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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder who funds a teacher's school trip

482 replies

iwasjustwonderingreally · 06/04/2022 10:41

My daughter went skiing with her school in February half term.

Four teachers accompanied them.

Do teachers pay for themselves, or a contribution, (I appreciate they are working though), or is the cost to the pupil inflated to cover the cost of the teachers?

OP posts:
HELLITHURT · 06/04/2022 14:00

@FlickyCrumble

Do the teachers even get time off in lieu? if not they should.
Bloody right they should!
Awalkintime · 06/04/2022 14:03

Do the teachers even get time off in lieu? if not they should.

In a lot of schools they do. Some do not though. It should be across the board that they do.

Shinyandnew1 · 06/04/2022 14:04

In a lot of schools they do

I disagree with this. I would say in nearly all cases, no time off in lieu is given.

Mommabear20 · 06/04/2022 14:08

If it's the same as places I've volunteered at, the price is covered in what they students pay. Given that they are working it's not exactly fair to expect them to pay for themselves.

Musmerian · 06/04/2022 14:08

The cost is divided between the number of students going so yes, ultimately the parents pay. It’s not a holiday for teachers - they’re providing a service and as I can tell you from experience it’s knackering as well as being a huge responsibility. There would be no trips at all if teachers had to pay.

Musmerian · 06/04/2022 14:09

And no - time off in lieu is not practical in a school.

DoItAfraid · 06/04/2022 14:10

@iwasjustwonderingreally

Jeez, it was just a simple question to clarify a situation as a parent is complaining that the teachers were drunk when their child was ill.

I'm not saying teachers should pay!!!!

You sound like a sh*t stirrer and your posts give off entitlement vibes.

Was it your child?

Why are you putting your name to complaint that you know nothing about and has nothing to do with your child?

MakeMineALarge1 · 06/04/2022 14:11

Please do not put your name to this complaint

redbigbananafeet · 06/04/2022 14:14

No teachers will ever take a school trip in your kids school ever again. Not if they're being secretly filmed by pupils.

viques · 06/04/2022 14:15

scottishnewmum

Parents evenings are under directed time , ie time teachers are expected to be available to work.

Technically teachers have the same entitlement to paid holidays as other workers, however this is complicated by the way a teachers salary is paid monthly and the fact that most bank holidays fall within school closure days. For administrative reasons a teachers salary is split into 12 payments, which makes it look as though the month of August, when most UK schools are shut is paid, but technically it isn’t as a teachers salary is based on 195 days of teaching/ inset days, plus bank holidays and statutory holiday allowance. It’s very complicated!

northernlola · 06/04/2022 14:15

My husband is a secondary school teacher. He once gave up a week of his Easter break to go skiing with a big group of pupils. Largely consisted of sitting in the corridor at 3am to stop them sneaking in each others' rooms/drinking/smoking and spending several days with various children in hospital with broken bones.

Think we're paying for that out of our own family money!?

Michellexxx · 06/04/2022 14:15

I have been on a european trip as a teacher and the hotel, specifically set up for school trips, would set wine and glasses on the table automatically. The headteacher was also with us and had a glass or two. No one got drunk, the head even said it was a normal occurrence and good for the pupils to see a healthy attitude to a couple of drinks- there was always at least a staff member or two available. No one was ever 'drunk' either.
The filming and sharing of teachers is illegal too. And I very much doubt any teacher will volunteer to go away after parents hunting down examples of things they disagree with. Why would you give up your holiday and then wait for pupils to film you and set you up with parents who will blindly accept what the little cherubs are telling them..

Shinyandnew1 · 06/04/2022 14:16

I hope the pupils secretly filming staff are disciplined.

Michellexxx · 06/04/2022 14:17

@Awalkintime

Do the teachers even get time off in lieu? if not they should.

In a lot of schools they do. Some do not though. It should be across the board that they do.

This has never happened in any school I have worked in. It isn't practical.
viques · 06/04/2022 14:20

@Shinyandnew1

In a lot of schools they do

I disagree with this. I would say in nearly all cases, no time off in lieu is given.

