FREE school trips and holidays/parents on benefits!

[graceM]

Tonight I've had a letter home from my son's secondary school letting us know that there is a trip to France coming up in July before they break up for summer. It's for four days and it costs £672, well I've just read at bottom of the page that the trip will be either free of charge or reduced accordingly for parents who claim benefits, ie income support, job seekers, housing benefit etc etc, well I'm absolutely furious to say the least!

I know that not everyone can afford to send their children on expensive school trips/holidays etc, neither can I really but I'm willing to scrimp and save to ensure my son gets to go. So why the hell should other parents get it free? If you can't afford for your child to go then they don't go simple, I know it's sad but that's just the way it is. Not happy!

No, kids on free school meals qualify for pupil premium - their free lunches don't come out of that.

And a 600 odd quid trip paid for out of pupil premium money is really quite a rarity, I would have thought. It wouldn't be usual at my school, anyway.

It is unfair.

It's unfair on those families "on the margin". Their DCs don't qualify for PP but they are in low paid work.

It is fair that disadvantaged DCs get the opportunities offered to others.

One good move would be to only take DCs on much cheaper "experiences", so that they are within reach of the low paid. The price of some of these trips is getting ridiculous. If you are a high earner you can afford for your child to go on these pricey trips during school holidays.

School trips should be affordable to the majority of DCs, even if they aren't quite as exciting.

tintin would you mind sharing the rough cost of your trip

It keeps coming back to the cost for me. And what if you have two kids in line to go on school trips in the same year? Over a grand potentially for them to get a few days away but then quite likely nothing as a family.

I am disgusted at some of the comments on this thread. If you stopped hoiking your judgy pants up for a minute you might realise that there is life below your scrimping and scraping on petrol and fucking magazines ffs, some people struggle to even buy food day to day. You are so out of touch with the world of benefits it's unreal, to begrudge a child less fortunate than your own for whatever reason one measly school trip is sickening and your attitude stinks. Your child is already more privileged than some of those children by even having one working parent and being able to be driven round in a car, you literally have no idea. You must walk round with your nose so far in the air that you fail to see how some people live.

This didn't happen at my dc's school where a lot of families did live on benefits and I wish they would of been something in place. One boy a friend of my dd's constantly missed out on the annual trip to Germany year after year as his mother just couldn't afford it, he regularly turned up to school in ripped clothes and shoes. His mother drove a new people carrier, it was on mobility as she needed it for the younger dc and the money was taken off the amount of benefit she was given each month. One boy couldn't afford cooking ingredients for his gcse food class every week and the teacher bought the ingredients and claimed the money back just so he could take part. In fact, no one should even have to justify themselves to people like you.

has anyone ever researched the cost?

If say 20 kids went then that's over 13,000.

With the likes of youth hostels, euro tunnel etc it shouldn't be that much surely?

when they hire a coach for the day tickets are usually 10-15 pound for te trip including entry.

so where does the remains 650 go? can't all be insurance and accommodation surely?

has anyone actually called around and priced it up?

My friend is in full benefits

Ive always wondered what people meant when they say someone is on "full benefits"? Do you mean your friend gets every single benefit we have?

And how is the price worked out?

is it a fixed cost per person regardless or is it say divided over average numbers of children from previous years?

what happens to any money left over

When my dd went it was 350 but the whole cost for everyone was party subsidised by the school so would have been more and it included coach hire for 5 days , ferry crossing, youth hostel, food and entrance to any parks or attractions they visited. So basically all that was needed was general pocket money.

Would say 5 children be able to go or would there need to be a minimum amount that need to pay to ensure all costs are covered

queen, couldn't agree more with your posts. Some of these posts are upsetting and frankly disgraceful. Assumably we are all parents and to see so many grown adults/parents begrudging a child a holiday because their parents can't pay for whatever is just shocking. I hope many of you don't pass your judgemental attitude on to you're children.

*your

so where does the remains 650 go? can't all be insurance and accommodation surely?

Food, entrance fees, local transport. It all adds up very quickly.

My kids have been on amazing school trips. I'd happily forgo a family holiday so they could travel and learn. And I'm more than happy that funds exist to support other kids to go. (and if the parents bugger off to Barbados while their children are going round museums in Munich on a subsidised trip it's absolutely not my business. They have met someone's criteria to qualify so good for them.)

It's unfair on those families "on the margin". Their DCs don't qualify for PP but they are in low paid work.

Parents on low incomes (that's probably most people in the UK) are topped up with tax credits and this should be one of the criteria that schools use for subsidies.

Pupil Premium has nothing to do with school trips, PP is aimed at narrowing the ATTAINMENT gap. Schools using the PP to send kids on ski trips are wasting taxpayers money. The old notion of sending everyone on a ski trip because otherwise they would never have that opportunity in their lives is a nonsense. The same could be applied to going to the Bahamas or New York. Where will it end?

I say send them off on a low cost trip (like they used to) and save the PP for extra tuition and homework support. They still get plenty of museum trips.

