Is this reasonable of a teacher? School trip related

[fluffybumbuffy]

DD (Y8) school trips are today. They had a choice of 3 trips, which they made approx 4 weeks ago. DD and her best friend chose to go on the same trip and have been looking forward to it.

Yesterday, their firm tutor announced that another child wanted to go on the same trip (having previously chosen a different trip). She asked if anyone would swap and when nobody came forward she selected a name from the register at random. It was DDs best friend and she was told she was now going on the other trip.

I will probably be crucified for mentioning this but I assume it's relevant. The other child has SN (they are able bodied and don't have 1-1 most of the time though). But I can only think that this is why the teacher took this course of action, because this trip was the only suitable one for this child.

However, the way it was done seems very unfair both on the child and on DDs friend. The child surely shouldn't have been named like that because it leaves them open to being blamed by their peers. But also - DDs friend chose that trip and planned for that trip. Less than 24 hours notice that actually too bad you're going elsewhere to somewhere you didn't want to go with people you didn't want to go with seems very harsh!

If this trip is the only one suitable for that child, then the school should have picked up on this weeks ago.

It all sounds incredibly bizarre.

It was the only trip suitable for a child with special needs, who until 24 hours previously had been signed up to a different one? How come nobody noticed until then??

It does seem ridiculously unfair that a child who'd chosen their trip in good faith should be the one to pay the price for the school's incompetence.

i would be seriously pissed off on behalf of my child. I do understand that there may be very good reasons that the other child needs to be accommodated on this particular trip but this should not have come as a surprise and they should have been given priority on the most appropriate trip when they were first decided.

It is neither child's fault though, the fault lies with the school.

I am trying to be charitable and assume the planned trip became unsuitable since being booked? I dont know what the right answer would have been but i am sure this cant have been the best way to handle it. I suppose what i want to know is how this should have been handled?

I think it's difficult to say without knowing the trips and full details of the child's needs - neither of which I am fishing for!! Was it just your DDs form that was asked or were other forms involved?

It should have been handled with a lot more discretion than the teacher obviously paid it. As others have said there has been a serious lack of planning of the trips and the need for the pupil with SEN to be on one particular trip picked up in the early stages of planning. That pupil should have been allocated a place on the most appropriate trip and then other places allocated. Not making a last minute public announcement that was bound to become a problem.
If I was the parent of either the SEN child or the one that was bumped off I would be asking whether a proper risk assessment was carried out at an early stage of planning. Any decent risk assessment (which has to be done for all trips by law) would have picked up the need for the SEN child to be on a specific trip. It questions whether appropriate time and care is being taken over all trips at this school.

SoupDragon I dont actually know much more. The child is in mainstream with minimum additional support, their SN are not physical, though they are not universally popular (for behaviour related reasons). That's pretty much all I know.

Yes it was their form only who were involved (out of 8 forms in the year group, who are all being mixed for the trips). The teacher selected someone from the register with a biro during morning registration.

It is unreasonable to bump a child off a trip they have already been told they are going on. I suspect this may be about supervision on the trip and it is possible the other child has been included at the last minute (for whatever reason). I would have asked if my DD could have transferred with her friend.

The other major issue is safety planning and risk assessment for the trip for the SN child. They must consider how they manage this child and all supervisors should be aware of his/her needs. Not easy to do at the last minute. I would ask how the school has risk assessed the child's inclusion if their needs exceed those of the child removed from the trip. My bet would be the school has not considered this at all.

Unfortnately no time to ask for the girls to go together as we didnt find out until yesterday at 5pm when they got off the school bus and they were keaving on the trip at 8.45 this morning! Had either i or best friends mum known earlier we would have requested exactly that.

Leaving not keaving!

Yes - I did think there was no time but that also means they have not done a thorough risk assessment. Where children pose a greater "risk" due to behaviour issues, the risk assessment is vital because this pupil may be more vulnerable than others, even on the less "risky" trip. It is unsatisfactory.

Trying not to out myself with too much detail here but the 3 trips were all the same outdoor activity, in 3 levels of difficulty/challenge. DD and her friend had chosen the most challenging option and had spent class time planning for it. The other child had chosen an easier/shorter version of the activity originally but was swapped to the most challenging level and DDs friend was bumped down to the easiest level.

So although I can only assume there must have been compelling reasons for the school to decide to take this course of action, it's hard to understand what they were under those circumstances.

Unfair stuff happens in schools, everywhere actually. I tell my DC to deal with it, that is life and it will make them a good person and stronger if they can cope with set backs.