Would you make a complaint about this?

[IDrewThat]

My dd was taken on a school trip last week. It was an outdoor event with plenty of opportunities to go inside for refreshments and learning events. I've been to this place before and I'm aware of the indoor spaces.

The day came and the weather was awful. Torrential rain and winds. The school proceeded with the trip telling parents to rest assured children will be kept inside at all chances.

I collected dd at home time and she was hysterical. Shivering and crying. Her clothes were equivalent to if she had been swimming in them. I was furious.

All the children came home soaked. A lot of them really distressed!

Dd said it was so horrible. They were kept outside all day. Didn't go inside anywhere at any time. Dds lunchbox was soaked through as they had to sit on them to eat their lunch or stand and eat in the pouring rain.

It sounded horrific. Dd said the children kept getting told to hurry up and the whole time was spent practically running in the rain trying to keep up with each other. They didn't learn anything. Some children slipped and injured themself. One child wet themself as they couldn't find the toilets.

My dd is 6 and the eldest group was 10 year olds.

Would you make a complaint about this? I would complain about the fact the children did not go indoors at all as promised. They learnt absolutely nothing and were distressed by the end of it.
Not to mention the amount I paid, but that's irrelevant really.

I'm a teacher and completely disagree with all the comments about teachers not doing it again if you complain. You don't have to be horrible about it, but it's fine to bring up that it was an awful day and should have been cut short if possible.

I did the school run in waterproofs yesterday - a mile each way - and was properly soaked by the end of it. My children were in puddle suits and still got wet underneath. I couldn't imagine being outside in that amount of rain all day, including lunch. I imagine ghe teachers had a miserable time too.

Not sure about the toilet thing. Teachers don't have magical powers and if they couldn't find a toilet, they couldn't find one. There will have been plenty of toilet opportunities at other times. I'm sure they felt awful. I've dragged children round to find somewhere to fill up water bottles on a hot school trip before, and it's miserable being responsible for children and doing your best to meet their basic needs when the centre is not particularly well set up. I obviously solved the problem but the 10 minutes or whatever felt long to me so I bet it did to the children too.

If the schools hadn't booked indoor classrooms they probably couldn't use them. The centre was probably filled with school trips at the end of term and you generally follow the itinery they provide. What kind of trip was it?

lol at some of these comments.

they It's not normal to be kept outside all day in torrential weather with no opportunity to dry off even with waterproofs.

The school proceeded with the trip telling parents to rest assured children will be kept inside at all chances.

So people talking about risk assessments it would be normal to do one in case of bad weather.

Good grief what a bunch of snowflakes

Ok boomer 🙄

You need to have the facts from the school not your DD.

They did not attempt to go into any of the indoor places and choose to keep the children out in the rain
How do you kmow that? Was you privy to the conversation and planning between teachers. Why would the teachers want to stay out and get soaked themselves?
Would I complain? Would I hell.
I wouldn't even make a huge fuss of Dd. It would be ' never mind, let's get you changed and warm' and I'd be asking her about what was good about the day. I.e looking for positives, such as , well at keasr she didn't have to do......( her worse subject)., or she sat next to her best friend on the coach.

However your post show you want to complain. What would that achieve?
Next time, check the forecast. Pack plenty of water and suncream if it's hot, waterproofs if it is going to rain
So you wouldn't be bothered if your dc came home from a school trip crying and shivering. Soaked through with blue lips, numb hands and feet having been stood in the rain all day. Not given chances to use the toilet and overall very distressed?
It's not a case of not being bothered. I don't want to wrap my childin cotton wool. It appears it wasn't a great expierence . I would just be matter of fact about it. " come on, let's get you home and get warmed up' it sounds like the teachers didn't have a great day either.

I don't think you would have got a refund if they hadn't gone. The school would have had to pay for the trip even if it was raining so I imagine they thought they should just get on with it or people would complain about that too.

I was at a castle yesterday and it was raining all day and there were two school trips and I felt sorry for them as it was a terrible day to be outside all day. There was an inside part but it was small and not very interesting particularly and it wouldn't have held the attention of groups of children for very long at all.

Was there no heating on the coach on the way back?

Ooo bravo. But not even close.

It sounds to me like your “ friend “ who was on the trip has a rather large wooden spoon and is setting up your bullets .. ready for you to fire ..

Out of curiosity, did this person complain? Seeing as they were on the trip for the entire day?

No it’s not ideal but if you want to say something, do it calmly and diplomatically. Guns blazing , angry wasp type emails will get you nowhere.

