to ask for school trip money back

[georgiadronea]

DD was sick last night, so although she is absolutely fine now and perky as anything she can't go to school for 48hrs after the last time she was sick (so will now wednesday if no further sickness).

Problem is she was due to go on a school trip tuesday, I don't want to be too outing but the trip was between £15-20, I'm a single parent so this was a bit of a squeeze but I put aside a little for the few weeks and managed to pay it at the last minute.

Now she is unable to go this seems an unnecessary expense that could go towards something important or just a little something to cheer her up after missing the trip but having not been in this position before WIBU to ask the teacher if this is possible??

Except that universal FSM for infants mean that schools have to find a way around this. Presumably they buy in the usual meals from an outside provider, so they just have to do the same with sandwiches.

You're joking! Many of them don't. It's too complicated for many with no kitchens. It's not hard for parents to provide a packed lunch. Or maybe don't bother with school trips.

Why are some parents so unco-operative and entitled, standing on their rights? Just make some sandwiches FFS.

I had similar last week as DS came down with chickenpox and had to miss a trp I;d paid £17 for (an amount equivalent to our weekly food budget atm!). No chance of me getting it back though sadly.

The only time I;ve ever managed to get a refund was when I paid £19 for DS1 to go on an adventure day. He fell and ripped his entire fingernail off the week before, but the hospital dr and GP said he'd be absolutely fine to do the trip, as long as he didn't bash it too hard (it was well protected). I confirmed this with his teacher when I went in to pay. On the day itself, his class teacher refused to let him go due to the finger, and made him stay in school with a Y1 class all day instead. I was so cross about this that I wasn't having the insult of them keeping the money I'd paid as well, and made the Head very aware of this. Never had a refund due to sickness otherwise though.

No don’t send her in. People who say send her in, it’s the height of selfishness.

It’s parents like that, that force school closures. Parents around here have been warned very clearly that schools may have to close for 72 hours. So many kids are being sent into school whilst still contagious that the really nasty vomiting bug doing the rounds is flying around schools and totally wiping them out.

I’ve just had to take a week off work because of people being totally selfish and sending their kids into school. It could well be another three days if schools are forced to shut.

Except that universal FSM for infants mean that schools have to find a way around this.

Our school usually provides a school packed lunch for trips if requested - if the child is in KS1 and thus entitled to a free lunch. The sole exception to this so far was a trip which left school at 8.40am, as the caterers weren't in early enough to sort packed lunches. We had two emails and 2 reminder texts as it was not the norm.. I forwarded these, plus a reminder text of my own the night before (as DS was at his Dad's that night/morning). Guess who forgot to provide a packed lunch? Oh yes. Even then, DS was provided with a lunch, which I strongly suspect was cobbled together from his teachers and TA's lunches going by the contents .

@Springnowplease They really do, I promise you. Every single child in Reception, Y1 and Y2 has been entitled to a free hot school meal since 2014 in England and Wales, and 2015 in Scotland. It was a major Lib Dem policy in the coalition government and it was an absolute nightmare for many tiny schools, who had long since closed their kitchens to create an extra classroom and were using their halls for lunchtime activities. Schools have either had to build kitchens or buy in the hot meals from an offsite provider.

I’d send her in too, our school only has a 24 hour rule for sickness, but if she is well in herself and has no temperature/tummy ache/headache she is most probably ok to go to school tomorrow.
Not every bout of sickness is caused by a bug nor is it alway contagious. I always feel sick if I get too much sun for example.

Childrenofthesun - why would you highlight a bit of my post and then comment about the cost of the bus when you've failed to include the few words before where I clearly show I've read the OP's posts where she says there is no bus

I'd just send her in. If it was last night then that makes it 48 hours clear by early hours of Tuesday anyway doesn't it?

Apart from it's a bank holiday and today isn't sunday

I'd still send her in though.

the child hasn't been struck down by a bug though. She has been sick twice and nothing since.
The class will probably do loads of follow work in class based on the trip. It will be an advantage to go.
If she continues to be fine all day and night then she'll be fine to go to school.

that doesn't mean its not a bug ffs! Many people with a gastro bug will only vomit once or twice!

