School trips - holidays for teachers

[QueenBing]

I'll just kick this off by saying I am a secondary school teacher and for the third year in a row I am organising the annual MFL trip to Germany. AIBU to request that people/parents/fellow teachers/parents kindly effing STOP referring to this trip as a "holiday". And believe me, they're not joking. The extra work that's gone into organising it. The lack of sleep while I'm there. The pressure of looking after 40 teenagers. None of which I begrudge doing, but it is not an effing holiday.

Depends on the trip, tbh. And on the interests of the staff members on them.

I go on a lot of school trips. They are always hard work beforehand of course but the actual trips themselves vary.

Some that most definitely were not holidays included:

• a week in a cold, damp chateau in France doing outward bounds activities in French with 50 year 7s (I don't even speak French).
• several weekends with around 30 overexcited boarding school students in Alton Towers (a place that is my idea of hell even on my own)
• 5 days in Holland on a hockey tour (I hate hockey and it was cold)

But others have had definite holiday status:

• A week in Italy, including Rome and Pompeii, with a group of 35ish children who had chosen to be there and were delightful and interested. Great colleagues, gorgeous 30 degree heat and lovely hotels.
• 3 days in New York seeing Broadway Shows and going to theatre workshops (as well as chilling out in Central Park and doing some sightseeing) with 12 great 'thespian' children and a colleague who is one of my best friends.

Sounds like yours is more not holiday than holiday. But they certainly can be holidays.

Not a teacher but a Brownie and Guide leader. I enjoy taking the girls away, getting to know them better and seeing them do loads of exciting things. But it's absolutely exhausting to be on duty 24 hours a day. It's absolutely not a holiday for me!

My least favourite thing is the parents who are late. I've looked after your child for a weekend and you can't even be bothered to pick them up on time? Parents being late annoys me enough at weekly meetings but when I'm knackered from a weekend of 20 girls, it's infuriating. We have our pack up/cleaning routine down to a fine art so we can leave as soon as the girls do, so it's increadibly frustrating to have to hang around for parents who have no regard for us and our time.

To be fair though, I recently took a few Guides to camp for a weekend and had thanks from all of them and their parents. I have all fab Guide parents at the moment who are on time and answer emails and texts.

I ran a trip skiing to America last year and it was no holiday, especially when a kid broke their collarbone and myself and a colleague spent hours in the hospital and then waking up every 4 hrs to give medication for pain. Not a holiday!
We are going again next year and like last time, the teachers are paying for one extra member of staff to go between us, to keep cost down. It has proved popular and the pupils asked us to run it again. It is expensive but pupils will have had 18 months to pay for it.
It is in our holiday time but it is worth it to see the kids experience things they may never do otherwise. I did ask my husband if he wanted to come along but he said he couldn`t think of anything worse!

We counted the thank yous from parents this year after a week of outdoor activities. Fantastic for the pupils who were all well behaved and enjoyed it but nevertheless it was still exhausting for us. 3 out of 45 said thanks. Parents are not being good role models when they march up, grab their child and pass in front of staff without saying a word. I, too, have had the comments about enjoying a week away at their expense. Don't forget many of us have left our own families including young children and paid for extra childcare, made arrangements for elderly parents or pets to be cared for etc all at our own expense.

I have total respect for teachers involved in trips....they are definitely NOT a holiday!

I took 50 children to the Isle of Wight to a hotel, not activity centre (so literally, every second organised by us) and the day after we got back the chair of governors came to complain to me that her child had been sat on a meal table with people he didn't like. Despite the fact they were all told at least three times to choose carefully. And despite the fact he hadn't mentioned it ALL WEEK. I thought she was coming to say thank you. I cried....

I'm just back from a week long camp with 80 twelve year old boys. Up at 6am and bed at midnight after duties.
My husband moaned that he never gets to go away on 'holiday' and leave me with our two boys. You'd think he'd know better after 15 years!

I totally agree OP. It definitely is not a bloody holiday. I did a number of these trips before the dc came along. And yes, we all had a lovely time, but they are bloody hard work! And my school will not allow any of these trips to take part in school time so they 100% have to be in school holidays. So at my school teachers give up their actual holiday (no extra pay) to take pupils away.

Off to London tomorrow for a week with 40 teenagers. Returning 4 days after the start of the holiday. On call 24/7. 2 12 hour coach trips. Love every minute of it but it is not a holiday.

There's nothing I enjoy more than a holiday where I'm responsible for 60 kids 24/7. So very relaxing.