If yesterday was anything like where I am, the rain and driving wind were terrible. I eventually went out for a quick walk at lunchtime (WFH) but was soaked within minutes. It wasn’t pleasant. Presumably the school booked the trip planning to be outdoors at wherever they were. A family would have the autonomy to say, let’s go next week instead. The school will have booked and paid for transport and so on and it was probably then or never. So they’ve tried to do the right thing. The weather was so extreme though that being able to postpone, or doing something different, might have been the better option.

Schools have a duty of care and 6 hours outside in the pouring rain with little ones isn’t appropriate - if that’s what actually happened. What’s tricky here is that you only have the say of your child and a biased helper.

If my child came home like that I would be complaining as well. Being outside all day in heavy rain, nowhere even dry to eat lunch. Too many posters on here minimising it . Must have been horrendous for the children. It should have been cancelled

The point about not getting a refund is a good one. Many parents would be very cross about paying and not even going. It puts the school in a very difficult position.

Your friend is in a better position to make a complaint as they were actually there, whay do they think?

My thinking was that if I had encouragement from this thread, I would send an email or something to complain.
You need encouragement from strangers?
Why can't you think for yourself?

Your whole post is mad.
It doesn't sound a great trip but sometimes things just don't work out as planned. I find it hard to believe there ain't a toilet break. Time and tim again on our trips kids say they don't need the loo until it is too late.
I wouldn't be surprised if your friend is over egging tbe pudding because she didn't have a great day. Let her complain if it was so bad.
Personally I'd chalk it up as ' not great but no one was injured or died'

Where did they go that it was cold enough for blue lips? It is wet and rainy, but even if they were wet they wouldn't have been cold enough for blue lips! She may have felt a bit damp and chilly and been keen to get home and dry, sorry but it just sounds like a big drama over not much at all. I also agree with pp that your friend is enjoying stirring the pot on this one.

Sounds miserable and no I wouldn't be happy.

I wouldn't go straight for a formal complaint though. What would you want to achieve from it - just an apology? Or a change in policy?

I'd speak to the teacher though, give feedback about how wet and cold DD was and ask what went wrong.

I would complain. It’s a safeguarding issue. My DC were asthmatics and a full day in the rain being completely soaked risks not only an asthma attack but a chest infection, that can progress to a hospital stay for pneumonia. I know your DD is healthy, but statistically speaking at least a few children on the trip would have been asthmatics.

The fact a child had to piss themselves because a teacher couldn’t be arsed to find them a toilet is utterly shocking.

The fact they had no shelter…not even an overhang to eat their lunch is unacceptable.

Your DD was appropriately dressed for the trip, but no child should be out in pouring rain for hours on end.

I'd be absolutely livid if my young child was returned to me in that state. Of course you complain but this is mumsnet where you mustn't dare question the poor teachers 🙄🙄

Being outside all day in heavy rain, nowhere even dry to eat lunch. Too many posters on here minimising it . Must have been horrendous for the children. It should have been cancelled
For most of the country the forecast was showers, including where I live. The showers actually became heavy constant rain.
If the school cancelled because the forecast said showers there would be uproar. The school wouldn't t get their money back from the venue or from the coach company.
Maybe there was no where to eat because other groups had got indoors first and it was packed. Who knows?
It's not about minimising but the fact that you can't undo it.The teachers probably had a miserable time as well.

You must be joking, you can get hypothermia when dry starting at 16C
I don’t know about you, but here it was 11C and pouring rain yesterday.
Being wet and at 11C is more than cold enough to cause hypothermia especially in young children and the elderly.

My friend is not the type of person to complain. She will moan to me about it because she knows deep down I'm too much of a wimp to complain too.

I trust everything she has told me about the trip. She wasn't involved in any discussions about where they were heading next. She just followed with her group. She was appalled when the children began eating where they were stood in the rain. She said she could have cried for the children it was such a disappointment. The hype on the bus on the way compared to the reality of it all!
She couldn't believe they didn't go inside and only when they headed back to the coach she realised that wasn't going to happen.

@notacooldad

Someone was injured actually, if you read my first post!

I was thinking that. GS off on DofE gold expedition today with waterproof stuff that cost hundreds. Not many 6 year olds are going to have that sort of kit.

It doesn’t need to cost anywhere near that much! DS’s school does forest school once a week no matter what the weather and everyone has to have waterproofs for it. The trousers cost me a tenner, wellies less than a tenner and I have to buy him a coat every year anyway. So total outlay for whether appropriate clothing is £20 max.

I would complain. That is beyond ridiculous. I would let them know you don’t trust them and I wouldn’t send my child on an excursion that I didn’t attend again. A bit of rain is fine. But being soaked and having no toilet access for the day is not ok, and probably illegal. I wouldn’t just complain to the school, I would go to the education department and encourage the other parents to do the same.
And before you all call me a Karen I just want to add that I don’t complain about stuff. My kids was forced to stay on an excursion while vomiting and I didn’t complain.