This does not sound like the sickness bug tbh, my dc had it not long ago and it was a lot more then 2 times. Only lasted one day but there was a lot of vomiting, and we stayed away for the agreed amount of time after the last vomit (72 h) as it was contagious. There has been one or two times where he has thrown up once or twice, similar to your dd and I would call the school up in the morning and talk with them, give them time, day and if I saw, the type of vomit so they could give their verdict whether to have him come that day or wait 24-72 hours depending. Most times they will want him in when it's clearly not the sickness bug.

RexManning - my daughter won’t be entitled to free school lunches next year. I just didn’t know schools provided lunches for school trips in other schools. We have always been asked to provide a packed lunch for school trips including the whole school trip to the panto every December.

It is a small village school so maybe the catering is off site maybe. They do have a kitchen connected to the hall but I’m not sure how big it is.

@masterbuilders that sounds like a particularly extreme bug and of course in that circumstance parents should be vigilante. I imagine if it's that nasty you are greatful to the school for the decision to close, it's clearly not parental fault and the school requires a deep clean to eradicate the bug. There are some particularly nasty ones. We were fuming last year when school only had 40% of pupils down with a bug and refused to close, all parents wanted the school to close as it felt out of hand. I felt I was sending my kids in to get ill.

@Quartz2208
I think you should Google sunstroke

Being sick is a bodily function that occurs due to pain, not having digested previous meal properly, excess acid or headache etc. Throwing up the last meal with NO other symptoms is not the sign of a viral infection.

Honestly if she has NO other symptoms I would send her in.

If you choose not to I don't think you'd get a refund as it is likely paid for but absolutely I'd ask.

I wouldn't even think to ask. The trip will have been paid for and if the school feel obliged to refund as you've made a point of it then something else goes from the school budget.

You'd have to chalk it up if you had booked yourself so it's not different.

We've had it happen a couple of times and it never entered my head to ask for the money back. Not the schools fault, children get sick sometimes.

She should be fine by the day of the trip especially if she is OK today. I didn't think refunds were given for sickness usually.

There is no harm in asking OP. I imagine it will depend on whether the school have already spent the money or not & there is only one way to find out.

I know about free school meals, Rex. I was just saying that to demand packed lunches for trips was OTT.

Yes there probably will be follow on work after the trip but DD probably won't be the only one.

I will speak to the receptionist when I call her in sick, if I describe exactly whats happened and they say she is okay to come on the trip then I will take her but think its unlikely they'll want to risk it.

I think I will just ask what normally happens for a paid trip and the child is sick, if they say it was already paid for then yes its one of those things but it may be some or all is paid on entrance??

Its horrible as she was so excited for it and will no doubt now have the week of her classmates describing it but can't be helped.

As there’s no coach and just the entry, and it’s an expensive trip (mine is in KS1 and the most we’ve been asked for is £5ish), I think you should ask if you can have a refund. If they’re paying per head they will be able to, if it’s per class regardless of how many in each class presumably they won’t be able to without making it up out of the school budget.

I think it’s reasonable to take the stance that if you’d had tickets to a show you’d have had to miss it, same thing. No harm in asking politely though!

On another note - the child our school who is having chemotherapy and therefore very susceptible to germs thanks you for setting the example and not sending your potentially ill child into school.

A child who is sick once is not ill. It was probably a combination mild sunstroke, being too hot and overexcited after a rare day outside in the sun.

My youngest was never sick, even if she was ill. I don't think she's ever vomited. The oldest on the other hand would be sick if she was too hot, sick if she was too cold, sick if she was too sad, sick if she laughed too much, sick if she was overexcited. If I'd kept her off for 48 hours every time she was sick, she'd never have been in school.

Yes, sending children to school when they have a bug or virus is selfish but sometimes you have make a judgement call. Vomiting once after a meal is not a symptom of any stomach bug I've ever heard of.

This has happened to us before and when things were a little tighter so I did ask the school for the money back. They did give it back.