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Primary education

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Original poster

Would you let your 8 year-old stay in a Travelodge on a school trip?

69 replies

SiriusPink · 16/02/2011 22:04

This is quite bizarre I feel.

DD's class is going on a school trip and has to stay overnight (early start next day). We have just been informed that the school has booked 'almost all the rooms' in a 'small Travelodge'.

No more information at the moment, but I don't feel happy about this idea. DD is only 8 (Year 4) and we wouldn't put her in a big hotel room on her own (or with older sibling) if we went away, even with us next door, so I feel even more uncomfortable about the idea with us not even there!

How can they possibly have risk-assessed a public hotel as being safe for a group of 50 children (2 classes)

Who is going to be 'on duty' overnight? What if the children wake up scared overnight, or won't go to sleep, or if there is a fire etc.

I assume they were planning to pair up the children, 2 to a room, but DD hasn't ever been away on her own - except at friends' houses for sleepovers, which I feel is very different?

Would you be happy with this arrangement?

OP posts:

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SoupDragon · 17/02/2011 18:17

LOL. I couldn't tell but either they had run it before with no problem whatsoever or they haven't thought it through.

DSs school takes the entire Y6 (90 children) away to the Isle of Wight for a week. They book a whole hotel. However, this is Y6 and they have run the trip for years and years.

Saracen · 18/02/2011 01:50

No.

And I am a very laid-back parent who lets my kid do things other parents wouldn't dream of.

polarfox · 18/02/2011 11:07

That can't be right? Are you sure?

I cant see Travelodge accepting this, the insurance company agreeing to this, the chaperones being happy with these, or the risk assesment okaying it..

As others have said NO!!!!

PaperView · 18/02/2011 11:12

How have they thought this would be allowed?

SO many wrongs here i can't even list them all!!

Colourworld · 18/02/2011 11:34

What if someone comes into the room (one of the reasons not to let the children stay in the hotel)? I would say 100% a "no".

PaperView · 18/02/2011 11:59

I may be wrong but don't all Travelodge rooms have to have an over 16/18 in them anyway? re they meaning for you to stay too?

RealityIsKnockedUp · 18/02/2011 12:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

IAPJJLPJ · 18/02/2011 18:24

There was a similar thread - I think last year - about school trips and staying in a hostel.

Not sure what happened in the end with that one either.

Would be interesting to find out as it may help the OP in this case with questions to ask.

PaperView · 19/02/2011 18:43

Hostel completely different to travelodge tho

pudding25 · 19/02/2011 18:50

As a Yr 4 teacher who takes children away on residentials, I am very surprised that the governors/local authority would authorise this. We have very strict risk assessments that have to be passed and when we go away, it is to an enclosed building, only in use by our school.

I would ask to see a copy of their risk assessment.

Where are they going to in any case?

vintageteacups · 19/02/2011 18:51

I wrote a similar post about DD staying in a 'open to the public youth hostel' in derbyshire.

Most people on here said I was correct in not sending her but some disagreed and said I was being overprotective.

She's not going again this year as the school won't budge on booking up the remaining 4 rooms (even though it'd only cost each fmaily another (15.00).

Fire officers say keep YH door open at night whereas police officers say lock door due to strangers.

Aren't travel lodge front slide doors open all night long?

The OP's school is being stupid and uncaring if they go ahead but I'm not so sure the Travel Lodge would allow it for their liability.

vintageteacups · 19/02/2011 18:54

I also don't think teachers are allowed to sleep in the rooms due to CP?

And also, due to sleep hours, don't think they're supposed to stay awake all night?

vintageteacups · 19/02/2011 18:55

I truly believe that a law should be passed in Govt. stating that no school is allowed to take children away on trips unless it's to a secure building and one only used for schools; not having the public able to stay at the same time. Then I'd be happy to let the kids go.

AbigailS · 19/02/2011 19:10

I'm an experienced teacher and I go cold at the very thought of it! The risk assessments are scary enough for ordinary trips and hostel sleepovers are bad enough, but a public hotel... I shudder as I run through all the possible risks I would need to look at and plan to reduce / prevent!
My answer both as a parent and a teacher would be NO, NO, NO!

serin · 19/02/2011 19:33

Madness.

IAPJJLPJ · 19/02/2011 22:56

vintageteacups - thanks for your input! I knew I had read something similar previously. Did any other parents agree with you and not let their children go?

vintageteacups · 20/02/2011 16:16

yes IAP - but only the one other parent I told - the school asked me not to tell the other parents the situation as "they wanted the children to go" .

They didn't bat an eyelid this year when I said DD wouldn't be going. I can't be bothered to argue for the other kids any more; we're moving away in the summer and I was banging my head against the wall.

I honestly think that in this day and age, with the majority of fmailiies having at least one holiday a year, that schools could just have day trips and be done with over night stays - much easier for everyone and can't say that they really benefit any more from 'staying the night' with a school trip than they do staying over at a friend's house. Any teacher that says otherwise is making it all up. By the age of 8/9, most children have the ability to undress and wash for bed themselves and sleep in a bed without their parents staying over and can get up the next day and eat breakfast around a tbale without their parents there. Apart from that, the stuff they do on the trip can be done in a day at a museum, in a field, by the river etc.

mummytime · 20/02/2011 16:30

My kids schools only use filed study centres (or local scout camp site, and that does have someone awake all night). I would suggest OP contacts her LEA, as I am sure a trip with primary age in a Travelodge would fail our LEAs policy on school trips.

vintageteacups · 20/02/2011 16:33

Thing is mummytime, when it was happening to us, I called the Outdoor Residential Trips guy who was in charge of all trips within the LEA and he was useless!!!

He said it was up to the head and he would check the risk assessments nearer the time (what's the point of that when there has to be an initial one signed off by the governors?). He had gone direct to the head, told her what I said about her incopetance and then got back to me (by email) telling me it was all fine and there was nothing to worry about.

So just a word of warning that even the LEA isn't always correct/aware of how safe a trip is.

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