Mobile phone ban on overseas school trip

[anotherglass]

12 year old son is due to go on his first overseas school trip to Belgium later this month.

There is a strict ban on children using mobile phones during the trip.

Part of the trip will involve a period of up to 2 hours where children will be allowed to wander around an open, retail precinct - unsupervised. Teachers will not be far and kids will have cards - in the local language - to hand to someone if they are in trouble, during this activity.

Parents were not made aware of this unsupervised element of the trip, prior to making payment.

I am nervous not only about this element, but also the fact that there is a heightened risk of terrorists attacks during the period of the trip, which coincides with Euro 2016.

AIBU to insist on son being allowed to take his mobile phone on the trip?

Phones don't protect children from anything. Let it be and the school manage it.

I would imagine that in the case of a major incident, kids with mobile phones would be a nightmare to navigate for teacher/group leaders. They would need the children's full attention to get them out safely, distractions by phone calls, texts etc could be fatal.

Teachers who run these trips take a hell of a burden on themselves and it is the task of parents to cooperate with them - not to encourage their children to disobey rules set up for the good of all

^^ This

I'm only surprised that none of the "I've got to have it my way " posters have suggested the teachers are getting a free holiday on these trips ...

I am amazed (and grateful!) that there are still teachers who take children on residential trips and even trips abroad.

DS2(12) is off on a 5 day outward bound residential on Monday and all electronic devices are banned. Good on them.
There was a clear explanation as to how information would be distributed if there was a need. Parents were discouraged to try and contact their children as that was more likely to make some feel homesick.

I expected the parents' evening before the trip to be all about kit lists and what to expect, but no, there was much reassuring the parents present that there precious snowflakes would be well looked after and would be fine. For goodness sake - I remember my school trips away overnight to this day (I am ancient) with a grin on my face.
I am sure individual children with particular issues will have been discussed behind the scenes between their parents and the teachers involved.

How on earth would access to a phone help in case of a major incident?

These threads always make me laugh. It is always full of teachers and goody two shoes parents of younger children (or perhaps no children at all) who seem to think that no teacher and school must always be right and no school policy should ever be criticised. I remember, many years ago, when the situation was similar for doctors and other healthcare professionals but (quite rightly) that has changed. Parents do not have to think teachers are gods and always right. We aren't the children...

must always be right is ever wrong

Criticise the school policy if you like but don't send your children on the trips and encourage them to do as they please.

Of course schools/teachers are not always right, but on this issue I think they are.

I have two older children who have been on many school trips. I have criticized school policies on many occasions. On this occasion, however, they are right.

I am not a teacher, have a primary and secondary school child, School trips and residentials are optional, if I don't agree with the school's policy I will discuss this in the information evening or not send my child. By agreeing to the trip, I agree with school's policy.

I am a teacher, and quite prepared to admit that I am sometimes wrong.

However, in this case, while i do think there is a 'balance of risks' assessment to be carried out, the decision seems entirely reasonable, and there is no good reason for a parent to unilaterally break that rule.

If it is simply about parental reassurance 'so they can sleep', the problem is not the school's policy, or the child, or the phone, but the parent.

Criticise the school policy if you like but don't send your children on the trips and encourage them to do as they please.

I don't tell my children to do as they please. I would tell them to take their mobile phone as previous experience tells me that their school will not contact parents to let them know they are going to be late back. Everyone else does the same (on the previous trip DD apparently and it clearly has not caused a problem as now it seems they have changed their "no phone" policy to bring a phone if you want but teachers aren't responsible.

I don't think I will ever volunteer to run a ressi again. I was asked last year and refused. We've not done one this year but talked about October half term. This thread has made me more determined not to be involved ( and I'm not a teacher!)

So the school has caved in because so many parents encouraged their children to flout the instructions. If that had happened to me I wouldn't be taking the children of such entitled and undermining parents on any school trip again.

BertrandRussell how old are your children?

Orangetoffee there wasn't an information evening before the residential so no option to "discuss". I'm not quite sure how that would work anyway considering there are 180 children going. I don't know anything about the ban until I read the leaflet describing what to bring. DD didn't take her phone (practically the only one from what I can gather) and as I consequence I left work early and wasted my time for no reason. That won't happen again.

teacherwith2kids it is nothing to do with assurance in my case. It is to do with communication and knowing when my child will be back. There is a reason for me to break the rule and can hardly be described as "unilateral" if everyone else is also breaking it. Considering that the children were 15 at the time I can't quite see what the "balance of risks was". Everything mentioned here e.g. children crying on the phone etc would only apply to younger children. Older children generally have more freedom on schools trips (quite rightly) but this also means that a phone can be useful.

Currently 20 and 15. And I think you would be surprised how many 15 year olds do get homesick, actually..........

So the school has caved in because so many parents encouraged their children to flout the instructions.

I think the school probably just reviewed their policy and realised it wasn't sensible rather than "caved in" I'm not even sure that the teachers on the trip knew of the policy at the time.

Currently 20 and 15. And I think you would be surprised how many 15 year olds do get homesick, actually..........

They may get homesick but I would hope they are beyond the age where they are phoning their parents and crying down the phone about it. So when your 15 year old goes on school trips, is she not allowed a mobile phone?

Since some parents simply feel they can do as they please yet still expect teachers to arrange trips with all the work that entails while parents undermine them it's hardly surprising that we have a recruitment problem.

Depends on the trip. When they went to Ypres they were allowed them for the journey so they could listen to music and play games, but had to give them to the teachers in charge when they got there- but it was a very long coach journey mostly in the dark. Mostly no, though.

Mary, we always have information evenings where residentials are involved and communication is always discussed in detail. Guess your school is not very good at communication and I understand why you are annoyed.

I just don't have a problem with the no phone rule. Delays, however annoying and inconvenient, are just part of trips.

ionlycleanforyou

Since some parents simply feel they can do as they please yet still expect teachers to arrange trips with all the work that entails while parents undermine them it's hardly surprising that we have a recruitment problem.

Personally I wouldn't mind if there were no school trips. Your comment about recruitment, entitled parents etc is fairly typical of the way of the way teachers on here start talking whenever they or a policy is criticised.

I think that if the children will not be fully supervised all the time than it is reasonable to assume that the children are mature enough not to phone home hysterically etc or cause other problems

If only ...

I'd refer back to the endless posts from experienced folk who've mentioned exactly what these "other problems" are, but honestly don't think there'd be much point. What genuinely confuses me is why you'd entrust your DCs at all to people you so clearly regard with utter disdain?

Depends on the trip. When they went to Ypres they were allowed them for the journey so they could listen to music and play games, but had to give them to the teachers in charge when they got there- but it was a very long coach journey mostly in the dark. Mostly no, though.

Really? How do the children get to and from school. Do they have phones at school? My children go to a large inner city school with no catchment area. The majority of children get there via public buses and trains (sometimes more than one and sometime from different towns/cities) so a no phone policy really isn't practical considering that there are very few pay phones anywhere nowadays.