to be pissed off at school 'enrichment' trips

[AugustRose]

I know this has been done many times before but I have just received an email about a 4 day trip to Iceland, costing nearly £1000. During the summer there was a trip to South Africa (it happens every 2/3 years) costing £2500.

This is the second time they have done the Iceland trip and they also have an annual skiing trip which is about £700.

These trips are not inclusive and it's always the same children/families (and teachers) who can afford to go. It's a small secondary of about 600 students but 80% will never be able to go on any of these trips. In Y8 DD1 had a 6 day trip to France that cost us £425 (it was good value) however it took us 6 months to pay for it as I really wanted her to be able to go.

I just get frustrated at the lack of less expensive trips/activities which could include many more children.

Surely schools are falling foul of The Equality Act 2010?

"1.5 The Act makes it unlawful for the responsible body of a school to discriminate against, harass or victimise a pupil or potential pupil in relation to admissions, in the way it provides education for pupils, in the way it provides pupils access to any benefit, facility or service, or by excluding a pupil or subjecting them to any other detriment."

I wonder if there has been a bit of a sea change on MN.

In the past threads like these have been full of comments about what wonderful opportunities these trips are as otherwise the DCs would never get to foreign parts (as though Iceland is Brigadoon and disappears once the DCs leave school, start earning and can take themselves!).

Certainly my DCs' school seems to have dropped a lot of these trips.

There have been a couple of theatre trips for drama students for which we have been very grateful and said so to the accompanying teachers.

Residential trips do have value especially for DCs where the adventure is just going away from home and family. There is no need for this sort of trip to be to the other side of the world.

Having talked to quite a few teachers who have done trips like this and they all described these trip as 'a jolly', esp the expensive ones because by default, they tend to attract a certain type of pupils and they aren't usually the most disruptives ones.
The one comment they all did, which wouldnt apply to those trips, is the fact that coach trips were a pain.
And yes they all enjoyed them as saw them as an opportunity to go something they might not do otherwise (Im thinking going skiing for a week etc...).

The prices are extortionate and I personally wouldnt spend £4k on a trip when I know how you can get for a trip at that price. I'd rather spend the money in a different way tbh.

My daughters school do one to New York at £1200, Ghana at £1800 and Mauritius for £2000 between years 9-11. We also got home to a letter on the doormat yesterday telling us she'd been selected for a trip to Disneyland Paris and could they have the £200 deposit no later than Friday am.

It's not a private school- it's a comp in a fairly deprived area and although we are lucky in that dh and I both work and only have the one child so can afford some of the trips I feel such short notice re deposits and things discriminates against children from poorer backgrounds and have often wondered if the school do it on purpose to ward off percieved "bad families". And who has a spare £200 the month before xmas usually!?

YANBU!

We live in New Zealand, DD is in year 12 and they offered an exchange for Germany at cost of about $7000, everyone in her German class is going but DD :( it creates a huge divide between the poor and rich imo.

DD really wanted to go, however I'm a single parent and I can barely afford Christmas this year and keeping up with the bills. She then had to lie to her classmates about why she wasn't going on the trip.

What really pissed me off was the German teacher going on and on about how beneficial it was and what a great experience she would have, did it ever occur to him that I might not be able to afford it?! (me as a single parent).

I'm so glad my kids school doesn't do loads of foreign trips.

I've had to turn down the French trip next year - £360. But I have twins!

My eldest his going to Iceland for A Level. Geography next year, that was £750.

My DTs will get their turn, I'd better start saving!

Mine do Scouts and they go camping abroad, and it's usually 2 weeks away that's cheaper than 4 day school trip, so I don't mind paying out for that. Plus they usually have monthly payment plans whereas the school want 1 deposit asap and then another couple of huge payments.

DS has been to Switzerland, Sweden & Norway, Belgium and Poland with Scouts. No way could we have afforded school trips to all those places - they were all far cheaper than his Iceland trip (which is 3 days away) And they always ask that you tell them if you would have trouble affording it as they have hardship funds.

A good point about notice, we normally get really short notice wrt deposits for trips.

There was not one trip at my ds's secondary for next summer under £500 🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁 he ain't going. Hoping he will be a place on a cadet camp instead as they cost between £150-£200 for a week and that's just about affordable and he will then get a trip away. I think school trips have just got silly......

If trips are in school time I have an issue.

If they are in the holidays and are non essential I don't really see the problem. It's hard enough finding teachers to do the 'jolly' trips like WC to Borneo (generally the younger, single teachers) let alone trying to get people to sign up for a weeks camping in the rain in England.

Also when are teachers meant to plan these trips? More efficient for them to sign up with a company that offers ready made trips.

From this thread we can see that if you want cheaper trips you need to put the effort in and be part of scouts, cadets, similar.

Sorry I disagree. Not everyone can go but that shouldn't mean that some can't.

My DD went on a si trip. As a family we could never have afforded for us all to go but for just one place we could. We saved - there is usually a good notice period. She saved her birthday money and Christmas money for two years - she went and had a brilliant time!!

If kids go with the school they learn so much and (usually) have brilliant time. It is not just a holiday. It give some kids a chance that they wouldn't otherwise have.

YABU to complain about something that is of value to some kids just because all kids can't afford it.

(Also I bet that some of the people complaining that they can't afford it are the ones whose kids boast about iPads or gloat their way round school with new phones and trainers). Not all, I know some people have nothing , but that does not mean no-one else should have.

ski trip - the keyboard on my laptop is useless!

