Daughter goes on school trip and stands outside freezing most of the day. Complain????

[FloralFlowers]

Hi all

Just like to get some opinions before I go writing furious letters

My 6 year old when on a school trip to the Zoo today to watch a nativity type animal show.
It was 0 degrees but we were advised the trip would still be going ahead, despite the weather.

She was well wrapped up, two layers of everything,hat scarf gloves and ear muffs.

She came home (early!) with wet feet and freezing cold saying she had stood outside and walked around all day despite crying (along with nine of the other girls and two boys) and asking to go inside.

The class trip then came home an hour early, which just added further to her upset as I wasn't able to pick her up.
Do I make a complaint that they were kept outside for most of the trip??

I understand it was a zoo trip, and the weather was unexpected, but if a quarter of the class are crying due to cold (and my daughter doesn't have a tendency to make things up and is pretty honest), would a school normally continue with the trip???

I didn't get chance to speak to other parents as my daughter was one of the few left at the end of the day, so didn't get chance to check the stories out.

What would you do in this instance?????

Thanks all

I wouldn't want to be standing around outside all day long, thermal socks (which are crap) or not. WHat about the kids whose parents can't afford £30 for boots alone? Are they supposed to just freeze?

If it's any consolation, Edinburgh Zoo has been closed this week, so they obviously don't expect children to stand outside all day long in sub zero temperatures. I'm sure, given the weather, the school could have postponed the trip. I'm not surprised you're miffed.

I am a Primary School teacher in South East London. I actually would have asked the head teacher if I could have cancelled this trip.

Going outside in the current weather conditions is ok for children if they have immediate access to warmth but taking them to the zoo, I just wouldn't have done that!

It's not just the cold but the hazard of black ice under-foot.

I understand it from both sides of the fence; no one likes to cancel anything! We had to cancel a school trip and school play this week due to adverse weather conditions.

As teachers we are responsible for the safety of our pupils and taken them outside in snow and freezing temperatures wouldn't be the best move.

I took my class out in the snow in the playground (they loved-all kids do!!) But there is no way I would have taken them to the zoo.

Lots of children at our school wear these which are £16 and seem to work well:
www.tougheesshoes.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9&products_id=42&zenid=e7e7a5f6eff85cf012034914d7b2bc14

I think with the move toward forest schools, outdoor classroom, etc, that the question Maisie raises becomes interesting. All those things rely on adequate outdoor wear so they don't become miserable.

I know one local primary school is investing in 90 sets of snowsuits and snowboots which will stay in school and get re-used.

Mine have worn teh same snow boots for 3 years! And their feet have grown during this time. THink it is because the boots are fairly generous size wise and we have just moved from 2 pairs of thick socks to one pair of normal socks.
New ones this year though.
Well worth the money!

I confess my children got two years out of their snow boots and that they were passed down so effectively 4 years for my money.

What on earth was the school thinking, planning a trip that would involve being outside a lot, at this time of year??

I live in France where all the kids have snow boots - they are really just flexible wellies with fleecy lining that close at the top. I paid 15? for my DD's pair that she is currently wearing for the second year running. But even with all the kids in their snow boots, there is NO WAY our school would do a trip like this.

Whoever decides to import cheap snow boots to the UK will make a fortune.

Also all the folk round here hand down snow boots or hand them on to other people.

Good grief we are in England not the Arctic the weather is unprecedented for November the school couldn't have foreseen.

Actually, not true - the long range forecasters, both professional and amateur, have been predicting this weather for a few months now.

It was a zoo trip.....you saw the snow. You had a choice whether to let her go or not.

No, it's up to the school, not the parents to make the call as they are they ones responsible for the H&S during school hours. You may recall an terrible incident last year where a school trip to Alton Towers went ahead, despite the weather. It wasn't the parents which underwent an investigation, it was the school. Don't forget that taking a child out of school counts as unauthorised absence, and many parents would struggle to find childcare with very little notice.

Parents don't have to take children out of school if they don't want them to attend a trip the child stays in school if the parent refuses consent.

We subscribe to a weather warning and had a full day trip to the forest planned to collect our tree and would have been there if the roads had been open.

Schools are investigated in the event of accidents that happen when children are in their care but I doubt they would be found irresponsible for taking a child out in the cold well wrapped up, two layers of everything,hat scarf gloves and ear muffs. in the OPs words and with boots and wellies (although it isn't clear whether she was wearing either)

It would depend if the school had the staff ratio to enable parents to cancel their child's place - we've just had a letter from DD's school to say just that.

Yes, they are investigated if things happen to children in their care - and we don't know what happened here, ie did the school take the necessary steps to ensure that all the children were adequately wrapped up to allow this trip to take place, so it's impossible to say that it should have gone ahead.

As I said, Edinburgh Zoo was shut this week -they didn't consider it appropriate for any schools to visit.

Asda have kids snow boots for £12.50. I'd have been miffed if my kids hadn't gone tbh.Mine are wearing tights under trousers and slipper socks inside wellies-they're fine.

Asda are sold out here, and only have pink ones online - unfortunately there has been no mail deliveries here for 5 days now, so it's not even possible to order stuff online.

Edinburgh zoo was closed due to dangerous conditions (heavy snow and slippery conditions)

We accommodate children who don't attend trips in other classes so it isn't an issue with staffing

edinburgh zoo has not closed to prevent school children standing outside

It doesn't matter what your school does - other schools perhaps can't accommodate children at the last minute. It would all depend on any number of variables, I would imagine, esp as this was a last minute trip.

Again, it's up to the schools to make the call based on what was safe for all of their children at the event, at that time. I can't imagine the children that were frreezing got much out of the trip at all, and I would certainly want to know more about their handling of the event in the circumstances. It sounds as if it wasn't thought through properly at all.

So it only matters what your school does Maisiethemorningsidecat ?

What about the cost of buses booked for the journey? Plus most venues charge for cancellations at short notice so I can imagine the 75% of parents who's children didn't complain about the cold would be overjoyed at losing money.

No more than it matters what goes on in your school - I was merely pointing out that not every school has the capacity to accept children whose parents have decided to cancel their place on a trip.

I completely agree that the cost of the transport and so on has to be taken into account. Perhaps this is something that the school should have considered however when it booked this last minute trip to an outside venue in the middle of a very cold winter - either that or ensured that the young children didn't spend most of the day outside. I'm well aware of how much it costs to kit children out with good warm weather gear, and it would be horrible to think of children freezing because the school didn't/couldn't think of a more weather appropriate activity.

If a child can't go on a trip at short notice, they'd be put in with another clas.

OP has yet to say what the feedback from the school was, so far we only have the word of a pissed-off and upset 6 year old to go on.

If you know your child will be going on a trip to a zoo in december, then it is your responsibility to ensure that she is dressed appropriately. Yes, the weather is unforseen, but considering its the middle of winter, its not actually that cold.

If your DD was not warm enough, then that is simply because you didn't provide her with warm enough clothes. And if you didn't have them/ can't afford them, then you should not have allowed her to go. A trip to the zoo is fairly obviously going to be mainly outside.

Only if there is space for the children whose parents have cancelled. Supposing 10-15 of a class cancelled due to bad weather, despite having originally booked a place. It may be that there simply isn't space to accommodate these other children without adversely affecting other classes. Much better to take the pragmatic approach and plan a more weather appropriate trip. Or plan the day better. Or make sure that all the children are adequately dressed (which is why the OP needs to find out what happened).

Where does it say this trip was arranged at at the last minute?