To think the school can allow one week out of the timetable

[noplay]

Ds is year 9 at state secondary. The school is in an area with some difficult issues and works hard to give kids a decent education to try to break the cycle.
I appreciate all this very much but I think they are taking it too far.

Since ds started at the school he has not been on a single school trip or activity. Every June, once the exams are all over, pupils are told that they have now moved into the next year and will begin the new work accordingly. So e.g. at the end of year 7 they will start year 8 work and timetable and then carry on in September.

Ds's friend also yr 9 goes to a different state secondary, one of the 'top-performing' in the area. He has been on a number of trips throughout his time there. Additionally, at the end of June every year they hold an 'Enrichment Week' where pupils can choose from a range of activities from expensive residential trips to free in-house activities such as film-making/sports/music/drama etc etc

I have asked a few times at ds' school if they could also do an Enrichment Week and each time met with the response that there's not enough time in the curriculum to allow it. I think it is excessive not to allow the pupils one week away from the timetable - AIBU?

Enrichment weeks are normal in secondary sch

Bloody phone - schools here, across the social spectrum (and we have some schools dealing with kids with very difficult backgrounds).

The activities vary from expensive trips, to cheap trips to activities done in site at the school.

They look brilliant for the students - really positive. I actually thought it was the norm for all secondaries now (given how they all seem to do it here) so would feel the same as you OP.

You would have thought children disengaged from school would benefit more from something like this - a chance to explore the relevance of school/education

The problem is definately money, in house theatre companies are charging 500 quid for half a day ( and you would need a FULL day just to deliver to one year in a large school.

You have the parents who sadly don't have the money to pay, and the school can't pay for all those who can't.

You have the parents who can pay, but wont, as the letter has to ask for voluntary contributions. So they don't realise the trip can't run if they wont pay.

You have the parents who complain at the drop of the hat about everything, pick up time, cost, that their children have to carry their lunches with them, and this is secondary.
Parents who threaten to Sue because their child tripped on a Roman walk in Chester....

Hardly any kids say thanks as they get off the coach....

And all the time senior management are chasing you to get impossible grades from lazy year 11s.

(And breathe)

The kids always say than you when they got off the coach on the one trip I organise. It takes place in December, and takes me from September to organise it. I bloody loathe doing it, it is so time consuming, but the kids love it.....

I'll second that pigletpower

Good to see i'm not completely BU anyway and to have opinions from the inside. I realised that a lot of organisation was involved but must admit hadn't appreciated quite how much or how difficult it is getting money paid.

I still feel they could concentrate on in-house in that case, make the most of the facilities they've got to give all pupils a chance at a different learning experience.

Someone mentioned after-school activities and it's true the school does run a range, mostly sport/physical related. The majority of kids though have had enough of the place after a whole day and it's difficult to persuade them back in. They are usually expected to commit to regular after-school attendance as well which puts a lot off.

I always assumed such things were the norm as well. Not to plan anything just seems really extreme.

Can anyone offer advice on how to approach this with the school? As I said in OP I have tried a couple of times but the reaction is that there's just no time (with the undertone that I shouldn't need to be told that). One of the vice-principles said that if they miss even one week of work at the beginning of the timetable they won't be able to catch up.

I don't want to make a pita of myself but I think it's important.

I imagine some schools would have problems with children bunking off with their parents' blessing on an enrichment week (see poster above who'd book a week's holiday). It's a shame.

It's dreadful that your son has reached Y9 without a school trip though, OP. They might be an almighty pita but trips are morale boosters and good for building relationships I'd have thought.

The school is very strict on attendance jenai - that's part of their ethic for engaging the pupils - so I know they would come down hard on any parents who took that attitude. The parents I know (obviously only a tiny fraction of 1500) are always really happy to see their kids involved in something extra.

Perhaps they could make it seem more formal, call it something else that sounds more like work to forestall that?

