To think that school outings and activities should be done within school hours?

[ThisIsMeToo]

Or at the very least that the school should give more than 2~5 days notice?

My dcs school never gives more than 2~3 days notice for any event. Visit to museum by the class or sport event that some children will attend to represent the school.
They expect parents to be there to pick children up whatever the time. We've had the school trip that was supposed to be back at 4.00pm that arrived after 4.30. The tournament where children will back 'after 3.30pm' (school finishes at 3.15...,). Etc
Except that I cannot accommodate that. The dcs go to an after school club that isn't on the premises. They also pick up from another school which finishes a bit later so can't just hang around.
I have no one else to pick up the dcs, esp with such a short notice. So the dcs have had to miss out on a few sport events this year already. And I know there will be more issue with some school outings. And I am not the only one in that case.
Surely the school should take that into account?

I take it you've asked the school to give parents more notice?

What did they say?

YANBU

Yep I have.
Apparently they can't give more notice and they can't give more precise time at which things will finish.

It is not the school's fault that your children attend an off-site after school club.
They probably don't arrange the tournaments either and there is only so much they can squeeze into a rigid school day.
School trips that arrive back late are often out of their control.

YANBU to want more notice of an event but that's it.

They should be able to give more notice though

You can't blame them for being a bit late back though, because there's traffic and other things to consider.

Same thing happened with PD days that were always a Monday. A lot of the parents with part time jobs have Fridays off instead but had to take some days off every single time. Lasted for years before they tried to have some Fridays too

We get the entire terms calendar with timings avaliable from 14 days before the start of term. It's not impossible.

What is a PD day?

They certainly shouldn't be doing this with whole class/school/year group trips that are part of the curriculum. I can't see any valid reason why they wouldn't give more notice, especially for trips that they have to book with museums etc.

But I don't think it's quite as bad when it comes to extra curricular things that your children don't have to attend. If you can't accommodate your child being on school sports teams, then withdraw permission for them to be involved.

I know they can be late. No issue with that (even though you aren't going to arrive on time when you have at least a 45 min ride and you leave at 3.00 but plan to arrive at 3.15....)

My dcs have done quite a few tournaments and galas out of school. Strangely enough, they can say they will finish at x time and stick with it. But not with school.

The issue is more that the possibility that patents have something else to do that being at school on x day at the drop of the hat isn't even being considered. I mean it's not even on the forms they ask us to sign. Children can go back home on their own, being picked up at the venue it at school but being In a childcare setting (childminder or after school) isn't there.

I'm not sure what difference it would make if 'childminder or after school' was an option to tick?

Surely that would still involve the child being picked up or making their own way?

I agree you should be given more notice, but we get little notice at our school. Also, the places they are visiting often set the times.

Regarding finishing late though , I am sure the teachers would prefer they didn't have to give up their free time to do it.

But this the point isn't it?
You can plan so that you tell parents early on what us going to happen. Both for tournaments and school outings. These aren't organised a week before (as they need much planning).
It's the telling people at thievery last minute AND being unreliable re times that makes it so hard.
I really can't understand why outside of school it us possible to plan and have children starting and finishing on time, apart from the odd problem, and not in school.
And yes I do think the fact it's not on the forms is an issue. Because it shows that it has never enter the school mind that it can and will be an issue with some parents. Instead the expectation is that there will be an adult to pick them up and that adult will be flexible.

Take it to the governors, presumably you have written to the HT formally already

They should be able to give more notice than that.

When my youngest daughter joined her school netball team I often had lists of the fixtures several weeks in advance. Some were away matches and timings were not exact, but at least we knew it might happen.

Other school trips I have known about a couple of weeks in advance. We have rarely had any problems. Once the coach broke down and wouldn't start for the journey back, so they were late, but that is life and we were phoned. Once when they were coming back from a week long residential trip the driver's permitted driving hours were running low and a break at a service station was necessary, but other than that no problems.

I understand what your saying and thankfully DS' school do give plenty of notice now!

However I have found that this type of situation has helped me meet other parents whereas I didn't before because DS goes to an offsite breakfast/AS club.

The few times this has happened others parents have taken him back to theirs for me.

My DD went on a GCSE English trip to Stratford. They were due back at 10pm, but the coach driver had driven for too long, so they had to wait in the car park while he had a break before he could drive again. They got home at 2.30am

from the instances you have given in your op these are circumstances that the school themselves have little control over - representing the school activities are not usually given a lot of notice to schools.

In terms of returning - do you really think that a school has the crystal ball that tells them there will be a traffic problem?