UK Terror Threat CRITICAL School Trips

[Webaz999]

My daughter has a school trip coming up
in a few weeks for 4 days in London. My daughter is only 10 and I am really anxious about her going. I was worried after the Westminster attack in March and I did contact the school just after that attack, the headteacher did make me and my husband feel like a pair of drama queens and said that no other parents had contacted him about it and the trip was still going ahead. Obviously now following the shocking attack in Manchester I am even more anxious, I saw today on sky news that police have advised that all tours/events around Westminster are cancelled with immediate effect, however on my daughters school facebook page the headteacher has again said in a post today that he has contacted the Police and has been advised that the trip can still go ahead. The headteacher has said that he wouldn't do anything to put our children in danger, i know he wouldn't but it is not him im worried about!! I really do not want my daughter to go now and I know people say don't let the terrorists win but I am just not willing to take that risk with my daughter. I feel for her though as I seem to be the only parent who is not letting her child go. I personally think it is very irresponsible for schools to take children into central London at this present time with a threat level at Severe or Critical. It puts parents under extreme anxiety, most parents I know are only letting their children go because they don't want them being the only ones not going so it's like peer pressure! I would be interested to hear your thoughts?

My son is meant to be going on a 4 night trip to London in 2 weeks time. They'll be touring the more famous attractions, there are over 100 of them going. I'm terrified but I feel like I can't stop him living life, he has a medical condition that will shorten his life considerably as it is and we've always told him to live his life to the fullest and let nothing stop him.

We all have our own levels of acceptable risk, this is too high risk for me personally

I think gin that this demonstrates the point I was trying to make earlier. It insinuates that there is an agreed, accepted level of risk of going into London that exceeds the risk of doing of something else, when there isn't it. It feels like there is, and this is down to a number of factors - because of the media coverage terrorist attacks get, because going into London might be a very unusual occurrence for you, because we feel that dying in a terrorist attack would be worse than dying in a RTA, because we have the unshakeable belief that if we are with our children we will automatically be able to protect them.

If the alternative to going to London is for your child to stay at home and you feel like that is less risky then that is fine - but that is not a risk free alternative. I would suspect the risk of them being seriously injured in an accident whilst at home, or a house fire, is actually greater.

I was in London yesterday. Did I take a deep breath before getting on the tube. Yes. I'm human. I'm affected by the media. I''m affected by the horror of it all and regardless of the way I'm explaining risk in these posts, I feel exactly what you feel and would be going through the same turmoil as you if my child was due to go to London.

Did I take a deep breath before crossing the road once back at home? No. I do it everyday. There is comparatively minimal media coverage of people killed on the roads. Ergo it doesn't feel risky. But undoubtedly I was more at risk of being killed crossing that road than on the tube.

This is the point I was trying to make about insinuating the victims engaged in risky behaviour op. By saying "it is too risky" (even appended by "for me personally") clearly implies this, even thought that is clearly not the intention. Apologies if that offended you. Make the decision that you are comfortable with.

He will have a great time. We live very centrally and it's very much business as normal.

I remember the IRA campaigns well and worked in buildings that were on the target lists, have been in lockdown situations and heard/seen a handful of bombs go off.

You really just get on with life. We don't really have the option not to travel on the train, bus and tube every day and I have a mix of feelings when I see police with guns. I usually just grin at them. Must be a shit job.

OP - I don't think you are unreasonable. After the attacks in Paris, the government did cancel all school trips, including things like swimming lessons as local pools. They decided children in groups were a potential target and they took measures. I don't know why people are dismissing the OP's fears.

It is not for the Headteacher or anyone else to tell you how to protect your children. I think in your case I would not allow her to go. I too have worked in London all my life. The building I worked In blown up by the IRA. I have never let threats stop me visiting. I now live just outside London and visit frequently.

However

When I have my GKs to stay and we always used visit Central London. After Westminster I decided that I would not take them any more. I never spoke to their parents about it but just felt I did not want to take the risk with their lives. I understand that security is tighter now, but a determined individual can still get through the net. Groups of children are an easy target. Easy to spot because of the High Viz vests they wear on school trips, easy to do maximum damage because they are in groups.

Go with your instincts. It is not your daughter's job to show the terroists the country is not afraid. The Country is afraid, but we are carrying on regardless of the threat to ourselves, but not regardless of the threat to our children.

Just to add, sometimes it takes a special kind of courage to be a lone voice against the crowd, to say, "No, I am not doing this"

I notice the OP says her child's trip is in a few weeks time. By then the critical level could well have been reduced to the severe level it has been for a good few years. So as the OP was prepared to sign the child up when the security level was that before, how can she justify to her child not allowing her to go. I accept that right now a lot of people are very gittery and I fully respect the decisions they chose to make for their families, but learning resilience is one of the best lessons we can teach our children.

