to not let five-year-old child go on school trip into central London

[Blueflowers2011]

as title says, Year 1 (age 5 mostly) are going on a trip into London, which consists of 30 children and supervising adults travelling on 1 rail train, interchange to 1 underground tube train then a 20 min walk when they get to the other side to visit a shop.

A couple of parents are now saying they are not allowing their child to go which is also confirming my thoughts initially, which btw is mostly due to anything happening in London in general.

I have worked in London all my life and it's bad enough travelling on the tube everyday as an adult, let alone a 5 yr old child. Many parents also feel it's an unneccassary trip at this age just to visit a shop and how it works.

I encourage most things and experiences for my children but just feel this one is a bit too much for a 5 yr old. Am I worrying too much or should I just let them go?

Bastard autocorrect.

Visiting a Londis, that should say.

When my daughter was 5 or 6 the school sent home a letter, permission slip type thing. Within the letter was a paragraph stating that the school were not ultimately responsible for the safety of my child!!! A meeting with the headmaster followed and he said ' if the child runs off, against the rules, and gets injured, then the teachers cannot be held accountable!!!' Needless to say at the end of the meeting I crossed out the relevant paragraph and signed the permission slip (I think he had become that tired of listening to me he suggested it). I did this for the next 6 years. I know it was just some kind of pro forma but it made me feel better, has anyone else had this in a permission slip?

Op i was caught up in 7/7. I was at liverpool st station when it was evacuated then got to work inside the police zone and not allowed to leave. My sister was caught up ira bombing of oxford street I would allow dc on this trip no problem.
The problem is if you get a group of parents like this,they wind each other and make it all worse.

Dontyou I didn't know that Milton Keynes was renowned for it's architecture. Bet it wasn't as good as my trip to Bracknell

I'd go as a helper and if I couldn't do that then I wouldn't let him go. London is very busy and children can easily wander off.

Wouldn't let mine go ..... could get eaten by an escaped gorilla from London Zoo.

Seriously though, I can't believe the hysteria on the this thread! It's London!! Not a war zone.

Even if a kid was straggling behind, or tried to wander off, I'm sure a teacher or parent helper would notice. And if, very slim IF, they didn't then London is full of lovely helpful friendly people who would notice and ensure the kid got returned to their group.

It's only a very tiny minority who are evil. you have to remember that or you'd drive yourself fecking mad and never leave your house. Don't pass on all these insecurities to your little ones.

Don't you think it would be headline news if a small child was lost in London, separated from a school group - the Daily fail would LOVE IT. Funnily enough it's unheard of!

Within the letter was a paragraph stating that the school were not ultimately responsible for the safety of my child!!! A meeting with the headmaster followed and he said ' if the child runs off, against the rules, and gets injured, then the teachers cannot be held accountable!!!'

Ohmygodareyouserious That head sounds odd. Schools and individuals have been prosecuted under health and safety legislation for harm resulting from negligence.

Any teacher would be aware of that. That's why they do risk assessments beforehand and endless headcounts on the day. That and the fact that they don't want children to get lost or hurt. Oddly enough they want them to enjoy the day. The overwhelming majority of school trips pass off with no more incident than someone being sick at the back of the coach.

I'm surprised about how many people (even though they are in the minority) are worried about children travelling to central London. I grew up and still live in zone 1, my DC attends school in central London and regularly goes with school to the Eurostar to encourage learning French. They also travelled on two trains to the outskirts of London. This was all in reception and never worried me! People live in Central London and have kids who travel within the city with no problems everyday

Limited
Back in the 60s they wanted to stop me going on a trip to london (we lived in north london) because i had been travel sick the year before. My mum spoke to them, made sure i was at front of coach and allowed sweets to suck and obviously teavel sickness tablet and i was fine. My lasting memory of the day was japanese tourists wanting to take my picture in front of Buckingham Palace.

