to not want to take my DCs to a different location on Friday?

[BiscuitsAreMyDownfall]

So there was a letter from school about how the children are going to be Ice Skating at another near by school on Friday. They are to be dropped off at this other school at 8:45 and picked up from this other school at 15:15.

We live rurally and the school only has 2 classes in comprising of 25 children in total so it is very small. It has been partnered to the other larger school (the one which the DCs are expected to go to on Friday) a year or so ago. The head from the other school is now also the head to this school. They still remain different schools with different rules (such as the start and finishing times, uniforms is different too - although this seems to be slowly changing to the other school)

Now surely my job is to make sure my DCs get to their current school on time and to pick them up in time. If there is a trip somewhere else then is that not up to the school to transfer the children to the trip? They are often going to this other school for various reasons and they hire a bus. Or are the school within their rights to say that x day the children will all be going to this other school so parents have to take them there?

Its not as if they are having lessons as far as I can tell, but there is going to be a synthetic Ice Rink set up in the school hall. The school they go to is 100 yards away from our house. Luckily I am able to take them to this other school, but its not very convenient for me. If I was working we would have no chance unless I used a holiday day to do this.

Just remembered, when my kids were at a village school, and there was a need to be off site, eg for a football match, the school would ask for

1. parents who offered to drive a group of kids
2. permission from other parents for their children to go in a parent's car.

So, 4 parents offered and between them could take the whole team. Kids had permission, and if needed kids brought their own booster seats.

That way all pick up and drop off was at school, and school organises the lifts and no bus to pay for.

Our DC could always be picked up from and/or taken back to, the original school. There was always a paragraph about if this were to be a problem, please contact the school and something would be sorted. I never had a problem, luckily, as I had a network of friends who would always help each other out, but I know that sometimes others didn't. It was never a problem for the original school to take some DC back to the original school after a trip, even if most DC were picked up from the second place.

Well there are 3 options, aren't there?

1. Pay for a coach/minibus
2. Don't do trips
3. Ask parents to help.

If you prefer I or 2 to 3 then say so by all means.

It is surprisingly difficult to book a coach/bus for a short local trip involving a 9am or 3pmish pick-up/drop-off because all the vehicles that are used for those kind of trips are busy with school runs.

You can do it if you use a luxury coach company but you're talking £300 for them to leave the depot, making OP's DD's trip cost £10+ per head

Barbarian - yes but asking parents can be through the school, ensuring every child goes, or ad hoc, making it very hard for parents who don't drive.

As I said up-thread we have a partner school 1 mile away. There was some extra tuition at that school last year and one of the teachers took the 4 kids in her car. So that is still possible if the teacher has the right insurance.

Thanks for more responses. I think I probably am being a little unreasonable, but think the school could have said something regarding any difficulties instead of just demanding we take our children to the school 7 miles away.

I have handed the permission slip in and mentioned that even though it's not a problem this time, that doesn't mean it won't be another time.