Associated costs with school trips

[Tudorfan]

I just wondered if there were any teachers or staff who work in schools who have insight into the costs for school trips?

My daughters school are taking them on a trip to the cinema - they have asked for a voluntary contribution from parents for £5.00. They subsequently have changed the conditions of the trip by sending a second message advising that consent for the trip is linked to payment. Meaning the payment cannot be voluntary?

They have advised the school is covering the bulk of the costs of the trip.

They will be walking to the cinema and having packed lunches, so no transport costs. The cinema includes one member of staff free for every 10 students so no staffing cost. The cinema charge £4.50 per student for a cinema showing.

Are there additional costs occurred by a School for insurance for such a trip? I’m slightly confused how they have advised they are covering the ‘bulk’ of the costs.

@Twotimesrhymes How do you know everyone paid? I was a governor in a relatively well off area and we always had people who wouldn’t pay. Didn’t want to as it was voluntary. I think if it’s not educational, won’t pay (ie not on fsm) DC don’t go. Why should others pay when we know some have struggled? It’s all wrong.

Schools in England can only ask for a voluntary contribution towards trips. The school is not allowed to make a profit. More and more parents are not paying for trips so either your school(who receives no funding for trips) have to find the money or the trip does not go ahead. Schools should not stop a child going on the trip if you haven't paid. The biggest cost for trips is the coach travel, since covid this has sky rocked and what makes most trips very expensive.

If the children are Y3, generally the ratio would need to be higher than 1:10, they may also need extra adults for other reasons.

Obviously there aren't 3 adults per class in primary schools, and 1:1 LSAs wouldn't normally count towards ratios. The school therefore has to pay cover costs for additional staff accompanying the trip- this is pretty expensive, can easily be £200 a day for the school for a qualified supply teacher- depending on the number of students going, this could genuinely be the "bulk" of the costs.

As others have said, the additional 50p will likely cover admin costs of processing the payment through e.g. parent pay, and possibly any admin costs passed on by the cinema.

The school may also intent to buy the children a snack etc, once there.

There is no slack at all in most school budgets, so if lots of people don't pay, the trip will be cancelled. If you genuinely can't afford it, then do speak to the school office, and perhaps pay what you can afford.

Parent helpers are on rotas to go. DBS checked. It’s definitely not all staff that go!

Eg £4.50 not £5! That looks so mean.

I have not read the full thread. However, if this trip to the cinema is taking place during school hours, the school is acting unlawfully. They can ask for a voluntary contribution. They cannot make participation in the trip conditional on making a voluntary contribution. However, as others have said, they can cancel the trip if there are not enough voluntary contributions.

the school is paying for supply teachers to cover the cost of the teachers who are out, as well as other overheads

A cinema trip will never be voluntary, unless it is linked to the GCSE curriculum

the cost of DBS checks is huge

Helpers don’t need to be DBS checked as long as they are not left unsupervised with the children.

Trust me when I say A LOT of parents need chasing for the money. Me included. It’s not that they don’t want to pay. It’s that they have forgotten because they are also super busy working people. It’s not unlawful to ask parents to pay. If we relied on parents remembering to pay then no trip would go ahead!

It’s unlawful to make them, although I’m not sure how you’d do that.

And obviously a child wouldn’t get left behind because they didn’t pay.

DBS checks for volunteers are free. So, unless parent helpers are paid, there will be no cost involved.

This is not ok in any way ,shape or form. I know your post is about the costs , and I can't help with that as my school only ask for the bare minimum. However, I would definitely have a discussion over the naming and shaming situation.

Schools are not supposed to chase for money. They can remind parents there’s a shortfall and that the trip is in danger of being cancelled.

DBS check is waaaay cheaper than a cover teacher!!! Of course it’s worth it. Dc in school get their teachers and TAs who are not diverted to trips.

Presumably though, they can leave behind a child if the parent doesn't respond to any requests for consent?

Have you factored in the cost of supply to cover the staff who are out?

Supply cover for pupils not going

Consent is given annually quite often. Some parents won’t give it. Not the same as voluntary contributions.

@Barefootsally are your DC and your friend's DC going to the place at the same time? Residential centres charge different amounts at different times of year. Also, are they travelling the same distance to get there? Coach costs these days are extortionate unfortunately.

Often we didn't have enough staff available to cover the trips (while still having enough staff across the school). So someone who was part time would be drafted in for some additional hours to help. For example, a dinner lady might come along and she'd get paid for those extra hours.

It could be that more than one child has a one to one TA, who don't count in the 1:10 ratio. Or just that the school wants better than 1:10 ratio due to the behaviour/needs of some of the children. So a group of 60 could actually need more than the 6 free tickets and the extra 50p is to pay for that.

Also, I think it's disingenuous to take "voluntary" payment so literally that you weren't going to pay unless they forced you. Everyone knows school budgets are peanuts, it's obvious that it's listed as a voluntary payment to stop those who can't pay feeling embarrassed or excluded.

OP, you say that a ticket to the cinema is usually £4.50. When I've run cinema trips in the past, the school was charged a fee for hire of the entire screening, to avoid being there along with the general public. Maybe this is what your school has done?

Having organised events for youth organisations, I agree. Chasing parents is absolutely fine. Making attendance conditional on paying is not.

Many schools get round this by chasing for the permission instead. But generally the two bits of information - money request and permission request - are on the same notice.