YANBU, but it depends how used to travelling in London your child is. I grew up in a city but my kids are proper bumpkins. I once went on a Cubs trip to London as a helper and there was a VERY high ratio of adults to children (about 1:2, and these were 8 year olds!) because the kids were just not used to crowds, escalators (I know!!), traffic, the whole thing. It was actually really stressful because you were constantly having to check everyone was together and not getting distracted or left behind. It was like Crocodile Dundee Kids, I'm not kidding.

I can see where everyone is coming from re letting the child go, however I don't think I would. Just due to how busy London is, nothing else. I'd be frightened they wandered off.

Is it actually Hamleys? Have skim read the thread and couldn't find a confirmation of that. If it is then that's a horrible amount of effort for a pretty awful shop. It's the least magical toy shop in the world and you'd be better off at Toys R Us.

But as for the rest of your post, I can't understand the issue. My children have grown up within a mile of Oxford Circus. Thousands of children live and go to school in the area. Thousands more pass through every day.

And the tube is fun for kids. And safe.

Perhaps go along as a helper if that is an option?
My mum worked in London when I was growing up and often took me to the office with her and also to the museums, theatres, parks and shops etc. I grew up loving the city, rather than being scared of it. I now work in London as an adult, and my confidence and knowing my way round comes from the trust my mum put in me from an early age. I am very grateful I had those opportunities as a child.

It's normal for most school trips/'off campus' activities in London to be done on public transport and walking. Probably because of fantastic pt system, free for children etc. I am in various areas of London throughout the week and usually see at least one school group crocodiling along each day.y you could volunteer as a helper for the day.

Do you live in the Outer Hebrides OP?! I was brought up in London and so was DH and our DS. We are still here and thriving .....

My mum spoke to them, made sure i was at front of coach and allowed sweets to suck and obviously teavel sickness tablet and i was fine

A tin of travel sweets, a Sealegs and seat next to Miss at the front of the coach. That was my experience of school trips too bruffin. Miss used to carry a lot of plastic bags.

Limited
All the other kids were jealous as they werent allowed sweets on the coach

No not at all wrong to question going, there is after all plenty of time when she is a little older to explore and remember a trip to London. Honestly, I totally agree it is a risk, I've been taking groups of teenagers for years and there are times, because of the sheer volume of people that it is difficult to keep sight of everyone - I wouldn't even contemplate 5 year olds. I say look forward to going as a family maybe, on a quieterSunday, perhaps and maybe not for a couple of years🙂

MissHoolie I had a guided tour of Slough once. I win. ;)

I'm a primary school teacher in London. We do numerous trips by public transport (all without incident I must add) for an extremely simple reason: cost of hiring a coach - £500, cost of public transport £0. I actually prefer leading trips on public transport as I consider the journey to be highly educational. Travelling on a coach teaches children nothing. I teach in a deprived area and many children never go anywhere except on school trips.

I'm a primary school teacher in London. We do numerous trips by public transport (all without incident I must add) for an extremely simple reason: cost of hiring a coach - £500, cost of public transport £0. I actually prefer leading trips on public transport as I consider the journey to be highly educational. Travelling on a coach teaches children nothing. I teach in a deprived area and many children never go anywhere except on school trips.

If this post were reversed and parents of very urban children were questioning whether their PFBs should be allowed to go into the countryside by public transport and then have to mix with lots of unknowns - mud, grass etc etc, MN would rightly tell them to get a life

pasta I totally agree about saving a fortune by using public transport. I'm in London and have 3 DCs and so many of their trips educational visits are free or cost next to nothing because we don't have to pay the extortionate cost of coach hire. I have had at least one child in primary school for the past 12 years. There are 14 classes in the school and they generally go on 2 outings per term. My maths is a bit rubbish but that amounts to a lot of visits over 12 years and, to my knowledge, there hasn't been a single incident of a child being left behind, getting lost, getting run over or being abducted. Teachers know what they're doing.

If it is Hamleys the walk is 10 minutes, max.