Kids excluded from free trip

[AbiGabi]

Some of the kids at my dc’s school were selected to be allowed to go on an outward bound/activity trip where they had a great time staying in huts, having campfires, petting animals and doing some exciting and amusing team activities and sport.

The activity was free, and it wasn’t advertised to all parents in the year - only those who had been picked.

I only found out about it when I saw the school newsletter saying what a truly fabulous time the kids had had, and about 3 pages of photos showing them all havi nt fun. The school newsletter then banged on about how amazing it was that the school was to be able to provide this trip totally free to the kids who went, because the outward bound centre provided facilities for free so the school only had to pay for food and the coach to transport all the kids. Coaches are NOT cheap!

last month the school came begging for contributions to buy classroom equipment and I gave the school £50 not realising they were spaffing money on trips my dc wasn’t invited to!

Aibu to feel this is sharp practice by the school and unfair?

I think you need to gather more information- it could be pupil premium funding that paid for it for those children in receipt of it. Or could be for children with SEN.

Won’t just be some random children excluding yours.

Then you can decide what you think.

You can see why they wouldn’t have published in the newsletter if it’s for children in receipt of pp or SEN funding.

It isn't free, presumably the OP and/or her kids' father pay taxes.

The main issue with this sort of thing is that you have the people just above the boundary who lose out (sadly a fact of life, a line has to be drawn somewhere).

But given that maybe it's not the best thing to make a sing and dance about it in the school newsletter, rubbing peoples noses in it who aren't considered poor but might still not be able to afford that sort of opportunity.

if it's young carers that is different but I would have thought the school would have said that (eg this was for our children who help their families at home) or something similar.

Were these kids in your child's class or other.

In my kids school.

They are always having trips.

Somwtimes one class gets to go on a trip then another. Certain competitions only certain kids are picked.

They also do stuff like young voices and other activities. Generally the kids get asked if they want to do it. Then letters sent home to the ones that wanted to do it.

Other times there are after school clubs.

A certain percentage of the kids are offered a place. So maybe 10. Then after that cycle of after school is ended the next 10 are offered.

At the school I feel all the kids are offered different activities at different times. I wouldnt be bothered if I saw kids from my kids class on a trip or outing. Because I know it'll be offered to all of then at some time in the future.

At our daughter's primary school there were a couple of these types of trip a year.
They just selected different children each time. Basically all of the children ended up going to similar things but at different times. The school raised funds to buy 2 small mini busses but that meant they could only take around 30 children at a time. Even a coach wouldn't be enough for a whole year group + staff for most schools.

When the school asked for contributions towards classroom equipment, you gave fifty quid? Fifty?

That seems like a huge amount! Do all parents do this at the school?

Our school would never do this. Throughout the year, they hold raffles and cake sales and mufti days. They would never expect a parent to donate £50.

Perhaps I should have mentioned in the OP - the criteria for going on the trip was nothing to do with financial hardship or pupil premium. The newsletter did disclose the selection criteria but I don’t want to mention here as it could be outing.

Yes the cost of the actual activities had some funding from a generous third party behind it but it was not mentioned and I’m fine that the school therefore restricted that. But usually the school asks parents to contribute to costs of the trip - the coach - and if you are on pupil premium or have a hardship case then you don’t have to pay, the school pays for you.

The school paid for the coach and then simultaneously has been asking us for money to spend on the s

I make donations to the school happy for the funds to be used sensibly.

But this group of kids could be from any walk of life - rich or poor - so why weren’t the rich ones asked to pay for the cost of the coach?

We do have an above average income but to the person who said we get a free education - no we don’t. My dh and I pay a large amount in taxes and on top of that I always contribute when the school comes begging. Of course I don’t have to pay extra, but clearly the school is lacking basic equipment and can’t afford to replace so I am happy to help as I know otherwise teachers often end up forking out themselves.

When I was around 14 I was selected with a few others from my year for a wonderful opportunity, a week away from home I got to try sailing, canoeing, lots of activities, was amazing. It’s now 34 years later and I still remember that break and the opportunities I had.

It was funded by the rotary club as I got older I realised me and the others picked as classed as a mix of carers and equivalent of PP. I naively thought no one could tell I was the poor kid (with my handed down blazer 11 year old wearing age 16)

You don’t know the why, and please don’t make a thing about so your children pick up on it.

If you can afford to donate £50 willy-nilly then presumably you can also afford to take your children on holiday. Some people can’t. I’m sure the ones that went weren’t picked at random out of a hat.

I would assume the children who went were selected because they wouldn't ordinarily have the opportunity to attend an activity weekend like that for some reason.

And therefore would not begrudge any aspect of it including the contribution already made for the classroom equipment.

You’re going to cringe if you actually go into school complaining about disadvantaged kids getting a trip ! 🙈

People commenting about transparency - school policies around SEND and PP spending strategy, as well as various other statutory policies, are all published on each school’s website. It may well be that the published policies already reference how the school selects certain children for certain trips, it’s just that no one (except the school’s governors - I am one!) reads those policies.

YANBU - yes the children who benefitted may not otherwise have had this opportunity, but why not offer to all at a charge and then allow those in need to attend free?

If the kids weren’t all pupil premium or funded kids then it’s highly likely at least some parents were asked to contribute to the bus.

also depending on what the funding was it may have come with travel. DS’s school recently had a trip some kids went on. The residential part was funded by the centre and the bus was funded by another company as part of it

@Isekaied you’re right - we have stuff like that too, but parents do usually pay costs (unless pupil premium then free, obviously fine).

There are events that not everyone can go on, such as sports teams, and it evens out (so obviously girls don’t go on a boys football trip, but they could apply to go on a girls football trip).

Ok let’s take that example. Why should rich SEN kids get a free coach trip?

That’s a strong assumption. No school my children ever went to knew just how hard up I was as a single parent.

Your kid cannot be excluded from something they didn't qualify for in the first place.

My son goes to an all male grammar school. recently there was an opportunity for a couple of kids to attend a weekend of Maths at Cambridge Uni, all expenses paid. It looked fantastic and lots of the kids wanted to go, including DS.

Of the two who were chosen, one is from a single parent family and lives in a high rise in a local city. The other fled the war in Ukraine.

Disappointing for some? A bit, BUT I can absolutely see the school's reasoning.

I think most people are happy for kids who are used to getting very little or who have been through something awful to get the odd opportunity thrown their way.

They probably used pupil premium funding.

But I'm assuming you didn't donate £50 to the school? Hard up people can't afford to do that.

They very much make it their business now.

Part of the stats they are judged on is the progression of children who qualify for pupil premium.

So you know what the selection criteria was, and your children didn't qualify. Without knowing what it was its hard to say if you are being unreasonable or not.

Free trips in many schools are based on a couple of criteria:

1. vulnerable children who don't normally get the nice stuff, could be young carers, could be kids who have specific SEN which means they're often marginalised.
2. kids with 100% attendance
3. kids with highest positive points

Is it either of these things? If so, no, I don't have a problem with vulnerable kids or kids who actually show up every day and do their best getting a reward.

Because it is funded by EHCP’s or a specific SEN pot of cash?

Why shouldn't they?

And how do you know it was funded by the school?

The school my children went to would take a small group of children to the local theme park for the day. The criteria varied from year to year. Some years it was children with additional needs, some years it was a reward for exceptional effort, and I wouldn't be surprised if some years it was names pulled out of a hat. I had five children in the school for four years each and only one went on the trip. It was never expected and never complained about when some went and others didn't.