School trip - what is a reasonable cost?

[oblada]

Y6 school trip. Our school is asking for close to £300 for the end of year school trip (2 nights away). It doesn't include transport which is covered with fundraising.
Now I can't complain too much, I can probably afford it. I don't have £300 to burn but I can manage.
But it feels wrong. Especially at the moment.
We're in the North West. Not an affluent part of the country.
I think I have made up my mind about what to do but I would be interested to see what everyone thinks generally on the cost. School is adamant it is a reasonable cost. Most people I discuss it directly with tend to agree with me (but maybe they don't really won't knows).
My own view is that up to £150 per kid is relatively affordable for most, in installments, and should be the max budget for a school trip. Whatever the kids do together will be unforgettable to them. They don't need millions of activities crammed in.
But is that unreasonable? Are other school able to do trips for cheaper than £300 per kid? Our weekends away are far cheaper than £300 per person. Now we don't have to worry about the safety aspects etc but then I'd think they'd be savings in the number of kids involved.

I think there is adifference between if something is "good value" or "value for money" and whether it's expensive or a suitable price for a particular demographic.
I've seen other threads about residential school trips, where people have broken down the cost and chunk by chunk it does seem good value, (and I'm sure schools wont be making a profit - teachers aren't even paid extra to go) ....but that is kind of irrelevant if the cost would be prohibitive for lots of people.

If I saw a 5 bedroom house in Mayfair for £1m, it probably is good value for money - is it still unaffordable for lots of people? Yes!

Also in the past schools will have probably subsidised some of the costs themselves to keep them down but now with their budgets being so tight they won’t have the space to do as much.

I paid £120 for 2 nights 12 years ago. It's what it costs. Outdoor centres set the prices. Unfortunately you can't stick 12 kids in a bell tent these days (and tell them to bring their own sleeping bag) then make them do long hikes, campfires singing and the punishment for the naughty ones was kitchen duty peeling spuds (teachers cooked) that said mum reckons it cost £30 for 4 nights in 1983.

I am not aware of school offering to help those who can't afford it. Certainly hasn't been mentioned.
When i raised my concerns it was simply "we review the costs careful and we hope you let your child come" sort of thing.

They pricing comes from ...activity staff who are qualified ,food - three meals plus snacks I assume inc staff to make the food,heating ,laundry,insurances....it soon adds up .
Yes the activity centres make a profit...but the school does not ....Ive been in many trips as a TA and would often work double my usual hours but we don't get paid extra so it's not school staff costs ...

For those who are saying there are no additional staff costs, for lots of schools this is not the case. The ratios required for a trip are higher than in school, often requiring additional staff. Cover staff may be needed in school or on the trip. Well run trips are expensive, the costs for running them have shot up over the last year in particular.

To illustrate costs, a place I've used as a family which has a group bunkhouse option is £48 per night full board per person. That's simply for bed and food, each activity is around £50 for half a day including equipment, instruction etc. you then add insurance, cost of the teachers, volunteers, transport there or bus drivers accommodation (assuming pta raise the to and from bus cost), extras like prizes, first aid supplies, etc.

I have arranged trips (not outward bounds) and £300 seems cheap all in

It is a lot of money, I agree and it’s a shame. But it’s also masses of work for the teachers and other staff members who arrange and accompany the trip. So it’s a bit of both.

I think that often people agree with someone making a point when they don’t care either way just to be friendly, so the people agreeing with you (in real life) might be doing a spot of that. Although they might not.

I think it seems expensive for 2 nights. Our school does a yearly residential from yr1 which feels expensive to have them each year but they're cheaper than that. The 2 night trip (yr 1 and 2) was £90 and the 3 night trip (yr 3 and 4) was £180. I think the 4nights (yr5 and 6) was £350.

It's ridiculous to expect families to find £300 for a school trip. Either the school should fund them or they should be on a smaller scale or they just shouldn't happen. Needless worry for many.

Ours is £300 for 3 days/2 nights, I thought it was ok.

There should never be school trips because some people cannot afford them? Really?

I think the issue with these trips is that they tend to be the same every year - so every year, year 6 goes to XX and the school becomes a bit fixated on what a marvellous treat it is for the children. I do also know parents who will mention the opportunity of a particular trip as a contributing factor to choosing a school.

I agree with you that's too expensive right now. But I suspect if they did replace it with a cheaper trip, there would be an outcry from parents whose children have been looking forward to the trip since year one.

They're a bit damned if they do, damned if they don't.

In public school yes I would agree with that. If some of the parents can't afford it and as a group we can't find a funding solution then it shouldnt happen. It's not right for some kids to miss out or for parents to go into debt for a school trip.

Good point. Maybe something best discussed with the parents direct? I don't know.

We had planned not to run a specific trip this year. It's not educational at all and runs out of school time. We've had complaints about it not happening.

I’m also North West with a child in yr 6. Their end of year trip is two nights at an outdoor activity centre for £180, including the buses. We can just about afford it. But they want it all paid by February. Obviously people will struggle with that, with Christmas and the cost of living crisis.

It seems expensive for what it is. Ours is £430 for 5 days/4 nights, coach there and back, transport while there,food ,insurance and entry to paid attractions

£300 should cover about 4 nights. It's excessive for 2 nights.

The cost of everything has gone up, coaches have nearly doubled . The school will have costs down to the minimum.
But these are the things that kids remember throughout their lives if parents can scrimp enough together it is so worthwhile. And anyone who can't afford it, particularly those on pupil premium will probably get assistance.

I did not think you were allowed to do that! I thought anything over £5 overspend by parents needs to be returned to them - not syphoned off to other parents, however well meaning the intention!

Like everyone else, activity centres and accommodation for school trips are facing higher bills this year- and so they have had to put their prices up. I've seen a few primary headteachers talking about this on twitter recently- prices have gone up, and some are looking for cheaper options.

But that's not an easy option either- parents often expect one particular trip because it is "tradition", so switching to a cheaper option can be controversial.

You say trips shouldn't run if parents can't afford them, but for some people £100, £150 etc will be unaffordable. And I don't think there will be many residential options at this sort of price available for summer 2022, either. So, then realistically, you get no trip.

If the school already pay for transport via fundraising, could you suggest additional fundraising events to bring the cost of the trip down? I work in secondary, and have seen this sort of thing done in the past- obviously older students but they raised money towards expensive trips by doing things like car washes, quiz nights, raffles, and so on.

The money raised could be distributed evenly- bringing the cost of the trip down for all, or the school could allocated it as needed to families who can't afford the trip at all.

I do agree it's a really difficult decision as to whether to run these sorts of trips at all in the current financial climate

Yes, this would definitely have to be a voluntary donation by parents- state schools can't do this as compulsory.

That's roughly what we paid 10years ago for 2 night trip for ours.
When they had a week trip it was £500.

But there were find a for people who couldn't afford it. Have you asked the school?

What’s this based on?