No one has said these trips shouldn't be offered. Have you tried reading the thread?

We'd just like some cheaper alternative trips for those who are struggling.

My dd went on no school trips in secondary at all because they all cost over £500 and I simply didn't have any spare money to save.

at skiing being 'enrichment'. Our local secondary does 'enrichment' too in 6th form (ds is starting there next year). This involves helping out in local schools or other public services, tutoring younger years etc. We have a 17yo living with us who helps out in a local primary in Y1. He goes once a week for a whole afternoon for the whole year of Y12. I always tease him whether he's been 'enriched' when he comes back, but it's a darn sight more enriching that spending a ton of money to visit another privileged country.

Cheaper trips are not usually as popular and are not significantly cheaper as accommodation and insurance are about the same. BUT - yes you are right , there should be a range of activities that cost much less.

If you would normally spend £50 on Christmas, (including stocking) for your DC and £50 on birthday, (including party/cinema trip), and if DC gets £20 from say each of 5 granny/aunty/rellies for birthday and for Christmas that is £400 in two years.

Save a bit each week and If DC aso gets pocket money or does a Saturday job, even better. That's how we did it.

OK, I know that we were lucky to have that - and it sounds smug although not supposed to - but many people saying they couldn't afford it would spend at least £50 on presents, (and even tat) at Christmas.

(I also know many couldn't.)

Some of these trips sound ridiculous. Thankfully the only overseas trips dd has been offered are short trips to France obviously planned for educational benefit. Dd is going to go to Paris next spring on a joint French/Art department trip, visiting the Louvre, museums etc. A lot of pupils still can't go I'm sure (it costs £350) but at least it's clear why the trip is being offered.

Basically there is a french trip offered about every other year and that it is for overseas, plenty of UK trips to theatre, university extension events etc. Those use the school minibus that the PTA funds and so really all that is charged is fuel + entry if relevant (and even then they often ask for it as a voluntary donation)

I think the teachers that take them to France are saints, it sounds like hell on earth - they do overnight coaches each way to keep the costs down . . .

Some of our local schools do trips to Africa which cost a lot, however the schools do a lot of fundraising to help pay and the children are encouraged to do additional fundraising too. They are still expensive but the trips are about helping others, being part of a global community and using skills, such as creative thinking to raise money. I still agree though, that a lot of school holiday trips are not inclusive because a lot of families can barely afford a family holiday themselves. I would definitely approach the school governors about this issue. It's wonderful that some children may get these opportunities, but not fair if only a select few can afford to go.

Yanbu. I would raise your concern in writing with the head, involve the pta if you can get them behind you. The costs you mention are unacceptable in a State school. If they want to show pupils deprived orphans there are many countries closer to home where they can do that.

To the person who said it's not a jolly for teachers - that's just not true. I have a relative who is a teacher in a state school (not wealthy area) and he calls them jollies and tries to see how expensive/fun a trip he can manage to justify, he's been trying to pull off South America for a while just because he fancies seeing it. When I expressed surprise at his attitude he said it was the only highlight of an otherwise shit job. I doubt he's the only teacher who feels like that.

I sometimes wonder why schools do such expensive trips. OK, it's probably hard to do a skiing trip that isn't expensive. But at that age, I think the UK and Europe are fine. I remember going on a trip to the Lake District in Y8, which I thought was quite exciting as I'd never been there before. Duke of Edinburgh award was all the UK too, all to national parks that I hadn't been to before. Then we had some trips to France, Germany and Switzerland. The school also did a ski trip to Austria.

At my niece and nephew's school, there's a trip to China at the end of Year 9 (although they are doing Chinese as a MFL, so maybe fair enough). Cue me saying "in my day we went to the Isle of Wight in Year 9". Our niece has the chance to go to Kenya on an expedition at the end of Year 11 when she will have just turned 16. She has hardly been on any residential trips before, but will be spending four weeks thousands of miles away. It is a mixture of voluntary work and fun, and I think it will be a great opportunity. She is supposed to fundraise for it (it costs about £3.5k), but I think her parents (and DH) will end up paying for a lot of it. They can afford to do so to give her the opportunity, but yes, it probably isn't fair on children whose parents can't afford that kind of money for a trip.

How long is the South Africa trip for? £2500 seems very excessive. My DDs school do it every year for £1700 for 10 days.

DD's school have offered (via an outside company) four weeks abroad doing some charity work (among other things) which would be fine but they are expected to "fundraise" 4.5k to go! If they raise less than this the company keeps the money, but they don't go.

Education should be equal in state schools, children should have the same opportunities. My dd already has to go without a lot of things her peers have. Expensive school trips just add insult to injury.

I meant day trips. There were none at all at my dd's school. They didn't even take the art students to one of the many local galleries that would have cost the bus fare as entry is free.

I agree that helping in the community is much more enriching than skiing. When I was at school 100 years ago we were expected to volunteer with the elderly, people with additional needs or with small children. I used to help in a playgroup every week.

I would definitely approach the school governors about this issue.

Throw the book at them. The Act was framed to encompass socio-economic discrimination: "...a child from a rich family often does better at school than a child from a poor family..."

School trips that discriminate against poorer pupils are unlawful.

For trips at my kids schools, they are told no child will be excluded due to cost, but that if not enough parents pay, the trip won't happen.

I think there is also some pupil premium funding that schools can use to ensure all pupils can access activities.