Lack of school residential trips...

[StrongerThongs]

Full prepared to be told IABU because Covid, teacher stress, cost of living crisis etc BUT I have a DD in Y9 who has never been on a residential school trip, either in the UK or overseas. Her primary school were unable to offer a Y6 trip due to Covid.

Pre-covid the secondary school she is now at offered several opportunities a year but this has been reduced to one massively oversubscribed and prohibitively expensive ski trip every two years (the last one was to Colorado!) and a couple of subject-specific trips for KS4 (eg. languages trips, geography field trips).

Instead school have decided to run an activities week in the summer term for all pupils which includes a bunch of paid days out (eg theatre trips, museums, escape rooms) or the opportunity to stay in school for free activities (sports). This seems like a bit of a crap alternative and frankly a waste of a week's education!

I get that school trips take a lot of planning and I am NOT knocking teachers but I believe they offer really important opportunities for developing confidence, resilience, independence etc particularly for children who have missed so much due to Covid.

FWIW this is a successful oversubscribed state school. At my own bog-standard comprehensive I was able to go skiing in Italy, canoeing in France, fell-walking in the Lakes as well as field/language trips and I'm not from a wealthy background - trips were affordable/subsidised. Obviously times have changed.

Interested to know what other schools offer? And if IABU for thinking DD's school could do better?

Can’t believe the people moaning about trips on here.

Schools are scarcely functioning, they have no staff, no support staff and can’t get supply. They are trying, despite this to get kids through GCSE. And parents whining that their little darlings can’t go on trips!

What would you rather have? A trip or a functioning school, because that’s what they are down to.

+It will increasingly be private schools and schools in affluent areas that offer them, because those parents will be prepared to pay what it costs*

l taught in an affluent area. There were no residential trips in school terms. Affluent parents want their kids to get hood GCSE’s. Taking students away for a trip was not allowed as it removed them from essential lessons.

No parents complained. All students managed to function and get to university without any trips.

Mobile phones never used to be on school trips. Now they are. I wouldn’t want my unguarded moments filmed as a teacher, nor would I want pupils phoning parents because something had happened that could be sorted out by staff.

I've got a Y9.
Nothing at primary due to Covid. There has been one optional Geography trip in Y8 - they left on Saturday morning, went to Edinburgh (a couple of hours drive) zoo and a geology museum, came back Sunday night, and went into school for the last 2 days of term. Basically, the Staff gave up their weekend to make it happen.

My current Y7 got his Y6 residential.

I think it's probably something that, as parents, we need to facilitate in the school holidays rather than rely on school.

I took a group of y10 students to Spain once.

When we got back to school after 5 days of being in loco parentis, not a single parent said thank you.

One day we got a phone call from school one day saying a parent had been in touch and their son had hurt his knee and they were angry as we hadn't offered him any help. We didn't know as he hadn't told us. Just text his parents who had rang school to complain.

Our school start residentials in year 2.

Think my DC missed out on one residential so we were quite lucky. They have a big trip every year too so our school are quite proactive really.

I'm surprised at all this talk of Y6 residential as though that's the only one primary children go on. I've never taught in a school that doesn't offer a residential annually from Y3, and some even did overnights in infants (why?!?!). It's easier for primary teachers to do as it's in school time not the holidays. I think it's the old primary you should be more frustrated with!

How many emails from parents complaining about rooming, or asking for unrealistic special treatments for their child, do you think organisers of trips abroad get?

How many extra emails do you think a teacher organising such a trip has to send and phone calls do they need to send - to management if the school, to accounts, to groups of parents, to individual parents, to travel companies, to coach companies, to activity providers, to restaurants etc etc. It is honestly hundreds….on top of the very full on job of teaching.

How pressured and tight do you think the budgeting is? The push to get the cost right down for parents, whilst ensuring the cost if fully covered and the school doesn’t face a bill for last minute drop-outs or unforeseen costs that arise, when it can’t even afford enough exercise books. So staff go on those trips without sufficient contingency and when a student is ill and needs taking to the doctors in a taxi, the teacher knows the funding will go into the red and they will be in trouble when they return to school……having already given up their own half term to do the trip, and the many many hours of organisation.

How much stress do you think can exist on a trip - where inevitably someone or several are illand you can’t take any chances, so a key member if staff is often having to take them to see a Doctor or to hospital? Where a student loses their passport or their purse? Where poor behaviour creates issues of safeguarding? And all of these can be much worse if the teacher has organised the trip fully themselves without a tour company, in order to keep costs down.

Honestly, until schools are far better resourced and goodwill rebuilt for teachers, why would any teacher feel in a position to put themselves through this, even when they know kids enjoy these trips and some get a lot from them.

Book your kids onto a PGL holiday or take them on the trips yourselves as parents. Sorry, but teachers are having to back-off from this stuff.

I voted YANBU because I do think it is a shame your DD has never experienced a school trip. But I completely understand why they aren't happening, as already explained in detail in this thread.

