How do you pay for School Trips

jenbabe

my son went to london for 4 days mon-fri 2 yrs ago, & is going to the netherlands next year sun/thurs, on both occasions it cost over £300 & as a single parent I pay it up per month which is better for me than to pay a lump sum in one go.

jellyhead

:-/
Someone told me that if you are on income support then they will pay half of the school trip .

Has anyone else heard this and can anyone verify this?

Hugh Skint

it might be up to each LEA to decide on this, i don't know. when my cousin was at our primary school her mum was on income support and she only had to pay half the cost of the outward bound trip.

Savvy_Sue

I am currently paying £629 for aski trip i cannot afford i initially refused my daughter but was 'persuaded' by a teacher that as french lessons were included it would be best for her exams if she could go Can't help feeling the lessons in school should cover thisStill have to find extra for the special clothing we are having to buy/hire.Can't stop talking to you now ihave to go to the second job i have had to take on to pay for this .No i haven't told her this is part of the reason for the second job because she would probably not want to go then and i don't want my child to be the only one not going

It makes me cross when teachers do things like this without any idea what they are doing to families. If there are actual lessons within the trip she may benefit but TBH I don't think children learn a lot of a foreign language when they go on a group trip to a foreign country because they all stick together and speak English whenever they can!

To be more positive, I think it was on the I wanna board there were questions about ski stuff cheap.

DorsetDave1

I wrote to the headteacher of my daughters school complaining about having to fork out, not just for school trips, but every week we are asked for money including £40 per term for music lessons and all sorts of things.
All I got was a "shoulder shrug" letter in reply.
I live in an affluent area but my wife is Disabled and we are on a low income.

The school uniform is supposed to be a "leveller" between the well off parents and the poorer ones, but when you cant afford school trips etc then everyone can see who the rich ones are and who isnt.

Education is supposed to be available free in this country but to me all this is a form of discrimination really.

Jaybone_2

There is surely a simple rule to be followed here. If you can't afford it, then you can't have it. Yes, some children may be disappointed but learning to cope with disappointment, and learning that you can't always have everything that your friends have, is part of growing up.

Savvy_Sue

There is surely a simple rule to be followed here. If you can't afford it, then you can't have it. Yes, some children may be disappointed but learning to cope with disappointment, and learning that you can't always have everything that your friends have, is part of growing up.

I agree, but when there is pressure coming from the school as well as from the child it is very difficult to withstand it. If the school does not handle these things well there is potential for bullying, discrimination etc.

I read of how the few children who didn't go on a residential trip in a primary school were put with younger children and my blood boiled: it may not just be money that prevents a child going on such trips, there may be medical, religious or other reasons and the school should ensure that the children who don't go get an enriched experience as well as those who are away.

I do think it's important to differentiate between in-school trips and 'holiday' trips. The school is being irresponsible if they charge a lot for an in-school trip and don't have arrangements which allow for all children to participate regardless of income. Even if the majority of families at a school can afford it, there will always be a few who can't. It's how to get that message across when heads shrug their shoulders that bugs me. Maybe talk to the parent governors? Or someone at the Local Education Authority if you can't be sure the PGs won't broadcast your financial affairs around the school? It's a tough one!

Charzie_2

Hi There,

I may never be in a position to pay for these 400+ quid school trips, so all I can say is thank goodness for MSE & the flight checker.

If my kids come home saying "Mum can you find 400 quid for us to go on a school trip, I'll tell them that we're already going on family holiday, and book something with the flight checker for all of us.

That way, they won't get picked on at school & won't be stuck at home thinking of their mates on their rip off school trip!

This sort of thing should be stopped as not all low income families are on income support, so they don't get help from the school to pay for it. >:(

Savvy_Sue

And here is another suggestion: even if you don't feel you're getting anywhere with the head, the governors, or the LEA, when there's next an OFSTED inspection make sure that you say something about the exclusive nature of trips - especially those in term-time! - and continual demands for money.

jellyhead

I read of how the few children who didn't go on a residential trip in a primary school were put with younger children and my blood boiled: it may not just be money that prevents a child going on such trips, there may be medical, religious or other reasons and the school should ensure that the children who don't go get an enriched experience as well as those who are away.

I do think it's important to differentiate between in-school trips and 'holiday' trips. The school is being irresponsible if they charge a lot for an in-school trip and don't have arrangements which allow for all children to participate regardless of income. Even if the majority of families at a school can afford it, there will always be a few who can't. It's how to get that message across when heads shrug their shoulders that bugs me. Maybe talk to the parent governors? Or someone at the Local Education Authority if you can't be sure the PGs won't broadcast your financial affairs around the school? It's a tough one!

it's difficult when kids who don't go on a residential trip get stuffed into other classrooms yes, but what else can the school do? last year out of the entire year 4 group there were only 2 children who didn't go, and one who got sent back for bad behaviour. the school has to send teachers with the kids on these trips, they can't just be handed over to strangers, they need to have their teacher there, especially when there are little problems such as bedwetting (rare in year 4 i know but it does happen and the teacher can ensure that a child who bedwets is dealt with sensitively, the teacher being there might mean the difference between whether the child can go on the trip or not). so who can look after those children that are left behind? there are limited spaces in each classroom, the kids have to be placed wherever there is room (although the reception year is the worst place for them i agree). if the teachers for that year are sent on the trip then there's nobody available to follow a year 4 curriculum with the children who are left behind :-/

Savvy_Sue

it's difficult when kids who don't go on a residential trip get stuffed into other classrooms yes, but what else can the school do?

Perhaps in the schools I've had dealings with - including the secondary school - there have always been more pupils than that not going, so from the start there has been an alternative. For example in Year 9 it is an Outdoor Activities week: schools have to offer 'adventure' activities as part of the National Curriculum, for some reason! Those who don't go on the residential week go on day trips to a nearby centre and do the same kind of things there, at a much reduced cost.

I know schools are in a dilemna here: they have to or want to offer these things, but they are not supposed to exclude pupils from them either. So they should be thinking from the beginning about those who - for whatever reason - can't go on the school trip.