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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

DS's school trip was offered on a 'first come first serve' basis and is now being drawn at random from a hat

315 replies

Worriedaandconfused · 03/10/2023 11:50

AIBU to think the school should honour the first come first serve basis they initially stated for allocating places on the school trip?

They have, due to a 'huge response' of requested places, decided to draw names at random on Friday.

After promising my child a place and ensuring I handed the form in promptly to the teacher (in fairness, it sounds like a lot of other parents did, too), I'm now going to have to explain to my 4 year old he's unlikely to have a place.

How do your own DC's schools handle situations like this where there's limited places and lots of interest?

OP posts:
NotSorry · 03/10/2023 12:41

Bloody stupid. We take our cubs every year and buy 150 tickets for the district - they are on sale or return so everyone can have a ticket if they want it and no one misses out

Iwasafool · 03/10/2023 12:42

yogasaurus · 03/10/2023 12:37

Well if you’re that cynical @Iwasafool then you’d have no reason to believe they wouldn’t do the same with FCFS

As the OP was first I think it was pretty clear and it is much harder to fiddle. Names out of a hat never even had witnesses when it's happened at schools my kids have been to. I doubt the hat even existed.

boscabosco · 03/10/2023 12:43

peachescariad · 03/10/2023 12:20

Sorry to tell you but this 'drawing names out of hat' is highly unlikely....IME the staff will be cherry picking the children most suited to the trip in question. So you'll find the badly behaved/more difficult children won't be on the list.

This is true. Also drawing names from a hat is in no way fair, either organise a trip that everyone can go on or forget about it.

PuttingDownRoots · 03/10/2023 12:45

Even if they had X number of free tickets but Y wanted to go, they can just split the cost of the extra tickets between everybody (we did with our Scouts... we were given 8 free tickets, 16 wanted a place, so they all paid half price)

Crunchymum · 03/10/2023 12:45

What school still accepts money for trips? Surely everyone has an app for that now?

Flying724 · 03/10/2023 12:47

First come first serve is so unfair. Not all parents have money ready waiting for a letter from school at the end of the day.

Name out if a hat is the fairest way or do organise trips that can't accommodate all children.

KindLynx · 03/10/2023 12:48

This exact thing just happened in dc's secondary school. They said it was first come first served and then they moved to names from a hat, only telling us of that when confirming who'd got a space. I don't mind the hat method but don't lie about it in the first place!

Flying724 · 03/10/2023 12:48

Do not organise trip that can't accommodate all the children

mummymeister · 03/10/2023 12:48

at my childrens infant and junior school, if they had a numbers limited school trip and your child missed out then you were permitted to take them out for the day yourself to give them a day out and a different trip. some parents preferred this and as it was a small school this worked really well. Commonsense approach so that no child felt left out.

RedToothBrush · 03/10/2023 12:50

FCFS penalises parents who are financially worse off (particularly FSM kids). It runs the risk of being discriminatory (and if I was a parent in this situation, I'd kick off accordingly).

Out of a hat means that certain names can be kept out of a hat due to lack of transparency.

And this is why class trip generally should be for the whole class.

And 4 year old trips definitely shouldn't be only for part of the class though. Its a recipe for disaster.

TooOldForThisNonsense · 03/10/2023 12:50

NameChange30 · 03/10/2023 11:55

They're doing a school trip for 4yos and can't accommodate everyone? That's shit. It should be for all of none. They're 4 FFS.

Agree

gotomomo · 03/10/2023 12:51

I suspect more people handed their forms in on day 1 than they had places for and/or one class didn't get their letters on time. Out of a hat is fairest

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 03/10/2023 12:52

Organising a limited numbers trip for young children is a mistake. It really should be available to all.

Beautiful3 · 03/10/2023 12:52

It could be that one teacher handed out the forms a day later, which wasn't fair to the children. This has happened in our school before. No-one from my daughter's class got a place, because of it.

CharlotteBog · 03/10/2023 12:53

I bloody hate first come first served.
It plays to the hands to the SAHPs and makes the parents unable to queue up at the school gate feel even more shit about not being able to attend various day time school events, or do school runs and spontaneous play dates etc.

