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Original poster

Parents asked to give lifts for school trip

69 replies

bizzybeing · 03/10/2023 08:25

My DC is in year 3 and I've had a message to say they'll be going on a school trip in a few weeks time. The trip is fairly local so the children will walk there (30-40min walk). The school feel it's too far to expect children this age to walk back to school as well so they are asking parents to arrange lifts back to school amongst themselves.

The children need to be collected from the trip and then dropped back to school before the normal end of the school day.

Is it normal for schools to ask parents to provide transport to trips during the school day? I've not heard of it before but it seems to raise various safeguarding issues to me.

DP and I will both be working and can not take time out in the middle of the day to collect DC ourselves so will need to ask another parent to help. The class WhatsApp has several people offering so that shouldn't be a problem but we're new to the area so I don't actually know any of these people.

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Original poster
bizzybeing · 03/10/2023 11:05

Thanks all. Nice to know I'm not the only person that thinks this is a bit odd.

I will ask the school for a copy of the policy and risk assessment.

OP posts:
MilesAndMilesOfLights · 03/10/2023 12:16

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TeenDivided · 03/10/2023 12:38

I think there is a difference between:
The schools gets 4 parents to volunteer and then assigns children to each car
v
The school asks parents to arrange lifts amongst themselves (and has a fallback if a parent can't find a lift they consider suitable for their child).

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 03/10/2023 12:42

This is extremely dodgy on safeguarding grounds and that’s exactly why the school have asked parents to do it informally.

so nothing that happens is down to the school or their responsibility.

I get that the budget for a coach is likely beyond them, but that’s a corner cut too far for me. They should walk back.

lorisparkle · 03/10/2023 12:58

I have taken a number of children on school activities in my car and other parents have taken my children. Often to sporting events. It was always organised that the other parents had to 'ask' directly. The only time that I was concerned was when I realised the boy in the car had epilepsy and I was on my own with just the three boys.

WeWereInParis · 03/10/2023 13:01

I think it's really bizarre to take children on a school trip but to then abdicate the responsibility of getting them back to school.

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 03/10/2023 13:40

lorisparkle · 03/10/2023 12:58

I have taken a number of children on school activities in my car and other parents have taken my children. Often to sporting events. It was always organised that the other parents had to 'ask' directly. The only time that I was concerned was when I realised the boy in the car had epilepsy and I was on my own with just the three boys.

That’s a prime example of why schools shouldn’t be doing this and abdicating all responsibility for their pupils

HongKongGarden · 03/10/2023 13:43

whattttttodo · 03/10/2023 08:30

Other alternative is hire a coach. Our school area coaches are £15 per child. Would parents prefer to pay that?

£15 rather than taking an hour off work?

Yes, of course.

caban · 03/10/2023 13:47

I'd just tell the school you aren't happy for your child to go in another adult's car and you'd like them to walk back to school with the teacher.
You don't have to make a big drama about it.

RandomUsernameHere · 03/10/2023 13:51

Possibly the reason they've asked the parents to arrange the lifts themselves is so that the journey back doesn't officially form part of the school trip, therefore getting around the need for the parents to have DBS certificates? It would just be like collecting your DC's friends from school.

SmallestInTheClass · 03/10/2023 13:53

Another school governor here. This sounds totally inappropriate from a safeguarding perspective. Safeguarding isn't just about paedophiles. It could be that a parent lets their child travel without a seatbelt. I know many parents at my local primary who do this if their child is being difficult and many more don't have the correct child seats. That would be the safeguarding risk I'd be most worried about. I'd rather they didn't go or walked back.

AgentProvocateur · 03/10/2023 13:53

If you’re not happy, ask for your child to walk back. Or collect your own child only. Don’t make this another problem that you expect the teachers to sort out. But honestly; as your child gets older and does more and more extra curricular activities, you’ll find it’s common for other parents to share driving duties.

autiebooklover · 03/10/2023 13:54

@HongKongGarden fine for you but not everyone can afford to pay.

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 03/10/2023 13:57

RandomUsernameHere · 03/10/2023 13:51

Possibly the reason they've asked the parents to arrange the lifts themselves is so that the journey back doesn't officially form part of the school trip, therefore getting around the need for the parents to have DBS certificates? It would just be like collecting your DC's friends from school.

