To think that if the school says no mobile phones to be teken on trip then everyone should respect that.

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

DD went off for her first school trip, she'll be back on Thursday. She is/was thrilled about the whole thing since she found out about it three weeks ago. I dropped her off at 7.30 this morning, saw her onto the bus, had a quiet grizzle to myself then went for a cup of coffee with another mum. She asked me how much cash I'd given dd, I said none, she didn't need it, she then asked about whether I'd topped her phone up for her. It turns out, she's given her son 100 francs (about 60 quid) and sent his iphone along with him. I am sitting here seething with anger which I know is unreasonable, but ffs, the school made some rules that, imho are worth keeping.

It perhaps depends on the ages.

Even if mine could take phones I wouldn´t let them.

I'm still boggled by the fact that a child has an iPhone!!

No, children shouldn't take phones on school trips for all the reasons mentioned on the first page of this thread.

As a school governor I have had to deal with a parent who sent her child on a trip with a phone, even tho' the head had discussed the issue with that parent before the trip, and believed that an agreement had been reached with that parent that she wouldn't send a phone.

Her daughter took the phone anyway, gloated to everyone else that she had her phone when they didn't, and then kicked up a TERRIBLE fuss on the first night when a teacher took it away for safe-keeping. The parent came into school on her daughter's return, effing and blinding at the teacher concerned (in front of children) and threatening to report us (we never found out to whom).

I dealt with it as a complaint to the school, and upheld that, if the school said "no phones", then no-one should take a phone.

The staff are there, in loco parentis, to care for your child on the trip. H&S rules demand that there are sufficient staff on a trip to manage all the children, and if there is an accident or other emergency, it is the staff's job to deal with it.

In our case, the head teacher (not on the trip), was in contact with a member of staff on the trip every day. As it happened, a grandparent of one of the children died while the child was on this trip. The head did offer to drive down to the location and collect the child to bring her home (parents decided to let her stay, not told about the death, as the funeral wasn't until the following week), so in a family emergency at home, the children can be informed, face to face, by a caring staff member, much better than a child dealing with a phone call to impart bad news anyway.

This won't ever be an issue for my children thank goodness. They do not have and will not be allowed phones until the day they are working to pay for them.

The argument that children should be allowed to do what adults do is a bit of a straw man - if a mum sent her child off with a large bottle of WKD and a packet of cigarettes, would you defend the child's rights in the same way?

Lots of excellent reasons on here, Riven, if you have a look.

I'm with you on hair dying, by the way - but then so is dd's school.

I'd have given some cash- easy to get lost (or might just be me and my kids!) and need to make a call, and i'd want to know if they were upset and didnt want to talk to a teacher that they could call me from a payphone.

But a no phone rule is a no phone rule unless there are circumstances such as Riven's. DS2 was upset he ahd no photos of a cub trip last weekend but I adhered to a no camera rule- and seeminngly, few else did.

dontyoudare - (slightly off topic I know...) but are you SERIOUS about your kids not having a phone till they are of working age?? I admire you greatly if you really think you can acheive this. Phones are such a part of the culture of young people do you not think there will be "fitting in" issues?? And wanting to know what they are up to issues?? And them being able to contact you in an emergency issues??

I agree about the hair dying - the school I worked at seemed to think it was ok for girls but not for boys .

Can of worms opened. Riven, I generally agree with your posts, but, I totally disagree with what you've written about adult children partnerships. I understand your dd's needs and the need for your son to have a phone, but, as the DW of a teacher, your attitude could be a tiny bit gentler.
I have no idea what the hair dying thing is about BTW.

I am so pleased that I do not make ordinary every day decisions based on the constant 'what if' of a major school massacre.

Well, the chickens have come home to roost. The mother of iphone child phoned me to say they arrived OK (I knew that, we'd had an email) but, iphone boy had lost his cash on the bus (goodness knows how they are only going to 300km) and had phoned several times yesterday evening to complain about the food, who he was sharing with, activities etc. I am glad to say he didn't lend his phone to dd or she'd have been complaining about food.....I am sorely tempted to telephone the divine Ms K and tell her of the existance of the phone.
But I won't, that WBU

When my eldest went to Normandy with the school for a week they requested the kids did bring mobile phones.They could only estimate the time they would return at 10.30 pm .But as they were coming by ferry to dover and we are in the north of England there was a fair chance the timings could be well out.So the kids phoned home at leicester Forest services to tell parents they they would be another hour.

Well I won't be buying her one put it this way. If she wishes to get herself a part time job/save up pocket money I can't stop her.

The senior school we will go to is in a town centre on my way to work where there are currently still lots of working payphones plus the facility to use one at school in an emergency. If she was having to travel to a village school on a bus with no phones for miles I may thing differently.

I think having a phone makes you a target for mugging, there have been incidents in town recently.

Rules to make the teachers lives easier are important. It is all very well to have a free spirit at home but whenyou have 30 odd to supervise there have to be some rules or anarchy would ensue.

not sure how he lost the cash, still it doesn't matter, Daddy is a money launderer hedge fund manager so it can be replaced.
We have a telephone tree so the divine Ms K phones class mum, she phones the next person and it cascades down in case of a delay. They are going away within Switzerland and the expectation is that they'll be back at 17.30 so I imaine 17.33 is the latest we'll see them. We are very punctual here.

"I am so pleased that I do not make ordinary every day decisions based on the constant 'what if' of a major school massacre. "

I had thought that too Blu, but had decided not to comment ....

Part of our problems in todays society is that folk don't have any grasp on statisical analysis & probability theory, hence they get hysterically worried about things that are sooooooooooooo unlikely to happen, whilst completely underestimating day-to-day risks (hence, your child is MUCH more likely to get hurt travelling in the car on an ordinary shopping trip/school run, than get hit by a mad gunman shooting all the kids on a school trip).

Mind you, if people understood the probabilities correctly, no one would buy a lottery ticket.

Oh and I'm with dontyoudare, I won't be buying ds a mobile. He's 10, and I am astounded that most of his classmates in an ordinary urban primary school now have a phone.

""I am so pleased that I do not make ordinary every day decisions based on the constant 'what if' of a major school massacre. "
I thought this too and DID respond - I thought quite wittily. Obviously not as wittily as I thought!