advance notice and could pay in installments.

Of course you shouldn’t. School should

Op there's no money in the school budget for this. Our school can barely afford paper and glue sticks, and I know we're not the only ones. If the school had to pay then the trip wouldn't happen.

Perhaps that would be best.

Schools don't have the money for anything extra at all. In fact PTA's that used to fund the nice to haves are increasingly being asked to fund essentials. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/sep/17/schools-urge-parents-to-help-plug-funding-gaps-as-costs-soar?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

Wow, that has told me. Do you feel better now?

i feel I should apologise, but before I do, please could you clear up the following:

Already explained I would pay but the FULL payment has to be made BEFORE the trip. I should be embarrassed why exactly? For asking for time to pay, explaining I have no money?
Already stated more than once I do not expect teachers to pay out of their own money, school should, not the parents.
The accommodation, yes I do know because I know one of the teachers personally. Of course I appreciate the time, already explained previously we buy cards and bake as a thank you.
Never expected anyone to bail me out, just wanted understanding and time.

What an embarrassment I am.

Please don’t feel you have anything to apologise for.

Think about it. If school take money from a core budget to cover the travel costs of teachers on a school trip then all that means is kids like yours that can't afford to go miss out twice. Once because they miss the trip and again because the school now has less money to spend on them. It is entirely reasonable that the families whose children benefit from a trip bare the full cost.

As for discrimination based on wealth, secondary school is a place where that comes into everything. Some kids will get to go on school trips, to the theatre, to take part in extra curricular opportunities that cost money, will have tutors to help them with course content and revision guides bought for them by their parents. Others won't. Welcome to the world.

If you can't afford it they can't go, it's your responsibility to pay for your children not schools.

But I will pay! I just needed more than 2 weeks notice.

Thank you x

I totally understand, but this isn’t a Theatre trip etc, it has been made clear it is educational and they should attend!

Only thing I haven’t got are shin pads for them both, if they don’t have by Monday they get detention even though they have not needed them yet.

I didn’t buy them because my dd16 has not used hers once, total waste of money.
*
Well at least you only need to buy one pair as the other twin can use dd16's?*

@Shelby1981 I asked dd16 where they are, doesn’t know, probably binned them she thinks 🙄

Already stated more than once I do not expect teachers to pay out of their own money, school should, not the parents.

Schools have no spare money. You seem blissfully ignorant of the funding crisis in education.