To be angry with holiday camp?!?!

[Woolwichchicken]

I’ve booked several morning sessions 9am-1pm with my daughter so I can do some KIT work on maternity leave. The camp is at her school but run by an external company.

they have taken her on an all day trip to central London, I knew the trip was happening but stupidly assumed she would be be going as I had only booked a morning session. I assumed some of the staff would stay at the school campus with the morning kids.

i know it might sound silly but I’m don’t feel comfortable with people taking her to central London as the camp is mostly staffed by people who seem to be teenagers. We went to pick her up at one and jo kids came out. They also aren’t picking up their phone, so now I’m having a full on panic that she is somewhere in central London.

As a disclaimer I know she goes in school trips, but that is with her teachers who are much more experienced.

So you knew there was a trip on but didn't query what was going to happen about your lunchtime pick up when you dropped her off?

The club my DC goes to does a cinema trip and a park trip, we have to opt out if we don't want them to attend.

Because she'd had a text about them going on the trip and it's pretty normal to have a chat with those looking after your child for the day?

I bet she is having a fabulous time.

I think I have a similar camp nearby (or potentially the same if your username is related to your location) - and they do a day trip every Friday. It’s surprising that you were able to book a half day if they couldn’t provide this service.

I think there’s been some miscommunication and I’d check the terms of what you signed up for at booking and whether in doing so you were giving permission for any local trips and activities the camp organises. From your username I am guessing you are in London i.e. SE18? So even though they’ve taken a trip to central London, it may well be part of what parents signed up for booking the camp and not something they ask for additional permission for.

Try not to worry. All the camp supervisors will be properly trained even if they seem young - plenty of childcare staff are in their late teens and early twenties. Just speak to the organiser or manager when you collect her and establish the sort of communication you want in future around any activity which isn’t based at the centre the camp is held at.

Re people talking about cost... there ckuld be no cost if the OP lives in London (just not central) and its a free venue like a museum. Buses etc are free for children.

The odd but is just she hasnt paid for the afternoon

You seem quite intense. And anxious.

if you are doing KIt you are on mat leave so you must be off work the rest of the time with her at least for some of the holidays. ?
you are being quite up uptight about the interruptions to you spending time with her when she’s probably having a ball in London and it will be a good summer holiday memory for her.

the question the club taking her without your permission is odd and a different thing.

in your shoes I’d pick that as my battle
not that they interrupted your afternoon plans unless it was critical
like hospital appt/ wedding /funeral.

It sounds like there was some miscommunication.

But you really don’t need to worry - central London is not a war zone or some sort of dystopian “bad land”.

They have absolutely failed in communication with you BUT surely if they are holiday camp staff they are all PVG checked. The camp will have complied with ratios and surely done some health and safety planning? It's really good for kids to get out and about with people who are not family as it helps foster independence and resilience so I would be wary of letting personal anxieties overrule. Having said this we don't know the staff or the situation so you could be right but I wouldn't blanket rule all trips with every organisation as something to get stressed about because the kids will pick up on that.

I can understand the annoyance of expecting to pick her up at a certain time and finding she wasn’t there, but can’t understand why you have a problem with her going to London.

When my DD went to a holiday programmes at a school, if there was a trip then they all went on the trip, there was no-one staying back so it wouldn’t have been an option not to go. It was only when she went to a very large YMCA one that there were options for trip or no trip.

This is a one off misunderstanding really no need to be angry.

I cant imagine they have enough staff at low paid holiday camp to leave someone behind for 1 or 2 kids. Thst would be a much higher ratio than they can afford.

Your child is probably having a great time!

OP I am surprised they would take her on a full day trip when you only paid for half a day and it's odd that you apparently gave permission for the trip.

But please stop being dramatic. Teenager/20 somethings are not irresponsible and your dd will not give a toss that she "missed" an afternoon with you (what, the grand total of 3-4 hours?) before you go back to work in September. In fact she may well prefer the trip!

Very odd you didn't get a call. At 8 years old surely your dd would have mentioned she was to be picked up at lunchtime and wasn't meant to go to London?

I mean..how far from London are you? Surely there would have been permission slips to sign?

This. She’s 8 not a baby. So she should have said something.

BUT your assumption was very reasonable. I’m more shocked that there was no permission slip.

There does seem to have been a miscommunication on all sides. The office staff behind the scenes doing the admin should make it clear that it was the trip for the whole day or nothing. If I were you I would probably have checked with them. I think the staff running the trip today should have picked up on her only being signed up for a half day too. So everyone made assumptions.

Don’t be too stressed about the staffing. DD worked at one these to earn a bit extra a few summers ago. She was fresh out of teacher training. She was safeguarding and first aid trained. I’m sure from the outside she looked like a teenager but she was deffo a safe pair of hands.

Are they actually teenagers? I’m not trying to be funny with this - but my mum is a bit older and she often refers to people as “looking like teenagers” and they’re actually mid 20s. I’m 26 and I was a bit guilty of it last week - bar tender looked about 12 to me, he absolutely was not 12. Even if they are teenagers, they will have to be qualified, DBS checked, and trained in safeguarding. I get that you’re stressed but try and chill out. Have a cup of tea and a sweet treat.

They definitely messed up their admin, and I don’t think your assumption was unreasonable. She will be absolutely fine but I would make sure all future mornings you have booked will be onsite so you know what to expect.

Potentially, I just asked and the trips are every Friday. But thankfully she’s not booked in for anymore Fridays. So this shouldn’t happen again.

I think it depends on what exactly the communication about trip was. Was the text this morning a reminder and to put suncream on, extra drinks , hat etc.?

I think the fault is with their admin, who should be making sure that people don't book a half day on a day when everyone is going on a trip. That should have been picked up in advance, so they could offer you the choice of the whole day or nothing.

They'll have done their risk assessment for the trip, and it sounds as if everyone has gone, so it won't just be the younger staff. Don't panic!

You know what assume does!!!

I’m not remotely jealous. I’m one of those weird parents who likes to know where my 8 year old is. I don’t give a shit about free childcare, if I was due to pick her up at 1pm and was told she was in London, I would panic. We chat about school trips for weeks in advance, my child would also panic if she was carted off on a trip when she thought I was picking her up at 1pm.

I would be doing my nut. I assume you’re pretty near London though already?

OP pays for 9am - 1pm, so rightly assumed she can be collected at 1pm. The club needed to say ‘The London trip is compulsory as there is no 1pm pick-up that day.

If op is in London then there might not have much in they way of additional forms, instructions or costs. Travel for trips is normally on public transport which can be free for educational trips and there are also plenty of free venues. At 8 years old she should be sensible enough to stay with the leaders etc, be aware of traffic etc and I am sure she will have a great time.