Ds1's school has arts weeks. That's quite broad ranging as it can cover music, dance, drama as well as drawing etc. arts and engineering would be a good starting point - lots of things that can be offered

Noplay you may be near me - if so most of the schools with diverse student bodies seem to run these weeks (not just the high academic schools) so might be worth checking out the blogs from some of the other schools that are more socially mixed and showing your head teachers what they do

Thanks saintly, I will do that. The Arts week sounds excellent.

I think trips are good for the kids.
My dcs school tend to be middle of the road on this.
There are quite a few trips I turn down because of the cost. I let my dd choose but she understands that she cannot go on everything. We never get a letter telling us their is a choice as to whether we can pay or not! I guess too many parents would say yes go but we can't pay!
My ds was offered the chance to go to Germany but he has said he would rather do the skiing trip-great-more expensive.

My friend's daughter goes to a performing arts school and their trips are fantastic, but very expensive. Paris, London, USA,skiing, as well as a host of day trips to shows and dance events. So I guess it is very mixed.

Ds1 goes to a special school - I think there was money from the LA to help fund some of it as enrichment for a vulnerable group. They has outside people coming in. Some of that funding may have gone now in cuts but might be worth looking at.

Also check out Shakespeare in Schools - no personal experience but I think they specialise in hard to engage groups (so no reason for the school to say it's not appropriate)

I remember our school did stuff like this (usually days, not a week, though) and everyone dreaded it, found it monumentally pointless and loads of people stayed at home.

Trips and things like that are good though!

DS school offers end-of-term trips as rewards for good behaviour/attainment/effort, might be a compromise.

Our secondary does "Activities week" ALL school trips are in that week - so kids don't miss any school time - the kids who don't want to/can't afford to go away for the week on a trip (Germany, France, Spain, India, Industrial tour of the Black Country, geography field trip to the Peak district etc...etc.... ) have a week of Art, Theatre, Science experiments, work experience, film making, photography, robot wars, jewellery design and making, textiles, mini-masterchef, clay work, additional language intensive course - or catch up sessions etc...etc...etc....

The sixth year students help run/arrange the in house stuff.

One of mine likes language trips - the other prefers to stay home and do design work.... but BOTH are on trips this year...... our first childless week!!

I do think you could take the lead on this especially if you can find other parents who will support you. I wonder though if the school has high staff turnover. At my school it takes a minimum of 7 weeks to process the trip paperwork, so you can double that to get it organised. As a new member of staff it took me from September to April to get a day out in London organised. If I had been teaching at the school the previous year I could have bagsied the date in advance, started the paperwork etc.

YANBU at all.

Residential trips should be part of the curriculum, not supplementary to it.

As a teacher, I have seen huge improvements in behaviour and achievement from the most disaffected students as a result of a residential trip. They are great for strengthening the school community and are invaluable learning experiences.

They should not just be used as rewards.

''Well, but, if the kids are going to a residential centre then surely all the school has to do is collect the money and organise transport?''

Oh FFS is this what you genuinely believe. Really? Do you seriously have any idea how hard it is to organise a residential trip? Any idea?

I can't speak from a secondary perspective but from someone who has organised and led primary residentials at residential centres I can say it is NOT easy. Infact it's blood hard and I can't believe you can't see that. It is not just a case of ringing the centre, the bus and collecting the money.

A list of SOME of the things it involves:

1. View potential residential centres during my weekend (driving up to 4 hour round trips to do so).
2. Do risk assessments, including walking the routes of any walks we take. No we can't just use the risk assessments from the centre as we have transport to add, any walks we do to add plus we have to add anything we do away from the centre. This again involves a weekend of my own time to do.
3. Contact centre manyl times to organise which activities we will be doing. How they will cater for allergies, disabilities, illnesses, SEN etc. Plus organise food we will have while there as child x is allergic to dairy, wheat and kiwi. Oh and she's allergic to many types of material so I need to sort out with parents to bring their own. Oh yes I need to ring the parents of child B too as he suffers severe travel sickness. Oh and I must ring the parent of child A as well as she was being all PFB and is worried sick about him going. Then there is child Z who has aspergers and he's really excited about going but Mum wants a run through of what will happen each day so she can talk it through with him (no problem with that but again it's time consuming). In fact I must get the timetable sorted for the week we'll be away. Shit when can I do that, my class are waiting for me to actually teach them.
4. Book the bus.
5. Send out letters to parents.
6. Collect money.
7. Chase up money.
8. Run a meeting for parents to tell them what will be happening.
9. Chase up permission forms for the children to take part in the activities.

