school trip for 13 year olds which involves setting off at 2am?

[Mintyy]

My child is going on a 3 day school trip to a European country.

Today I find out that the timing of the outward bound flight means that we have to get her to school for boarding the coach by 2.15am.

Aibu to think this is nuts?

How much would that cost to have the teachers who are going on the trip to come to the school earlier?

Tidying up- pupils tidy up their own mats (like they do after PE- or are they not allowed to do that any more?) teacher hands two black bin bags to jimmy and jane and they each walk round asking for all rubbish. Blankets come with pupils for coach/flight. No-one leaves hall till place is the. Same as they walked in. One of the teachers opens and locks up.

I think school trips will reduce, TBH. Costs are increasing, volunteers to attend are probably decreasing etc.

I would be more interested to know whom the school are using as the airline. I refuse to fly with Ryanair as I will not support a bully boss such as Michael O'Leary and would not want a school to do so.

Suzie, so those teachers would also have to be at school from say 9pm with their sleeping bags and almost certainly get no sleep before the coach arrived.

Forget it. It was a suggestion. Trying to think of a solution for OP. never mind.

So very lucky, I don't want to derail the thread too much so will keep it brief.. we don't have Ofsted here which seems to make the biggest difference, all my teacher friends adore their job, getting a teaching job here is next to impossible because no one ever leaves a post, teachers here work normal hours. From what I read in this site, teaching in England is totally different. I keep reading that all the ridiculous paperwork generated by Ofsted is causing teachers to work 60+ hour weeks etc, so no wonder they would begrudge fitting in school trips. Personally, I would prefer they refused to go rather than went miserable. As I said though, I don't see school trips as an important part of school life.

Oh, picking holes in any idea is an MN pastime suzie.

Obviously it would have to be thrashed out properly, but I can't see an insurmountable obstacles.

All those parents who don't mind early morning starts could volunteer, for example!

Suzie I don't think it is unreasonable, but I do think it would require parent volunteers to staff it (would need CRB's though) and perhaps one or two school staff who aren't going on the trip to oversee it.

I think it would have the status of a school disco, so CRBs would not necessarily be needed.

'Who will supervise the mass sleepover at school?
Who will pay for the staff time to watch and supervise said children?'

The teachers who are going on the trip?
Other staff?
It's not as if you get paid any more for going on a residential than you do for working a normal week. Unlike, say, nurses doing overtime.

'How much would that cost to have the teachers who are going on the trip to come to the school earlier?'

Nothing.
Like I said, teachers don't get overtime,extra time or whatever for doing evenings and weekends.

You'd need CRBs for a sleepover.

Fine. Why don't we just say that children who have only one parent and smaller siblings and who are poor can't go on trips at all?

Was that to me, Mme?

You'd beed a key holder on site too. Head teacher or caretaker usually.

I'd definitely not volunteer for a mass sleepover before taking them on a school residential!

If I had to do this now I would be able to because my youngest is 7 so she would go back to sleep on our return and I now work from home which makes my days more flexible.

A few years however and this kind of thing would have made me so ill. I have fibromyalgia so a younger child who wouldn't have gone back to sleep (or played quietly whilst I lay on the sofa) and having to get up the next morning for work would have made me ill for weeks. I would still have done it though but maybe the OP can't manage on little sleep.

It is to everyone who thinks that single parents, poor parents, parents without cars, parents without money for taxis, parents without a decent support network, or a school without a parental matey culture should just stop whinging and get on with it.

A little bit of empathy would not go amiss.

A few years ago that should have said.

Forallthesaints - they will use the best value. So possibly Ryan Air.

You'd need to ask them in advance to find that.

Whether you let your child go or not is your choice but you couldn't dictate which airline a school choose because of your own personal views.

I would have done Hulababy, much less stressful having everyone in the same place, able to check they've brought everything with them they needed, all those needy parents dealt with the night before. Means you could focus on the trip bit next day.

I wouldn't Im afraid. I'd want to go home and enjoy some time with dh and dd and get a peaceful evening in before the trip. You get so little sleep on the trips themselves that one extra night - esp all of them together in one room so no sleep at all! - I'd want for myself.

It's why running or attending a school trip should never be expected or compulsory. They are entirely based on good will.

Mine were not up at 5am , Herc. Anyone can get a support network for a real emergency, everyone tends to be helpful. The times you really need it are for those occasions that are not emergencies, like a lift at 4.45am.