What age did you or your child go on their first residential and how long was it?

[BippityBopper]

Just off the back of another thread.

DS' school offered a residential for Y4 for a week. It was at an outdoor activity centre 30 miles away, so close enough to pick up if things went awry.

We didn't send DS because we thought he was too young and the information that the school provided was scarce. They had offered an inormation evening but my understanding was that this was for more detailed logistics as it took place after the deadline to sign up.

My first residential was in Y7 (to Spain). DS school has also offered one for Y6, 1.5bours away
, which he will be joining.

I saw on the other thread some primary schools do residentials to other countries! It made me start to think I'm being way too precious with DS. Other parents at the school merrily signed their kids up with the two paragraphs of info we initially received.

I'm just wondering what general thoughts are on a minimum age for a residential?

I will add that they do do a school trio
in secondary school at about age 15/16

Beaver camp at 6 (4 for DD2 but I was one of leaders so she had to come)

School not until Yr6. DD1 just a night on the school field (end of Covid), DD2 they went to an Activity centre.

DD1 went to Spain in Yr10. DD2 has chosen a UK trip. (Partly as the cists have now gone above £1k for 4 nights, and she agreed it was outrageous!)

I do have an issue with Primary schools offering multiple residental trips... but because I dont feel its right to put parents in a position where they feel they need to psy for something they cant afford. One of our local schools does trips in Yr3,4 5&6.

As a Cub leader... most Cubs come on camps. Some have other commitments. A very small number dont because they (or their parents dont want to. For the Beavers, attendance is about 50%.

Y5 and Y6 spent the weekend 25 miles away with school. Y7 a week in France

Both DCs with Beavers - age 6.
DD with school - age 11 to France (Y6)
DD with PGL - also age 11, last summer.
DS with school - never because it would be too much like hard work for them.
DS has also not been on his own to Cubs/Scouts but recently his epilepsy has got worse and they don't feel they can handle it.

I've taught Y3 in various schools for donkeys years and never not done a residential. Only ever one or two nights (two nighters have been with older classes as well) and not far from home. The vast majority of children, sometimes all of them, attend.

What sort of information did you get and what were you expecting? We send an A4 letter about them but things like activities often aren't firmed up until closer to the time. Did you ask the school to answer the specific questions you had?

I was 8, Dd was 10.

in our school we do residential in y4, y5 and y 6. Y4 is 20 mins away in traffic for 2 nights so a nice ice breaker, y5 is 60/90 mins away depending on weather and road you take and y6 is always to London so a good few hours away but kids are used to being away.

DT’s went to Paris and EuroDisney in year 6 - they loved it

February of YR6 so she was 10, 4 nights

Both went in Year 4, for 3 nights. Only about 1.5 hours from home so didn't feel like a big deal, they had a whale of time!

Four nights, one hour away in year five but my eldest was still only 9 as she's an August birthday. She bloody loved it and was teaching the others how to put their duvets in the covers as she'd had to do it from a very young age due to my health. We has class reps who relayed the days events via a fb group. No problems at all which considering as a class group they were a bunch of little buggers, it was a miracle really.

My daughter went on her first residential in year 2 but only for 1 night and she’s going again tomorrow (different place) but for 2 nights this time (year 4). I have to admit I hated it but she loves it so much and gained so much from it there’s no way could’ve stopped her from going. I would’ve felt too guilty. I’m not looking forward to her going tomorrow either but my husband has booked time off work so I won’t be on my own and spiralling (I suffer from really bad anxiety).

I feel like it’s crucial for her development to have these experiences and learn independence from me - even though I HATE it!

Cubs come on camp from age 8. That’s usually 2 nights.

school residential 4 nights year 5 & 6 so from age 9.

PGL 3 nights from 10ish up to 5 nights by 11/12.

What sort of information were you expecting?
We don’t send much for cub camp. Maybe a brief outline of activities but does it really matter what they’re doing when theyre away?

Starts in Year 4 at my son's school. Just overnight, 2 nights in Year 5 and 3 nights in Year 6.

My son is in Year 5 and can't go due to medical reasons. It's a shame as he'd love to experience it.

When we lived in a different European country, Dc went on a three night residential at age 6, they were about 2 hours travel away.

In the UK, I think there were camps with brownies/cubs from age 7 (1 or 2 nights), then school overnight residential in I think Y4, which was fairly local, then 5 nights in Y6, a couple of hours away.

Nothing travelling abroad until Y9 of secondary I don’t think, which was just three nights, then 7 nights on MFL exchange staying with host family in Y10.

But they could have gone abroad camping to Europe with scouts aged 10 - it clashed with our family holiday, or they would have been keen.

I think it’s good to seize any opportunities you can, though the trips are expensive at our school.

my kids school go on residentials for 2 nights/3 days in years 4,5 and 6. My kids have been on them all (well DS missed his year 4 one due to Covid). They’re all in wales (as are we) but 2 of them are over 4 hours away. The year 4 one is about one hour away. My kids loved them but they’re fine about staying away from home

Mine all did overnights with Beavers, so aged 6 or 7.
Then regular weekends with cubs from aged 8.

The first school residential they were offered was Yr 4 so they would have been 9 (as it was at end of year).

It seems a shame you made your dc miss out without actually finding out more about it.

I think it’s fairly standard for schools to give an outline of the trip in the initial and then provide all of the details subsequently. The school
probably run the same (or more or less the same) trip year after year, many of the staff will have been on it before and it will probably be to a PGL or similar place which is specifically designed for this sort of thing and has all
of the risk assessments etc in place. Often, if you go onto the venue’s
website you can get a good frel
for it. Bear in mind,
too, that, for a lot of people it will be their second or subsequent child going on the trip so they already know what’s involved and many others will know from friends with children older years.
My DC were at a primary which did a 1 night residential in Yr4, 2 nights in Yr5 and 4 nights in Yr6. The Yr 4 & Yr5 ones
were each about 45 mins away; Yr6 was a couple of hours. DC1 injured herself on the second day of the Yr5 one and was upset so I went & collected her, got her sorted out and then dropped her back for breakfast the following morning as she wanted to join in with her friends.

7 - Skiing. A full week. But it’s fairly standard here in France.

Year 2, she'd just turned 7. Just for one night.

Think they do a 4 night one then in year 6.

Y2 do 1 night, Y4 do 2 nights and Y6 do 3 nights in our school. In addition to this DS has done Beaver sleepovers and Cub Camp. He struggles a bit being away from us but always has a blast. DD (age 11) is going to scout camp for 7 nights in the summer, she’s a bit apprehensive but I know she’ll get so much out of it.

I turned down the beavers residential and school sleepover for my DC1 in year 2 - I saw no need for it at age 6 (young in year).

Hes going away for 2 nights with school
in year 3 at just turned 8 and I think will be fine with that.

When I was in primary I did my first residentials in year 5 with an extracurricular group and year 6 with school, both for 2 nights.

Primary 6 for 3 nights, is pretty standard here.

Y4, two nights. DS was very nervous beforehand but had a whale of a time and admitted slightly guiltily afterwards that he had had so much fun he hadn’t missed us at all! They did not get much sleep, lots of messing about knocking on each other’s doors and pretending there was a ghost etc.

There is a bigger week-long residential in Y6 after the SATs, the Y4 one is like a warm-up.