10. Write a kit list for the children. 11. Ensure I have a list of all medications that will be taken, how they need to take them/how often and ensure I administer these all correctly while I'm away. 12. Book cover for my class and for the classes of the other staff coming. 13. Buy my own kit and pack. 14. Persuade other staff to come. Oh I'm sure you don't mind leaving your own family for a week, working 24x7 for no additional pay e.g. not getting paid for the evening and night work. Who wouldn't want to come. 15. Organise the learning materials we need to take e.g. notebooks, pens, clipboards, diaries etc. 16. Sort evening activities because these aren't provided by the centre. 17. Pack things we need from the school e.g. high vis jackets, footballs, medications, risk assessements etc etc. The list is a mile long. 18. Ensure the risk assessment has been approved by the headteacher and the LEA. 19. Suddenly realise that child D will come without a coat because he always does. Child E's Dad is fussing as he doesn't have a big enough backpack and can't afford one...so basically sort out enough spare clothes and kit for any emergency. Don't forget those sanitary towels for those poor girls who happen to start there periods while they are away (yes it happened and I was mum to a very scared 11 year old). 20. Pack the asprin as I'll bloody well need it. 21. Plan a weeks worth of lessons for those children left behind for a supply teacher who doesn't know them. 22. Manage difficult behaviour while we're away. 23. Clean up 3 lots of sick. 24. Take child T to the docs while we're away (find a doctor) as she has bad earache. 25. Survive on 3 hours sleep her night.

The list could go on and on. I got 1 thank you in 5 years of running residentials. Just 1. Yeah I bloody love giving up my life for a week. My family don't mind me being away for a whole week. They don't matter anyway really as long as the children I teach have a good week.

This is only a small sample of what a residential involves so kindly think before 'speaking' again.

But it's still worth it right, myheadwillexplode?

Incidentally I absolutely loved going but it drives me crazy when parents see it as easy and a holiday for teachers. Holiday...hahahahahaha.

Collect the money and arrange the transport
So you aren't bothered whether they have done a risk assessment?
Or sorted out insurance? Or give the kids any lunch?
That's before anyone with SEN, medication or anything else is thought out.
I agree OP, its a bit rubbish if there are no educational visits but perhaps given the type of school you describe, parents simply cannot afford it and perhaps they use to do lots and parents complained saying it was too much money etc and they wanted the school to focus on traditional education not fancy trips.
Why don't you become a parent governor then you can have more input.

After the first residential at a particular centre, the workload lessens for subsequent ones surely?

Which is not to deny the huge amount of effort that teachers and support staff put in to make them work.

The OP's school appear to know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. It's sad, and short sighted.

Not really Janai as risk assessments etc need to be up to date. Activities change at the centres from one year to the next. The children we take will be different and things have to reflect the children. The only thing that gets easier is the less worry you have as you know the staff and roughly what everything will entail.

The only thing I would add to myheadwillexplode's list is the constant fear of even the most minor thing going wrong, being taken to court and the end of my career.

I do think it's sad that there aren't trips at this school, but there are probably a number of reasons why rather than simply that the teachers can't be arsed to run them.

Fair enough, myhead.

Yes I agree wherearemysocka, especially at a residential acitivity centre which typically involves activities that challenge the children like canoeing, archery, abseiling, leap of faith, rock climbing, caving etc.

Brilliant for the children but you can't help but worry if you are in charge. I am like a coiled spring all week. I hide it well from the kids and other staff but the release of tension when I finally get home is incredible. I sleep all weekend when I get back of a residential week - literally. The last one I went to I slept for 18 hours when I got home.