Queen - If parents let their children go to school in rags that's a matter for social services not the school, specially since school uniform is also funded so there's really no excuse. And getting a car on mobility is sometimes essential but if that can be the only means for disabled children to get out of the house then we shouldn't begrudge them that either. We had higher rate mobility but I found it more economical to buy a used car than a shiny new mobility one, it's another one of those cons that parents fall into, spending more than they otherwise would have because it's some kind of 'offer'.

I dont doubt that it cab add up quickly but when you can go anywhere in the world for less per person depending in the deals available it's not unusual to wonder just why say France would cost so much when ferries and euro tunnel can be cheaper than train fares across England alone. and often there are group discounts etc.

My kids have been on amazing school trips. I'd happily forgo a family holiday so they could travel and learn.

Good for you. The point is a lot of people don't have a family holiday to forgo in the first place.

Gracem, I would also ask the school what exactly they are doing for it to cost over £600?
My DDs school is doing a 3 night trip to France that we can afford, it is £280.00. The actual cost is £380.00 but school PTA funds pay £100 towards each child to reduce the cost. The trip includes a day in Paris, boat trip and visit to The Somme. We certainly could not have afforded to let her go for over £600. They are also doing a 4 night trip to Germany for £300. Original cost £400.
£672 seems a lot!

Giles - you're right, of course they can do it for less.

School holidays are simply big business. www.diverseschooltravel.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAu_GmBRDhtK-kzqKcuJwBEiQAJvB8nzf4RIQK9LVVzuEEbE7mr-PTssykzKg3QPrqjkMxLDIaAr6L8P8HAQ

Are you being sarcastic their cottage ? Apologies but it's hard to tell reading text it doesn't sound like you are but I could be wrong

I see that link has cheaper trips.

I also think it's possible to ask these questions without people jumping on. assuming you begrudge people worse off than you going on them. not the case at all but surely it's also possible to feel for parents who wont afford the trip who's kids could feesably be actually worse off depending on circumstances. not every benefit family is living in squalor with no food or heating any more than every working family is all happy and shiny with everything they need with lids who think "hey smile through this shit at least my parents are influencing me to work"

ironic how posters snapping at people for assuming those on benefits could possibly be lying or everything that people have posted while simultaneously failing to acknowledge that these people do exist and are better off than.others.

trips shouldn't price anyone out. anyone!!

people working still have plenty of stuff going on that could mean children suffer. having nothing isn't exclusive to benefits claimants.

600 pounds is alot for many people to afford regardless of employment status.

My DD is going to France this year I think it is 4 days - we were told it was £400 then it was £435 and now they are going round trying to drum up more children as it is under- subscribed. I guess if they don't parents will be asked to pay more?
(I have to say here that it clashes with something else - if they are doing that they can't go on this trip - and this has happened in the past too - I know 2 children who would go if it didn't clash)
And the prices do seem expensive ...even though they won't qualify for children's rates as young teens.
My parents are always off on coach holidays to Europe (my DF refuses to fly) - cheapest are less than £300 for 5 nights to more than £700 for longer...it does make you wonder why these trips are so expensive? Guess they have to pay for the teachers trip too - and maybe overtime???? But a lot of the expense looking at my parent coach holidays seems to be the hotel cost - the more expensive trips are in 5 star hotels - surely school children could stay in a hostel or something...
(last time we were in Paris we stayed overnight at an budget hotel near the airport (formula 1 or something) -it was really basic, but clean and comfortable and really cheap -cheaper than paying for a taxi from DP's brother's house to the airport in the morning...)

Giles - my DD went to Paris on a school trip - cost was £365 - and we were given £17 back after the trip.

However we had to get her to school for 4am the first day, they coached 4 hours to Dover then 4 hours to Paris arriving in the evening.

the coach had no loo so they had to stop every 2 hours.

had a crappy hostel on the Northern outskirts of Paris (shared with mainly Algerian 20-40 year old men who liked to smoke setting off the fire alarms at 3am 2 nights they were there.

went TO the Eiffel tower - but not up it and left early on the Friday to be home for 9pm.

DD does not want to go on another trip abroad.

Some of the cost is presumably because they're flying/coaching it from the Lakes, rather than starting somewhat nearer France, I'd guess.

OP, you do keep starting very cross resentful threads (I stumbled onto the one about Lazy Parents choosing schools they didn't have to drive to, and backed out of it quietly...

Maybe you need to sit down with a mug of tea and just unwind a bit.

Gosh - apart from no loo (I panic without a loo) that sounds like a bit of an adventure to me somewhere...and actually no loo, lots of stops - less boring than being sat on a coach for hours... Leaving in the middle of the night...even the fire alarms going off would have been a bit of drama and excitement...
(Ignoring the Algerian comment - my DP is French Algerian ....)

Unless your DD has been abroad often - to posh hotels etc...it would have been a real experience ...unforgettable...

Erm cottage if the parent cannot afford a school trip then how do you expect them to fork out to afford to buy a used car? The point of a mobility car is that they do not actually have to buy it and can pay per month with the money taken from the total benefit they would have been awarded. Insurance and repairs are included on mobility so I fail to see how it would work out more economical considering old cars are inevitably more prone to breaking, you are being silly and it is a classic case of benefit bashing.