To this that there should be enough spaces for all kids who want to go on a primary residential..

[drainitallout]

I accept that this is a first world problem and that I probably ABU, but my DD is so sad. Her state primary is usually brilliant for residentials - one night in yr3, two nights in yr4, then 4 nights with yr5 and 6 together.

She's now is year 5 and this has been the first one that she would have gone on due to covid cancelling the others (totally understandable)

The school have (again totally understandably) allocated placed to all the yr6 kids that want to go, and have pulled name out of a hat to allocate the remaining spaces to yr5s. There are hardly any yr5s going.

In previous years there have been enough spaces for all kids who want to go, so clearly there is more demand this year. But I just feel really sad and a bit bitter that kids including mine are missing out, especially after the last couple of years. In our area quite a lot of schools went through with their residentials in June / July of this year but ours decided against it which I accepted of course.

DD hadn't been only anything like this before as she's didn't want to joint beavers / rainbows etc when she was younger unlike her older brother.

I'm just cross, I guess. It would be lovely for her to have something to look forward to when the next few months, at least, are likely to be a bit rubbish

Why should they are for the full balance a year in advance? At my kids school there would only ever be one or two changes from the original booking and sometimes it would be one dropping out and one joining.

Two of my kids are teachers, they have been on residentials but they didn't have to go. If there aren't enough teachers willing to do it then it can't happen anyway can it.

@ancientgran The year 5s should though have a chance to go next year. Maybe covid will mean they can't go next year, but you can't cancel trips this year because the ones next year might not happen.

[quote newname12345]@ancientgran The year 5s should though have a chance to go next year. Maybe covid will mean they can't go next year, but you can't cancel trips this year because the ones next year might not happen.[/quote]
No but you can make sure it is open to all who are eligible. I'm sorry but at the 2 different primaries my kids attended there was a hard sell on the value of residentials, how positive they were, how they taught children so much and if that is true how do you justify some going and others now? Presumably year 6 had their trip in year 3, year 3 and 4 have their chance now, the year 5 kids missed the year 3 and 4 trips and most of them can't go on the year 5/6 trip and we don't know if there will be a year 6 trip for them.

If it is truly impossible to arrange for all year 5 kids to go then I don't think any should and something else should be done for year 5 e.g. my kids first "residential" was a sleepover at school for first one night and then a weekend with lots of activities. Some effort should be made.

As I said it is either important for their education or it isn't. We don't say we can't afford enough books for them all to learn to read, the swimming pool only takes 15 so we will pick names out of a hat.

I sympathise with OP and if it was me I would be pressing for something for year 5.