To be so angry with DS's school right now ?

[TheLaundryLady]

Having a crappy week (see thread about friend letting me down) and it just keeps getting worse

DS's school are planning a residential trip to Shropshire next October for his year group.
DS very excited about trip so we complete the paperwork and pay the deposit as requested by the deadline. Paperwork went back about 2 weeks before deadline but due to a glitch with schools parent pay system we didn't pay deposit until the last day of the deadline.

Fast forward to today after being told that he was on the trip I receive a phone call from school telling me that they had messed up and had got the boy/girl ratio wrong and had one boy too many on the trip. Therefore DS will now be unable to go.

I was told that if he was a girl he could still have gone but they chose him not to go because We were last to pay.

Now they have known how many girls and boys are in that year group since reception.

If this was purely first come first serve I would understand but this clearly seems to be about his gender - he can't go because he's a boy.

Head teacher has basically said tough and DS is gutted

thatdearoctopus: Yes. Staff at our school took 60 kids on a week-long camping trip and it was two same-sex members of staff to a room. The residential trips are obviously completely voluntary for staff so no-one who was uncomfortable with that has to go.

Well, maybe there are some people who'd be happy to do it. I would not, however.
Let's hope so, if it might solve this issue.

I can't believe the school have booked a year 6 trip with only enough room for the year 6s MINUS 1 CHILD!

This is terrible planning, what are they expecting that 1 child to do whilst the entire year group plus teachers are away? Do they have no understanding of how upset that child would feel at being the only one excluded for no other reason then he is a boy?

I hope you have been to the school today and got the matter resolved. If not, write to the Governors, Local authority and if it's still not resolved I would go to the press as a last resort (even though I hate the papers that run these sort of stories!).

Is this trip part of the curriculum ? I thought children had to take part if it is .

I'd be furious Op .

"that was the case, than it wouldn't be the case that if it was a girl he could go. The way I am reading it is not the extra number that is the issue, it's the fact that the extra child is male"

I think it must mean that there is an empty bed in a girls' room but no empty beds in boys' rooms?

OP- Could you ring the centre yourself before you talk to the Head to see if they have any suggestions?

On Guide and Brownie camps, we sometimes share with the girls too . All in one big room, not individually.

thatdearoctopus: I totally get you - I hate sharing with other adults and would never volunteer on that basis, but I would do it if the alternative was a little boy being the only one left at school while all his friends hot on a coach for a week of fun

Each to their own though. I don't think any adult should be forced to share.

To clarify it's 1 year group , 2 classes approx 30 children per class.

Residential trips are generally ' nice to have' rather than part of the curriculum - hence parents having to pay.

This is a ridiculous situation. We are talking about a residential which is next October, so there is ample time to resolve this.
I am staggered that any school can appear to be so ignorant and stupid to believe that they can just decide to leave one member of a year cohort behind and believe that is OK.
I would go in tomorrow and see the head teacher and see what they say. I would then ask them to confirm their response in writing, without getting angry etc by monday morning. If they are stupid enough to make this kind of mistake then they will be stupid enough to put it in writing. When you get something in writing then it is an immediate written complaint enclosing the offending email to the Chair of Governors. You do need to go through the official complaints process.

Also, I'd raise the point that the deposit wasn't paid sooner because of a glitch with their payment system.

Thank you admission we'll do that

To be honest I'm not worried if they try and fine me for taking DS's out of school on the week of the trip and DH feels the same.
I can't have DS1 sat at school in a year 5 class not learning anything new and knowing all of his friends are away on the trip

TheLaundryLady Totally agree with you on the fine. I'd do the same - I just would not mention that was what I was going to do until the last day before the trip. And I'd be aware that there may be extra money to go out on top of the holiday. I am unsure any court would actually make you pay the fine in these circumstances.

It's quite likely that someone will drop out before next October , so your son will be able to go - but that's not really the point.

Hoops - unfortunately DH already told the HT that's what we'd do when he spoke to her earlier

Oh well! That goes that idea out of the window. Though I guess there are huge benefits to being upfront on honest.

However, they may be less inclined to sort out the issue if they think he's going somewhere fun regardless.

He's not known for his subtlety..!

This is simply outrageous. To exclude one child from a year group residential because of a mistake they made with the numbers is just unacceptable. Whether you were the last to pay is irrelevant. Agree with what admission said. Ideally get their explanation in writing, and then shove in a formal complaint. Make it clear when you do this that you are not going to let the matter drop. The only acceptable reason for excluding a child from an activity like this is the behaviour of the child concerned. If they arrange an outing for the entire year, it must be one that every child has an opportunity to participate in. If the venue planned is not big enough, then another venue must be sought that is. I find it hard to believe that they will not be able to sort this out somehow. Don't let them bamboozle you. This is their mistake, and your child should not take the rap.

I can't believe any Headteacher would think this was a fair or appropriate scenario.

I can't believe a school would be so utterly incompetent as to pick a venue that could not accommodate all of their children, should they wish to attend.

I expect it will come down to needing to rent one more room and that will have a cost - the school should cover the cost. Or it should be divided by 60 and therefore be minimal.

This is so wrong whichever way you look at it. I would do exactly as admission has said.

So why did the school book somewhere where not everyone can be accommodated?

They have a class list presumably it wouldn't have been difficult to call up and give them the max number of girls and boys and find this shit out before the venue becomes a possibility

What the he'll was the school thinking of? They would have known the boy :girl ratio since the start of the School year so why did they book a venue that couldn't cater for that ??? FYI my son's class is 21 boys and 9 girls.

Putting aside discrimination, as someone said earlier you may want to point out when they accepted your deposit, they entered into a contract with you. Next contact the Judge Rinder show and they'll sort it .

Seriously though this has got to be the worst fuck up I've ever heard by a school. I'd seriously look into moving him. No decent person in education would think it's ok to leave one child out.