Much more fair to have a deadline and then pick out of a hat.

Original poster
Worriedaandconfused · 03/10/2023 12:54

I'm not sure who asked about complaining (and rather rudely implied I'm (or other parents are at fault) because we're drunk). In answer to the question, I don't know if others have complained. There's a class whats app group so could ask how others feel on there but don't want to start a bitching fest on there discussing the schools shortcomings. I do think it's really unfair that the trip can't accommodate all the children but equally understand the school wanting to provide an opportunity to visit the theatre - some children will never get this experience via their families.

I could possibly take my child to see the show at the weekend (after the school trip) if he doesn't get a place but this would be tricky with baby in toe.

OP posts:
CharlotteBog · 03/10/2023 12:55

mummymeister · 03/10/2023 12:48

at my childrens infant and junior school, if they had a numbers limited school trip and your child missed out then you were permitted to take them out for the day yourself to give them a day out and a different trip. some parents preferred this and as it was a small school this worked really well. Commonsense approach so that no child felt left out.

Oh blimey. So, not only would the child of the working parent not get in on FCFS, but they might also be unable to take a days leave to go on a jolly with their child. What would happen to those children? Stay at school and be sad while their mates either went on a trip or a day off with their parents?

madamreign · 03/10/2023 12:56

Worriedaandconfused · 03/10/2023 12:54

I'm not sure who asked about complaining (and rather rudely implied I'm (or other parents are at fault) because we're drunk). In answer to the question, I don't know if others have complained. There's a class whats app group so could ask how others feel on there but don't want to start a bitching fest on there discussing the schools shortcomings. I do think it's really unfair that the trip can't accommodate all the children but equally understand the school wanting to provide an opportunity to visit the theatre - some children will never get this experience via their families.

I could possibly take my child to see the show at the weekend (after the school trip) if he doesn't get a place but this would be tricky with baby in toe.

Why not complain directly to the school?

Wheelz46 · 03/10/2023 12:58

Personally I don't agree with first come, first serve especially in the scenario you mention about handing it to the teacher.

They did this once at my kids school and some kids came running out, having their parents sign the forms before even leaving the playground and giving it back to the teacher before others even had chance to ask their parents, especially ones who were not at pick up.

Quite a few parents complained when their kids handed theirs in the next day and all places had been taken before even leaving the playground. They ended up pulling out of a hat, much fairer in my opinion.

Having said this at age 4, I really do think schools shouldn't be having trips where the whole class cannot be involved.

Dixiechickonhols · 03/10/2023 12:59

I’d assume more asked for a Place day 1 than places. Some will have given to office or perhaps emailed. I wouldn’t assume giving to teacher made you first - it won’t be her organising, it could have been late in day your envelope got to trip organisers.
I think draw is fairer.
It’s a shame not enough places but there will be other trips.

chalkup · 03/10/2023 13:04

Even if FCFS how were you so sure you made the cut? You wouldn't have known how many made it in front of you

Tippexy · 03/10/2023 13:08

androidnotapple · 03/10/2023 11:57

you shouldn't have promised a place - what if everyone was as organised as you? names out of a hat for everyone who has applied before the deadline is fairest.

Except it won’t be ‘names out of the hat,’ will it…

Pottedpalm · 03/10/2023 13:08

First come first SERVED

1month · 03/10/2023 13:11

I absolutely hate the first come first served thing.

As a single parent that used a childminder, I would always be one of the last to see the letter or email and then not get to the parent pay app in time.

My DDs primary school always had the same kids going on the trip and it was always the kids who had a SAHP/parent working PT.

We ended up complaining as some of our kids hadn’t gone on any trips, whilst others had been on every single one.

In the end they did random names out of a hat (and possibly skewed it so all students were able to go on at least 1 trip).

I’ve found secondary school awful for only having a set amount of places available.
There are 200+ kids in each year and the yearly trips only take about 20 students.
We have applied for every single one and like others haven’t been to any.

TaylorsSwimShorts · 03/10/2023 13:11

In this situation, can you book yourselves a ticket for the same performance and time and just take him? It's what I'd do ..