School trips and parents

[Anotherdaynotasingledollar]

Today there was a school trip and many parents volunteered to go.
The school told some parents that they would pick those parents that hadn't been before
However there are 2 parents who always go
Their children are not special needs but one parent in particular is always chosen for everything and they have an older child in the school already whom they have gone from n these trips with and will probably continue to do so.
Part of the problem I think is that a. She is very pally with some of the staff and b. It is the deputy head who picks the parents who chooses the parents and gets a n with this particular parent
AIBU and What would you do if anything

My school avoids asking parents if at all possible, although they are sometimes needed to maintain ratios in younger years.

Schools don't want parents who are going to fuss over their own child, or the child is going to want to hang on to their parent. What is needed are parents happy to take responsibility for supervising a group, often best not to include their own child, and not someone who wants to helicopter around their child.

Helpers don't have to be DBS checked for trips - they just can't be left alone/out of sight of staff at any point - but if there are helpers/volunteers who are DBS checked, they're almost certain to be asked first because it's another unnecessary worry.

If a school has paid for a DBS check for a parent, it'll be because they regularly volunteer or help at school - it just makes things a little smoother.

Someone upthread mentioned "stalker" parents , who turn up at a location!
This is so true. Our school is in a seaside town, and whenever we have beach trips, or visits within the local area, you can bet your life that certain parents will 'happen' to turn up, and in doing so manage to upset their child. So unnecessary!

We don't usually need parent helpers, on trips, but on the rare occasion it is necessary, parents who are DBS checked and/or well known to school will be taken. We don't need the sort who are going to wind up the children, or who we can't rely on to follow rules!

Ah right, yes, that makes sense.

It makes sense for them to pick people who have proven themselves trustworthy and reliable. Why mess that up?

Not sure where OP has gone, but she might be interested in my thread from the other day. Put my mind at rest

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2962579-How-do-teachers-really-decide-which-parent-helpers-go-on-school-trips

I'm one of those parents who always gets picked. I have a DBS cert for another role I do where I'm responsible for groups of children so don't have to be supervised myself for toilet trips etc and can take children off on my own if necessary - as it was on the last trip when one child felt sick and needed to be taken back to a point to be collected and taken home. I was able to sit with her and her sick bag until someone came to pick her up while the rest of the children carried on with the trip. Generally, it's tiring and stressful and not at all glamorous.
It's never occurred to me that other parents might be annoyed with me!

At our school they only use parents who don't have children in that particular class or year group. That goes for helping out in class or going on trips (local or otherwise).

It means that those who go on trips are usually there to actually help, rather than to spend a day with their own child. It also means that there are no issues with children getting upset because someone else has got their mum or dad with them and they don't.

Our school must be odd then as only once have I not been given my daughter as part of my group. I tend to get her and her best friend then 2 or 3 others.

In my experience, parents are always given their own children.

DD is never bothered about sharing me though.

At our school you never have your own child in your group. And both parent and child need to be OK with that.

Not school but I'm a Brownie leader. I need parent helpers every time I take my Brownies out to maintain ratios. I have a couple of parents who are fab - reliable, will step up when others won't (which is most of the time), and who I know I can rely on to genuinely help (treat their child the same as all the others, understand what they can and can't do, and can just see what needs to be done without me having to tell them). Recently we went on a more exciting trip than usual and I had several parents ask whether I needed parent helpers. I did, but I gave my two usual parent helpers first dibs, partly because I felt they should get rewarded for all the less fun trips they've helped on, and partly because I needed parents I could 100% rely on (theme park with 20 children).

I'm one of those mums who always gets picked to go on school trips.

I've had three children in the school, the teachers know me, I help at bookshop, was on the PTA, pitch up to the end of term assemblies, learning festivals, sports days etc etc. Staff know my face. They also know that I can be trusted on a trip not to disregard the majority of the children to spend time exclusively with my own, will back the teachers up when they're trying to get the kids to listen and can be trusted. Other parents are probably just as capable but teachers don't know that as they are not involved with school for whatever reason.