You want the school to cancel the trip so that you're not the one making an irrational decision. You're allowing your fear to restrict your child's life experiences and passing that fear onto your child which will increase the likelihood that she too will grow up fearful and anxious.

Not great parenting to be honest.

There's nothing courageous about allowing anxieties to dictate your life decisions Astrantia.

One person's anxiety is another persons legitimate fear. Assessing risks, making decisions based on how you personally feel about a situation is a good life skill.

I don't think I said anywhere that courage is 'allowing anxiety to dictate your life" and nor did the Op. I said it takes courage to be a lone voice against a crowd.

I don't think you are unreasonable OP.

Op, I totally understand how you're feeling. It's natural at times like this to want to hold your children close. The world seems so bloody scary at the moment. I suffer from anxiety and would feel truly ill at the thought of my child going on a four day trip to London at the moment. But I think I'd still let them go.

The posts from Eton and Theonly above remind us that the risks of being caught up in an incident are tiny . We really cannot stop living our lives because of this minute risk. As much as I want to hide in the house at the minute, I'll still be going into town shopping this afternoon and getting on an aeroplane (aaargh) with dh and my dc next week.

However, if your decision is made then stop agonising over it. It's so hard to know what the right thing is to do in circumstances like this, all you can do is what feels right to you.

lego i wasn't trying to say they did something risky. Just that we all assess things differently.

Many people love rollercoasters or rock climbing and feel it's an acceptable level of risk, for me it's not. I find them to frightening and not worth the risk of something going wrong. The benefits and enjoyment doesn't out weigh the associated risk. Neither view point is right or wrong, it's a personal feeling and perspective.

I wouldn't feel comfortable sending my daughter at the moment. That doesn't mean that I think those who would send are wrong, just that we all have to weigh up these situations for ourselves.

Also it's not for me a risk of going to London. It's a risk of going to these sorts of places that are on heightened security.

There are risks everywhere, but I would feel comfortable sending her somewhere she didn't need to be and adding extra "risk" if that makes sense?

The changing of the guard has been cancelled. Buck House is being guarded. Y 1000 soldiers. Westminster is on lock down. But we are supposed to crack in sending our children on school trips to the capital?

But BenignSorceress. The Queen still held her garden party. Soldiers are being used to do jobs usually done by police so that they can respond to alerts/have rest days. Westminster is pretty empty due to Parliament being dissolved so very few MPs have constituents visiting them anyway. I see your examples as being misleading.

Personally I wouldn't cancel a school trip but I am a Londoner and I am not going to change my life because of a minimal threat. I also worked somewhere that was bombed by the IRA during the time I worked there.

At the end of the day it is up to you whether you want your child to go. However if the school felt there was a genuine risk - no doubt they would have pulled the trip.

I remember years ago a class mate of mine pulling out of a school trip to Russia because of their invasion of Afghanistan- of course nothing happened to us and she felt a bit silly.

It's easy to say you are being irrational & life should go on when you are talking about someone else's kid!
I live in London, worked in central London during the IRA years, nothing I have ever seen on the news has frightened & unnerved me as much as the recent Manchester attack.
I will still take my dd into central London but if she was going on a school trip with 30 other kids and a couple of teachers I'm not sure I would be happy about it or let her go.
Op this is your child and you should do whatever you feel is best for your child.

TheBenignSorceress that's scaremongering. Buckingham Palace has been guarded by armed police for years. I went by there this morning and it was just the same as on other mornings.

Westminster is not on lock down. All the civil servants are at work. People are coming and going as normal.

the country is afraid what a ridiculous statement , I'm sure that there must be millions of people like myself who are not spending their lives being afraid of something that is so unlikely ever to affect them . I'm more likely to get killed driving my car and I do that every single day and I don't think every single day before I start up I wonder if today is the day I crash and die .

I think certain types of school trips should be cancelled while we remain at this security level.

The main priority for police/army should be protecting those who must be in risk areas because they live or work there, or there is some large scale event to protect.

Adding more people to these areas who don't need to be there just makes their jobs harder.

You are right it is a ridiculous statement. I should have read it back correctly. It was supposed to say the Country is not afraid, we are carrying on regardless. Apologies

Fair enough

She is far, far, far more likely to get killed / injured in a coach crash on the way to London, than killed / injured by terrorists once she's there.
Yes, it's your decision whether she goes or not, but think of all the fun she'll miss, and how, once the class are back safely having had a great time, (as they 99.99999999999% will be), you may regret reacting like this. Choose what's right for her and not what's right for you.