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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

...or should school find a different way to do this?

40 replies

caroloro · 21/10/2018 13:49

So. Year 7. Large school.....270 in their year. School trips for the year have just been released.

There's three trips - one that everyone can go on, but the other two are restricted to 40 places! That doesn't seem enough for such a big year group, surely?!?

The places went online at 9am and the Europe trip sold out in fifteen minutes, and the UK trip was sold out by about lunchtime.

As parents, we had an e-mail on Tuesday telling us about the trips, how much they cost etc and that booking opened at 9am on Friday, first come, first served. Not everyone saw the e-mail, so not everyone was prepared.

The children were only told about it in assembly at half past eight on Friday morning, unless their teacher had mentioned it (which only seems to have happened if the child had the teacher involved in the trip in the days between the e-mail and the assembly).

First-come, first served meant that only those parents whose children stood a chance of a place were those that: a) had read the e-mail; b) could be online between 9am and 9.15am; c) had a spare couple of hundred pounds in the middle of the month; and d) had managed to communicate with their child about whether or not they wanted to go.

OP posts:

MondayImInLove · 21/10/2018 14:51

3 days is enough to read an email.
And I wouldn’t mind the FCFS, it is online so doesn’t discrimitate against working parents, most jobs you can do something on your phone quickly, how long to book tickets? 5min?

bridgetreilly · 21/10/2018 14:53

That seems perfectly reasonable to me, tbh.

Beesandfrogsandfleas · 21/10/2018 14:55

I would think the teachers who are also parents would see someth8ng wrong with the system - they certainly couldn't stop for five minutes at 9 o'clock to book.

UnderMajorDomoMinor · 21/10/2018 14:55

Bids in and 40 drawn out of hat rather than FCFS would be fairer but the rest is ok.

museumum · 21/10/2018 14:58

Tuesday for Friday is fine imo most people check email at least once in 24 hours or 48 hours.

But first come at 9am is not fair on anyone who is at work at that time. It should be a day or two to put your name in the hat then a draw for places.

MaisyPops · 21/10/2018 15:03

MondayImInLove
First come first served at any time for a trip is unfair in my opinion. There's many jobs where parents can't sit on their phones to get a spot.

I'm quite happy to say the cut of is 3:30 on X day and if you turn up at 3:35 then the application isn't accepted though because if it mattered that much then it wouldn't be cut to the wire and risked being late.

BewareOfDragons · 21/10/2018 15:13

That's pretty shit.

It should be a deadline to apply, and if over subscribed, then lottery/picked based on subject.

I work in a school myself. I couldn't be online between 9 and 9:15 to do personal things like register and pay for my children's future trips because I'm working with other people's children at that time!! Surely the staff of the school should have thought that through themselves! Grossly unfair.

AlexanderHamilton · 21/10/2018 15:18

At Dds school limited place trips are done by application eg the student has to write an application why they want to go and what they think they will get out of it.

ChalkDoodler · 21/10/2018 15:22

Our school do a lottery system for restricted places. Everyone who wants to go has to register their interest then names are picked out of a hat.

Much fairer system. I would suggest it to the school for future trips.

Re emails, it should be read instantly. Mine comes to my phone, but then I have separate email accounts for different things. The important emails that I need to see I provide my gmail account, others get my older Yahoo account.

maplesyruponpancakes · 21/10/2018 15:26

Surely everyone knows that 'picked out a hat' is anything but?

BewareOfDragons · 21/10/2018 15:38

Yes, to some degree I have no doubt that's true. But I also think children who behave well at school and work hard and don't get into trouble should be prioritised for school trips when they're oversubscribed. Draw from that lot first.

Why on earth should teachers have to take children that are rude and disrespectful and that they can't trust to behave and follow the rules?

Witchend · 21/10/2018 16:03

Surely everyone knows that 'picked out a hat' is anything but?

One of my dc's schools would do it so everyone wrote their own name, put it in the pot and it was drawn in front of the class straight away. It still came out with the same names (and not always the good ones) over and over again.
That's the nature of randomness.

I think anything like that should be done on a "if you got chosen for that, then you don't get chosen until those who missed out last time are going" type.

Original poster

caroloro · 21/10/2018 16:20

@allshookup I'm not moaning, could afford all the trips if we wanted (although I've said he can only do one) and have the sort of job where I can be on-line at 9am. Which I was. And I got a space on the trip my child wanted most....could also have booked the others but didn't because I think one is enough. It just doesn't feel like a fair system for those who missed out due to work or mid month timing. Oh and I'm also not moaning because my childs best friends missed out, because they didn't, they're all going as well.

It was a genuine "this doesn't seem fair".

OP posts:

Original poster

caroloro · 21/10/2018 16:21

Sorry...should have been @AllShockUp

OP posts:

MaisyPops · 21/10/2018 16:37

Surely everyone knows that 'picked out a hat' is anything but?
Much at times I would love it to be anything but, it is generally done properly (only where there are substantial concerns would it be an issue e.g. child in school is repeatedly the child who refuses to follow basic instructions and those running a trip are genuinely concerns that the child could be a liability, walk off, kick off etc and ruin the trip for others) Then staff talk yo senior leadership.

I've done outdoor residential trips having suffered from 'out of the hat' drawers. Child with attitude and prone to being stroppy if inconvenienced got a place over others who's have loved it.

Reality - Child didn't like following simple instructions and got stroppy with staff and peers. Students and parents were told to pack for the weather and not rely on wearing fashion clothing because they will get wet if it rains. Child came kitted out inappropriately and parent felt that we should obviously have cancelled thr activity for one group of children because they chose not to kit their child out properly. brought their child's whole group indoors.

Sometimes not picking from a hat it would have been easier. But more often than not you have more wonderful children wanting to do the trip than there are places and it's always hard seeing them disappointed.

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