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

[Worriedaandconfused]

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?

I have an issue with the ‘ names out of the hat ‘ in our school… because miraculously it’s always the same children.. the same PTA helpers arse kissers who get their names drawn out of the hat to go on the school trips as volunteers.

Every single time.

So yeah. Tis what it is….

As a primary teacher I'd genuinely be appalled if a school I worked at thought the best way to run things was to excluded some of a class from a trip.

These children are 4-7 the school have fucked up if the way they run things is by some missing out. Parents should absolutely complain in these circumstances.

An even worse system was used at my senior school. They announced a foreign trip which was over-subscribed so they decided to pick girls in alphabetical order. I didn't care as I didn't want to go. A friend really wanted to be on it, but with a surname at the end of the alphabet she didn't stand a chance. I wondered even then if it was a fix, to ensure one or more girls were selected.

If some cant go because of space then none should go.

So everyone has to go whether they want to or not, cue accusations of schools forcing little dears to go on trips they don't want to, terrible school, let's all complain to the underworked staff!

Think your child goes to same school as mine. Lots of people printed the letters from the website and then handed them in first thing Monday morning. So others kicked up a fuss that they had done this before the letters were sent home.

I always assumed kids as young as four all went on trips to the zoo or seaside. How unfair to change half way through. I can understand not all going if its older teens going to the ski resorts.

I'd guess they deliberately wanted to exclude someone and it backfired.

I have logged onto the website on the dot and missed "first come first served" trips, clubs , wraparound and parents evening slots at both kids' schools. It enrages me! It is also a depressing indication of school funding issues.

I now promise nothing to my children.

At least drawing from a hat would be fair.

That's awful - how unfair 😞😞😞😞

@JudgeJ - fitting name as you seem to be judging me pretty harshly here. 🙄 I haven't been advanced any way here - the school informed all the parents the previous week about the trip, giving parents who work etc. an opportunity to sort it out with school/ask another parent to drop the permission slip off.

My point here is that the school set the expectation of allocating the places one way and are now doing it differently. I don't want things to change to benefit only me (if anything I'd want all the children to go) but dislike that the school have taken this approach because they can't accommodate all the children and now are going to be cherry picking picking names at random, leaving my child (and I'm sure many others) upset and disappointed. At 4, this isn't exactly a nice experience, despite that being the intention of the school - to offer a nice experience to their pupils.

Dosnt happen in my DCs school, it’s whole class or nothing. I don’t understand how schools can do trips with only certain children.

Names out of a hat may seem fair, but what happens next time when it’s the same children whose names of picked out of the hat?

If the school can’t accommodate a whole class trip they shouldn’t do it.

Trips should be open to all. School are so shit at managing fairness and kids see straight through it, star of the week, parts in school plays, house captains, class reps etc.

My DD once came home appalled that during voting for class rep, almost every child in the class voted for child A (she was peeking out from under her jumper) Child B became class rep. I had to spend a lot of time explaining and persuading her not to disclose this info. It would have caused a lot of trouble!

You have my sympathy, OP.

School fairness is a minefield. If your DS is your first, this is a good example of what you might have to navigate.

I hope your DS gets to go on the trip x

Equally understand the school wanting to provide an opportunity to visit the theatre - some children will never get this experience via their families

The ones least likely to have the opportunity are the ones who will be least likely to get it in a first come first served basis. They don't have the cash to shove in an envelope at no notice.

Maybe all the names going into the hat also returned their permission slips on the first day so they have to choose from them somehow.

How on earth is it fair to draw names and leave some kids out?? They should be going somewhere that can accommodate every child! They are 4! That's so sad 😞

Exactly this.

Children who have chaotic lives and would benefit from such an outing as they wouldn't have the opportunity to do so outside school, are also the least likely to be 'first come first served'.

The OP has stated that they could go outside school. That's a privilege not open to many families.

Also, I would expect the school to rig the names out of a hat so that the some children get to go regardless of the draw (FSM etc)

What kind of trip are 4 year olds going on that can't accommodate them all?

@whatnot929, this wouldn’t be the the benefit of all of those families, but children who qualify for pupil premium only had to hand the slip in - no payment was required.

Fortunately for us, we are in a position to pay the costs at a moments notice and won’t apologise for that 🤷🏻‍♀️

What is the difference for you between first come first serve and random picking in real terms? Other than that you told your daughter she could go without knowing you were in the first 30 or whatever? Can't you just pretend to yourself you don't know how they are picking?

You can make a massive deal about this if you want but I really think you're wasting your energy. Yes, your 4 year old will be disappointed. That is hard to manage for both of you. But manage disappointment you must, at some point, why not make it now?

@CheersToMe I said it would be tricky to go outside of school due to other factors. I do provide my children with lots of outside experiences and opportunities which some families can’t afford to prioritise, however I don’t think that should mean he should miss out on a school trip. Maybe that’s unreasonable, too. 🤯

I agree.

Yes, I think it is unreasonable.
Even being able to return a slip with no payment is not a given in some families. For reasons which you are lucky to have not experienced.

Oh and it's not necessarily because the families can't afford it, it may because they don't or can't prioritise outings, as you can.