PGL residential - reassure me

[Pippidoeswhatshewants]

Y6 residential to a PGL site. The way I understand it is that PGL staff will be in charge of everything, and teachers are there basically for the trip to and from the site and "just in case". Is that right?

Please reassure me that the teachers people who lost a group of Y2's in London will not be the ones in charge.

My Yr6 ds going on pgl trip on Monday! I assume teachers are responsible for making sure children behave themselves, and conduct themselves in an orderly manner, while away!Also dealing with arguments, homesickness etc.

I think the PGL staff will supervise all activities, safety matters, etc.

How did they manage to lose the Y2s?

There's a little bit of me that almost admires the level of incompetence that could lead mislaying a group of Year 2s.

My 8 year old DD went to PGL last weekend with Cubs and had a fantastic time. She was buzzing about having done the high ropes course and how great the instructors are.
She's persuaded us to let her go for a week during the holidays on her own because she liked it so much.

... lead to mislaying...

I used to work for PGL. The way it runs:-

PGL staff assigned to your school - one, two or how ever many are needed for the size of the group. Board the coach on arrival and do a meet and greet. Take kids and school to dorms. Kids make their beds and unpack. Teachers and PGL staff supervise.
Kids given weekly schedule and a tour of the site - dining room etc.
Kids are met each morning and along with their teachers are escorted to breakfast and to the meet and greet point for activities. Activities run by other PGL staff - teachers are supervisors of behaviour.
PGL staff escort to lunch then have their break. Teachers stay with kids.
PGL staff escort to meeting point for afternoon activities and other PGL staff run the sessions. Teachers supervise.
Evening ents run by the PGL staff assigned tk the school (plus extra staff of needed) - teachers werent present for this bit had a little breal of their own. Teachers then got an hour "off" after bedtime and PGL staff would mind the kids by paroling the accomodation (at least one staff per block of rooms). Teachers on duty overnight.Repeat.

Teachers are there to manage the kids behaviour and thats about it. The staff run the activities, on and off site, and have very strict rules in place (which are outlined clearly) for things like road crossing, beach walks, forest safety etc.

I used to be a pgl instructor - brilliant job!
MrsMcRuff is right - the pgl staff are in charge of delivering the activities and the teachers are in charge discipline etc.
Everything is risk assessed / safety tested to the hilt and instructors are all in charge of session safety.

It seems to be easy to mislay a group of Y2's: You take them to the Natural History Museum, split them into groups, give them a task, let them wander off to do their task and then just leave without them.
Thankfully there were some really switched on kids in the group, so they found their way back to the teachers. Not the other way round, mind you.

Ever since then I am a tad anxious about school trips.

Thank you, ThinkIveBeenHacked, that is very reassuring.
My concern is not about PGL staff at all - I have only ever heard good things about PGL.

I've done PGLs as a teacher. The staff there organise everything but we divided ourselves up so each group had a member of our staff with them, sorted out tears, any behaviour and had a go ourselves! They are the best trips as the sites are secure, well signposted and so many staff around so we don't have to worry about losing pupils. The PGLS staff also used to help supervise in the evenings which meant that we could take it in turns to have some time by ourselves. London/city trips are the worst, I spend all my time in a heightened sense of anxiety in case I lost one or two.

Yep - our site was completely fenced in with a padlocked gate down to the beach and a 24 hr manned Hut at the entrance. There was no getting in or out if you werent permitted.

Agree with Ionacat's description.

Teaching staff are more 'in charge' at the dorms/ dining hall - but basically they get them to the activity on time and PGL staff take it from there.

at 10/11 your child should be o.k. with you discussing what should happen if he/ she got separated. Frankly the school should be doing this as part of their risk assessment and the children should be given some idea of what to do if during the 'forest walk' (for example) they get separated from everybody.

My impression from seeing videos of PGL trips my children have been on - is that they are making such a racket in a very controlled environment (let's be honest it's not like serious wilderness excursions with grizzly bears and mountain lions about) - that it really will be difficult to get 'too lost' at the PGL centre.

However the coach journey there and back????

Dd has done 3 Pgl holidays with brownies and guides She has loved all the staff at each one and generally had a brilliant time apart from the spiders in the toilets

Off site walks are always heavily PGL staffed too. Kids are told they cant go past the staff member at the front, cant go behind the staff member at the back, must stick to footpaths and we spread the teachers out throughout the crocodile line to keep an ear out.

We have tactics for areas that may need extra concentration (for instance one offsite walk we did had a bit that was through a very snug bit of woodland with the thinest darkest pathway and prior to entering that section would tell the kids all about totally made up Drop Spiders and spin a bit of a yarn about poison, antidotes, needing to be quiet etc just through that bit. Aids concentration you see

On a Monday-Friday PGL trip for 10-year olds where half the first and last day will be travelling time, are 3 pairs of jogging bottoms and one pair of shorts enough for the activities???... And one pair of trainers plus one pair of wellington boots???

yeah - theylk wear the same pair of trousers (and boxers!) all week.

Ooh, lovely! Looking forward to washing out the filth!

You do need to realise that teachers who have previously lost children will be hyper vigilant to ensure it doesn't happen again. Once is misfortune, twice looks like carelessness and all that.

They are probably safer with those teachers than with teachers who have never had the panic of having lost a child.

They are probably safer with those teachers than with teachers who have never had the panic of having lost a child.

I'm sure you're right, but from what the op said, the teachers in this case weren't even aware they'd lost a group of children, let alone be in a panic about it!

I'm afraid that I have completely lost trust in my school. Might be something to do with the notorious "sweep everything under the carpet" attitude, or the frequent breaking of promises.
Losing Y2 children is not the only example, giving others would make me identifiable.
Dd is in Y6 and would be traumatised by changing schools, but I can't wait for this year to be over.

Just to add my reassurance about pgl.
DS has an ASD. He went to pgl with his year four class for a three day residential.
He had an amazing time.
I'd send him again in a heartbeat.

send bin bags for them to put wet clothes/towels in is my best advice. My children both loved their PGL trips btw