It’s exactly why they’re doing it.
A school shouldn’t be cutting a safeguarding corner like that on school time

Embarrassednamechangeadoddle · 03/10/2023 14:03

“Don’t make this another problem that you expect the teachers to sort out. “

^but it IS the schools problem. It is a school trip, within the school day after which children will be returning to school. It is very much the responsibility of the school to ensure the trip is managed in a safe way, following safeguarding policies.
I usually agree that parents put a lot of issues for teacher and schools to sort that are really parental issues….I don’t agree that this is one of them though.

Littlepic · 03/10/2023 14:05

I think as many people have said the issue here is that it is on school time as they are asking parents to share lifts back to school therefore it comes under the school safeguarding procedures. If children were going straight home after and parents wanted to organise lift sharing then that is up to them.
The school need to either walk them back, use a minibus/coach or only use parents that are DBS checked and have shown business insurance to school.

Bluevelvetsofa · 03/10/2023 14:13

They’d have to ensure that everyone involved was DBS checked. They probably need business insurance too, or a temporary adaptation to the policy. It would need lots of cars if each car has to have two adults.

I don’t think you can say it doesn’t form part of the school trip, if the children are back to school before the end of the school day.

Quornflakegirl · 03/10/2023 14:19

My dcs school does this and it’s a nightmare. Small rural school so hiring a coach isn’t always an option and parents are expected to lift children here there and everywhere, like we simply do not have jobs. If you can’t lift or organise a lift, your child cannot go - simple as that. They cannot go in a teachers car either.

A couple of years ago, one of my dc (age 8) was squashed into a grandparents car and there were insufficient seatbelts so she didn’t wear one! I mentioned this to the school but nothing came of it. I have provided lifts since then as I don’t let anyone drive my dc. As a result, I lose income on these days (self employed). It really is a pain in the arse and I cannot wait for secondary school where parents aren’t harassed as much.

Comefromaway · 03/10/2023 14:25

I have a friend who is a single parent and cannot drive for medical reasons so she would be stuffed.

Then you have children whose parents have jobs where you cannot take time off such as teachers, medical etc.

It's very bad planning.

AgentProvocateur · 03/10/2023 15:12

Embarrassednamechangeadoddle · 03/10/2023 14:03

“Don’t make this another problem that you expect the teachers to sort out. “

^but it IS the schools problem. It is a school trip, within the school day after which children will be returning to school. It is very much the responsibility of the school to ensure the trip is managed in a safe way, following safeguarding policies.
I usually agree that parents put a lot of issues for teacher and schools to sort that are really parental issues….I don’t agree that this is one of them though.

All that will happen is that the trip gets cancelled. This will be how they’ve always arranged return transport, as it’s probably too expensive to hire a bus for the relatively short distance.

WeWereInParis · 03/10/2023 15:50

AgentProvocateur · 03/10/2023 13:53

If you’re not happy, ask for your child to walk back. Or collect your own child only. Don’t make this another problem that you expect the teachers to sort out. But honestly; as your child gets older and does more and more extra curricular activities, you’ll find it’s common for other parents to share driving duties.

Don’t make this another problem that you expect the teachers to sort out.

Arranging transport to and from school and a school trip? How is that not the school's responsibility to sort out.

Hihosilver123 · 03/10/2023 17:25

Littlepic · 03/10/2023 09:26

As a school governor I would say this is a big no and shows poor safeguarding policies from the school. Anyone transporting children for the purpose of a school activity (trip, sports fixture etc) must be DBS checked by the school and must also have business insurance on their car, which has to be evidenced.
I would flag this up to the head teacher.

This ☝️I’m a head and this is absolutely not ok for a number of reasons. Certainly it’s a safeguarding issue as parents cannot supervise children unless they have a DBS that has been undertaken by the school. Even then, I wouldn’t be happy with lots of groups of children being in the charge of parents, with no staff present. Insurance and booster seats also an issue.

curaçao · 03/10/2023 18:08

It was normal at my kids' primary school. the parents dont need business insurance ( like school staff would) because it is not in the course of tehir business - it is purely a social arrangement.

curaçao · 03/10/2023 18:10

curaçao · 03/10/2023 18:08

It was normal at my kids' primary school. the parents dont need business insurance ( like school staff would) because it is not in the course of tehir business - it is purely a social arrangement.

On reflection though i think parents had to sign their agreement to the arrangement

BlurredEdges · 03/10/2023 18:16

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They're in year 3, not 3 years old.