I'm a beaver leader and one night is plenty long enough!

I always make sure I say thank you to the teachers, even on day trips.

I teach in a private school. I love going on school trips, but they are most definitely a 'holiday' rather than a holiday. I always come back exhausted from the pressure of being on duty 24/7! They're amazing for the kids, though, and many do express their gratitude - often the kids are better at that than the parents, tbh.

I've not done residentials as a teacher, but I have in Guiding.

There are many benefits, the improved relationship, an experience which the children may not get otherwise so they are worthwhile, but yes it is exhausting being on duty for multiple children 24/7 in an unfamiliar environment knowing that you're accountable to other parents.

I will admit that one weekend away felt dangerously close to being a holiday after a week involving OFSTED, and a reprieve from night feeding a young DS . However it didn't compensate for the bank holiday when I was 6 weeks pregnant that sent me over into total exhaustion that didn't begin to shift for over 10 weeks.

After 13 years of running school trips, planning our lives around them (my wedding date was picked not to clash with a year 6 residential). After taking 140 year six's away last month I am not doing another residential.
Parents were rude before. Due to a medical issue one bus was an hour later back than the others. 2 parents put official complaints in about their child being late back. Another parent complained cause there child was only given 3 meals a day, another complained cause we clearly did not care for her child's emotional well being as he was only in a group with 2 of his friends. Another complained because teachers did not pay for the trip and how was that fair (their child was 75% subsidised)
So gave up hours of my life planning don't see my DSD for 15days(basicly miss our days with her), to get shouted at by parents, not sleep for 4 nights, put my full family through stress to get complains put in about me. It is not happening!
I don't regret any of the trips I have done in the past and have had some truly amazing moments with children (over coming a fears, seeing the sea for the first time, getting d of e awards) but I can't put myself though it just be shouted at anymore. Shame for future pupils going through my school.

Teachers YABVU for not taking siblings on these jollies to. Give us parents a proper break.

too

It is lovely to hear the parents that do say thank you in this thread, but we got one thank you and 5 complains.

I can't get my head around parents who can't say thank you. My dd has done a whole load of trips with the schools attended and through guiding. Through these trips she's had experiences I'd never be able to give her, a thank you is the least I can give (although I've always tried to give wine/choc as an extra small thank you - I'm not rolling in cash but it's the least I can do for opening my dd's eyes to a whole wide world out there)

Surprised that so many parents don't say thank you - many of our parents do. Lateness though - see plenty of that. Must be very frustrating :(

Very rare to get a thank you. Very rare indeed.

I fully intend to give the teachers some bottles of vino after they have taken my kid on a trip. Its certainly no bloody holiday!! He is only 7 so some years to go yet before he's whisked away by the school unfortunately grin

I expect their is some fun involved especially on the skiing trips but fuck all that organising and containing kids that aren't your own!

My personal favourite was the mum of a kid in year 7 who emailed me late one night just before the trip: 'how much pocket money should Tom take?'

I taught Tom period 1 next day. So having checked my emails in registration, Tom arrives p.1. I collared him at end of lesson having dismissed everyone else. 'Tom, your mum has asked about pocket money for the trip. Can you tell her it's up to her but about £20 is average? You'll just need it for the gift shop if you want to buy a souvenir, & maybe a snack at the services, although you'll get a packed lunch so you don't actually need cash really.'

Tom: 'cheers miss, thanks, I'll let her know.'

I emailed mum at lunchtime to explain all this (which was already in the info booklet I'd given out to every parent, but whatever).

Five minutes later, I get a call from the office: 'Tom Smith's mum is here. Says she's sent you a really important email & you haven't replied. She's insisting you come down to the office & explain'

Me: 'sorry I can't! I'm in a meeting this lunch hour, with another parent, which I'm already late for. Can you ask her to check her email as I have replied?'

No response from Tom's mum.

Until she rocked up half an hour late, at midnight, to collect Tom when we returned from the trip shouting 'where is Mrs Crowy? She didn't meet me before this trip to tell me how much pocket money Tom should take! I gave him £50 & he's spent it on crap! I'm NEVER letting Mrs Crowy take Tom on a trip again!'

The sad thing was, Tom was a sweetie. Otherwise never taking him on a trip again would have been fine by me....

"I've never heard a parent describing it as a holiday for teachers."

I have. Loads. As a governor, I have had letters of complaint that the teacher isn't paying their own way "because it's just a jolly"

I have also. And kids sometimes too.