To be fed up with the cost of school trips?

[0TiredMumOf4]

Hi all,
Just having a bit of a rant because I feel like I’m being totally swamped by the cost of all these school trips recently. DD1’s school trip to the Science Museum in London is coming up, and it’s a whopping £45. That’s for one trip! And to make matters worse, I’ve already shelled out for DS’s farm trip (another £35), and DD2’s little museum trip just up the road (which, okay, is £15, but still) 🙄.

I get that these trips are important, but seriously? £45 for a museum trip? That’s not even factoring in the cost of packed lunches and the inevitable begging for snacks to take on the coach. And they expect me to fork out this kind of money for all three of them every time there’s a school trip?? 🤦‍♀️

It’s not like I’m made of money, and it feels like they have a trip every other week. Am I being unreasonable to feel totally fed up with how much these things are costing? I don’t mind supporting the kids, but I can’t keep up with this!

Anyone else feel the same, or am I just being a tight arse? 😤

I really hope not, our youngest is disabled and it's difficult to travel with his needs and insurance is impossible for certain destinations so we've really relied and prioritised utilising school trips for our older two to experience these things, they've gained so much enrichment from the majority of the school trips.

Absolutely. I really sympathise. They are very enriching. However, the paperwork is getting increasingly complex and off putting. Plus some parents, while not exactly litigious, will complain about virtually anything and everything.
I feel for parents like you, and the many other decent ones, but it is increasingly difficult.

It does seem expensive

At my kids elementary school they tend to focus on local (aka free) activities

Also lots of parental carpooling required

It's a staffing payment. If teachers were off sick school would still have to pay cover.

If they can't afford it then don't do trips

Yes, it included a drink and a cone of sweets. It still seemed a lot of money to me though.

So children with additional needs aren’t appropriately supported at the school, thats very poor form.

Yes, they are. They are supported to be independent enough to not be reliant on constant adult support. They are supported to go on school trips and experience things they otherwise would not.

All legal requirements of their EHCPs are met and they are making progress socially, academically and emotionally.

And then people complain that there are no trips.

And I'm not one of them lol. There's no school trips that my kids have been on that we couldn't/didn't do ourselves or via other channels such as brownies or air cadets

That’s great that your children get those opportunities. Not all children do for a variety of reasons and that’s why it’s important that as much as possible schools can keep on offering them.

Cost of coach, staff from the museum for guided tour, hire of room to keep kids/ bags in one place to eat. We don’t allow eating or drinking on the coach ( mess, puke ) possible extra staff from school
cost of everything has gone up
moaned at if the kids do get trips
moaned at if the kids don’t get trips
cant win either way

I’m guessing you don’t live in London and that’s mostly the cost of the coach there. DD did have a completely free trip to the British museum but we live in London where children get free travel and they had lots of parent helpers so managed to get there by train and tube without losing anyone ( now I think about it not sure why we didn’t have to pay a little for the adult train tickets). They also got a free lunch provided as they would’ve in school ( though think only infants get this outside London) and weren’t allowed to bring snacks.
Now they’re older and getting onto residentials it’s a different story. This is the first year both my kids had one and that is a bit painful.

Have they booked a special ‘for schools’ session though which isn’t actually free and that’s where the charge is coming from?

If my kids ( single parent low income blah blah blah) can then there is no reason why others can't. Especially those with privilidged middle class parents

There are lots of reasons it doesn’t happen and I’m sure even you know that really if you take off the judgemental blinkers!

But that's nothing to do with me. I am north responsible nor should I have to pay for overpriced school trips because " other peoples kids might miss out"

Thinking back to ,y own school trip most of them had very little educational value. Take for example natural history museum. We were all too busy messing about with our mats to learn anything. I'm sure my D C and more recent DGC who is 7 learned more without distractions

My DS went to a school theatre trip. Half of the play was disturbed but some of the other kids in the groups throwing popcorn over balcony. And teachers moving the offenders about telling them off. If DS had just gone with a parent or sibling he wouldn't have been sat up in the schools area and missing parts due to other kids and teachers

Doesn’t sound like our theatre trips. Don’t like them don’t go on them.
We took some year 8s out to the theatre for a morning of workshops and then the performance. Many hadn’t been before. It’s valuable.

for all those saying these trips are enrichment and part of the curriculum….what a child going to learn from going to Disneyland other than profligate consumerism 🤔

@amiadoormat Trips aren’t just about the destination though. We do a girlguiding Disney trip for age 10 plus. It’s being able to care for yourself (shower, change clothes no prompting), manage own spending money - don’t spend up day 1, speak to other adults, follow instructions. For some children it will be first time on a ferry, having to go up to passport control man alone (they were nervous), lots had never ordered own food at a counter let alone saying French words, or paid on own card. My buffet etiquette talk is legendary - they had no concept one needed to mind table in busy restaurant and others go to buffet and swap. So used to mum minding table they just got up leaving bags behind. They were given a ticket for a meal on ferry - girl asked me if it included bottled drink - I don’t know you need to ask lady at till. Lots of children are so used to parents doing everything. Seeing plans go awry sometimes and how adults deal with them - vomiting, injuries, cancellations etc hopefully means they won’t flap as they get older faced with hiccups.
Seeing them learning new skills and supporting each other (saying sit with me on the ride I’ll hold your hand if one is nervous encouraging to push outside comfort zone) is lovely and one of many reasons I volunteer.
Lots of parents can’t afford it or don’t want to spend for whole family to go if not their cup of tea so it’s a way for a child who wants to go to go.

It was for the last day. The other days were at a chateau,boat on the river Seine, Eiffel tower and markets.

This is such a huge opportunity to provide, and a massive responsibility to do it abroad. Well done you. I hope your Guides' parents appreciate it.

Good for you for doing it on a regular basis. We did a county trip once with brownies and guides and I vowed NEVER AGAIN 😅🙈

@GuidingSpirit yes it’s a county trip, I’m not an organiser, we go every other year.

science museum is free!!! Maybe take her yourself on train. And spend rest of day walking round free london sites. I think its the price of coach insurance sadly. Such a shame.

The teachers go free and sometime the volunteers. Their costs are then covered by the 'donations,' The schools ask for a 'donation' towards the cost of the school trip, rather than declaring the cost per child.