DS is in year 9 and his upper school only offers a ski trip for all year groups (£1600 for a week in France- oversubscribed apparently!) and subject specific trips in later years. Fortunately he did manage two UK trips in middle school and one in lower so at least he had the experience.

Perhaps get your DD to join an out of school group such as guides, cadets or a local rugby team. DS was briefly in the army cadets and had a great weekend away with them.

I teach and would never run a residential. Too much extra work for no extra money and little / no appreciation from parents or students. These things have always been run on the goodwill of staff, and unfortunately there is not much of that in schools at the moment.

Trips are more complex to plan and run than they used to be because more children have needs and they are increasingly complex. More students with physical, social and emotional issues, from all year groups.

I honestly found running trips the most stressful thing as a teacher .

Chading money, chasing parents who forgot to sign the permission slip/ cross out the right bit of the reply form about photographs, forgot to date the form.

Risk assessments, booking coaches, setting cover, answering endless emails, staying late to ensure every child is picked up safely when one parent is ‘just running a bit late’ by an hour and a half.

Just not worth it.

My school always ran a trip to France for yr 7 and Belgium for 9s. The price has almost doubled, a hotel we used to use has closed for school trips and no way can we source any supply teachers. We are doing activities week when the 10s are on work experience and the 11s have left just so we can staff it. It’s really sad.

Tbh I am quite glad, too much money and pressure to go. Not sure it's anything to do with teachers'stress though, just a horrible comment for no reason.

"How many emails from parents complaining about rooming"

A problem not encountered on my own school residential trips, as all the girls were in one large dormitory, the boys in another, around 45 boys and girls each iir. I think it was old barracks buildings. We just turned up, claimed a bed, and that was it for the week. But that was over forty years ago, very different back then.

Posted too soon. But they will survive. Our 11s were wingeing that they didn’t get the Belgium trip. I pointed out it was in lockdown. “Well why cant we go now?” Because you’ve got exams. “So, why can’t you arrange it in the summer holidays?”
Im the evc at my school, now there’s a thankless task. All the work for none of the pleasure.(not that 30 year 9s climbing in each other’s rooms at 3 am and parents ringing up to say their kid didn’t like the food/roommates/activities is too much fun)

Thanks for all the replies. Interesting to know that this is pretty much across the board and it's not just DD's school that have scaled back trips.

Totally understand the many reasons given for teachers/schools not wanting to organise them. Under these circumstances it seems inappropriate for some teachers to decide they're happy to organise a £3k ski trip to Colorado during Feb half term with only 30 places (offered to three year groups - so 630 pupils). Unless all these places are offered to Pupil Premium kids who would never otherwise get the opportunity. Somehow I doubt that's the case...

Agreed with PP who said the main issue for me is that Y6 residential (only one offered through my D's primary school) was cancelled in 2020. They have brought it back now - she was just unlucky. Will look into PGL!

We fund PP places on curriculum trips. We wouldn't be able to fund a ski trip.
It's interesting that you've gone from complaining about not enough trips to now complaining about the ski trip.

Absolutely.

Why would teachers necessarily be prepared to be away from home and run trips in their own time in the current climate?

Interestingly the secondary we are looking at has moved them to Easter holidays and October half term. <5% free school meals in our primary so they just ask for the money honestly it would be easier to set up a direct debit. Wish they would just ask for the money they need rather than cutting things.

My niece and nephew are at really expensive well known private schools and they have both done several trips in the last 2 years (loads on this year in all holidays), Florida, Canada skiing, French Exchange, History Trip coming up to the US, massive Geography trip, 2 music trips, 1 sports trip, Duke of Edinburgh, mini Duke of Edinburg etc…

It is the one big thing my state school DC are jealous about. And yeah, they both had amazing times and memories. Our state schools used to do loads of trips too, slightly less now.

This in bucket loads.

I wasn't complaining, I was simply pondering why, given the many very valid reasons PPs have given about why trips are not offered, a school should decide it's a good plan to offer just one very exclusive trip (which I will be entering the ballot for when the time comes and keeping everything crossed!).

I'm a teacher in a school that has reduced the number of residential trips.

The main reason is that the number of parents who are unable or unwilling to pay is increasing significantly. We have traditionally covered the non-payers but can't afford to do that now - there are too many of them, including many who have regular family holidays abroad.

In addition, but secondary to that by a long way, is the fact that it is so utterly thankless. Parents now query and complain about every possible aspect of any trip whilst implying that you are getting a free holiday and should consider it a delightful treat.

I'm also reminded that at on the last day of my school residential trips, we were allowed to wander around the town, in groups of around five or six, for a couple of hours, with spending money, with strict orders to be back at the coach for a certain time. Of course, no mobile phones then, just watches, and no teachers supervising. We were ten and eleven. That would be unthinkable now, but it did us good, more opportunity to learn some independence.