I have never heard of time off in lieu offered to teachers after school trips. Who would cover for them for a start, and pay for the cover? Can you imagine the outrage if parents, having just learned that teachers weren’t paying for the privilege of taking teens skiing then learned that the school was giving teachers TOIL and employing supply teachers (at the parents expense) to cover the shortfall!
Scottishnewmum · 06/04/2022 14:22

@viques

scottishnewmum

Parents evenings are under directed time , ie time teachers are expected to be available to work.

Technically teachers have the same entitlement to paid holidays as other workers, however this is complicated by the way a teachers salary is paid monthly and the fact that most bank holidays fall within school closure days. For administrative reasons a teachers salary is split into 12 payments, which makes it look as though the month of August, when most UK schools are shut is paid, but technically it isn’t as a teachers salary is based on 195 days of teaching/ inset days, plus bank holidays and statutory holiday allowance. It’s very complicated!

It's different in Scotland, but OK.
shssandhr · 06/04/2022 14:26

Jeez, it was just a simple question to clarify a situation as a parent is complaining that the teachers were drunk when their child was ill
I'm not saying teachers should pay!!!!

So why on earth did you post in AIBU asking who funds the teachers' places on the trip rather than focussing on what your actual complaint was, that the teachers were drunk when a child was ill.
Why not post "AIBU to complain about teachers being drunk on a school trip?"
But no, you asked who funds the teachers' school trips.

amnm · 06/04/2022 14:27

In short OP, you're slightly delusional if you think other adults are going to pay out of their own money for the pleasure of babysitting your children in your free time.

I bring students on school trips a lot. If you think I'd pay my own money to travel to the same city every year, where we stay in a youth hostel and eat canteen-style food, you have a strange grasp of reality. Not to mention the trips do end up costing me money out of my own pocket; breakfast and dinner are included, but we end up paying lunch out of our own money, as well as the other costs of a trip (e.g. a taxi to the school for departure as we always end up leaving at 4am so no public transport).

If you're not happy, don't send your pupils on the trip and leave the places for children whose parents will appreciate the opportunity their children are getting.

ldontWanna · 06/04/2022 14:27

Your question is irrelevant to what happened (if it actually happened as you say).

Even if teachers had to pay , they are still responsible and in charge so they shouldn't be drunk, or unable to offer assistance to a poorly child. You/the parent are focusing on the wrong thing. Their actions aren't more or less unacceptable depending on payment.

I suppose if they did pay, they'd probably refuse to go, so no trips would be happening and this incident wouldn't have happened either, but I doubt that's the outcome you want.

Awalkintime · 06/04/2022 14:28

This has never happened in any school I have worked in. It isn't practical.

It doesn't happen in mine either which is why I said some do not. In most of the schools my friends work in, they do offer this. Again, it should be across the board.

BoredZelda · 06/04/2022 14:28

It is irrelevant whether they paid for themselves or not. Teachers shouldn’t be drunk on a school trip.

MySecretHistory · 06/04/2022 14:30

@Awalkintime

Do the teachers even get time off in lieu? if not they should.

In a lot of schools they do. Some do not though. It should be across the board that they do.

Can you name lots of schools? I have never known it. Support staff dont get paid extra for the overtime at KS2 either.
Ponderingwindow · 06/04/2022 14:30

The trip my dd is taking next year, the teachers are covered by the student fees. I don’t begrudge them that at all. They are going to be working hard. It’s also not skiing. It’s a city tour of museums and historic places.

QuertyQuordle · 06/04/2022 14:30

Ok, I’ll put my hand up to having a drink on a school trip. However it’s usually a night off thing. At least two (or more if needed) teachers will not drink that night in case of emergency and stay on duty. No one will drink to excess either.
Photos may show silly behaviour, but people also tend to have a laugh on trips with kids. Not drunkenly, but just entertain- silliness like dressing up, dancing or even pretending to be wobbly. Sadly I guess being a laugh or playing nowadays is probably silly as you can be photographed. We used to do stuff like put on panto shows etc.
I remember years ago being silly on trips, not dangerous, but certainly having a laugh with teens. Partly just being a big kid, partly just as an alternative to going insane cooped up with teenagers

Lulu1919 · 06/04/2022 14:31

Any costs are added to the pupils bill
Ive been on a few residential trips - I've had to buy a few bits of specialist clothing etc but the trip doesn't cost me anything