what school trips should schools be going on in your opinion ?

[OneRealFinch]

can be anything you want

I'd prefer to see schools do trips that show kids how the things around them work.

The focus is all on academia being the only successful route in life. There are so many kids who aren't great academically and don't excel at sports.

Showing them how things work and that they can work in trades such as plumber, carpenter, electrician, etc. would give the kids a more rounded view of the world. And engage those kids who are switched off by the strict academic focus that seems to be forever beyond their grasp.

Swimming, regularly, not just half an hour once a week for 12 weeks in years 2-6.
sports matches for children not the best at sport and/or children with SEN.

I think individual schools should try and find out what experiences their children aren't doing with their families, scouts etc and try doing some of them.

I know this is completely unrealistic and expensive but I would love for schools to have their own version of something like a scouts/guides thing after school, combined rather than one of each to save money. Would be lovely for the children who can't access scouts/guides etc due to finances or SEN.

Galleries, museums, theatre, classical music-the things some parents don't take their kids to unfortunately.

Sadly if you try to run a trip to a concert/theatre, many parents say it’s too expensive then you can’t run the trip because so many people won’t pay and the school doesn’t have a budget to make up the shortfall. If you run a trip somewhere free, but then have to run coaches (which cost hundreds and hundreds now!) then many parents refuse to pay because ‘it’s free and I could take them myself without having to pay £25’ (but then they don’t take them).

Yes, in an ideal world school should have massive budgets to take kids to lovely places, but in an ideal world-they would already be taken by their family. Many schools are more worried about getting a teacher in front of a class, getting enough buckets under leaking ceilings and enough pencils/books for each child. Trips to galleries etc can’t be a priory whilst the learning is so badly affected by budgets.

Nothing involving long haul flight.

I take part in a large scale reenactment event where costumed volunteers bring a Tudor manor to life for school groups and weekend visitors. It’s been going for over 40 years and unsurprisingly the school groups have dropped off for various reasons, but at weekends we get visitor after visitor bringing their kids and telling us they came with school 30 years ago and it was the best school trip ever and they have never forgotten it.
So anyone within day trip distance of Suffolk needs to do that!

We're very lucky to be inside London Zone 6. The children are walked about a mile to the station and have been to theatres and museums or just a sightseeing walk near the Thames.
The train and Tube are free. Lots of the museums seem to be free too. Kids are tired but saves a fortune on coaches and the kids love the public transport.
But lots of parent volunteers are needed.

A fun museum (like a science museum), Natural History museum, Art museum. Places where parents might not go. Our school did a residential trip to a natural history museum which they all found exiting (sleeping under dinosaur skeleton). They also took a class to see some special once in a lifetime exhibit up in London (70 miles from where they were).
All were tied into what they were studying to some extent.
Covid meant they missed out on a trip to France in Y6.

My DD did that trip with her school. She loved it! They no longer offer it either otherwise younger child would definitely go.

Our state secondary had enrichment activities 2 or 3 afternoons a week - included various sports, music, choir, dance, theatre, STEM challenges, chess, cookery, languages, DofE, BBC young reporters etc - all scheduled to fit in around bus times. Even had beekeeping at one point.

Anything teachers are willing to organise, that pupils want to go on, and parents are willing to pay for.

We are going to the Globe Theatre and to the Hay on Wye festival. We have been to the V&A, Houses of Parliament. We have also been skiing in Italy. We are hoping to take pupils to Rome and also to France next year plus NYC this summer. and then skiing to USA in winter. Some are free, some cost £, others ££, some £££.

A day at the seaside - even if it's a seaside town they should have a day at the beach with fish and chips/ice-cream and building sandcastles.
City schools visit the countryside, country kids visit a big city.
Capital city of relevant country (London, Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh). (or nearest major city - so Cornwall kids could go to Exeter or something)
The nearest museum to the school (it's amazing how many children don't get taken to the local museum).
The nearest big park to the school (picnic and playing).

Yes, the ratios on London Transport are 1:6 for primary age children. That means the teacher plus at least 4 other people, more if any of the children need a 1:1 or are a flight risk. We struggle to get enough volunteers to help.
There's no budget for subsidising staff costs or coaches.
It is still possible to run trips, but not for every class every month. There are free museum zooms which are great, but not as good as actually visiting in person- it is really important for all children to be able to experience trips out. In an ideal world, monthly excursions would be lovely but we need to fix the housing crisis first!

100% with you. The charity trips drive me mad.