school wont let my daughter go on a school trip but wont refund the monies

Retireby40

Would it possibly be better taking them out of full time education and letting them focus on getting better both physically and mentally. They can always go back a year down the line to a college or educational institute and start again but from my experience of A Levels if you are missing most of the course it's going to be virtually impossible to achieve a decent grade. 

You have to look at it from the schools point of view also that when they book and pay for these trips the cost is usually on the basis that theres a certain amount of people going. If people start dropping out and getting refunds it can end up costing the school more money and therefore either the school pays or all the other children's parents pay.

I understand mental health can be challenging and can come and go and have good and bad days however you say that your child has been unwell most of the 2 years of the course. What made you think that if she wasnt able to attend the school/college for the main purpose of education that she could go on the school trip that is probably more for fun and enjoyment. Again this isnt a dig I'm just trying to understand cause the school would be thinking the exact same thing. 

wilfred30

Shepp66 said:

wilfred30 said:

I'm a little confused!

Are you saying that she's well enough to go on the trip (in 3 months' time) but not well enough to go to school?

She has been really unwell since Christmas, well since October but she has been on tramadol since mid January which has its own side affects, she is coming off that now and physically getting better but still struggling mentally. There is no r reason she shouldn't continue getting better. So yes she is struggling to get in at the moment but hopefully not much longer

Thank you for the clarification.

Presumably then, she will be back at school for quite a while before the trip in July.

badmemory

If the trip isn't until July I would be surprised if the school has paid any more than a deposit!

Retireby40

The OP said they have part paid for the trip to the tune of £750. I dont know what kind of school trip they are going on but at those prices I do wonder. 

Regardless of whether the school have only paid the deposit or not they price they have been quoted is based on a particular number of students going. As I said if people start dropping out and wanting money back that changes the cost and conditions of the trip which means someone would need to pay more it's the way anything like that works.

Mojisola

Retireby40 said:

Regardless of whether the school have only paid the deposit or not they price they have been quoted is based on a particular number of students going. As I said if people start dropping out and wanting money back that changes the cost and conditions of the trip which means someone would need to pay more it's the way anything like that works.

But the OP's daughter isn't dropping out - she's been told she can't go on the trip.

Retireby40

But how can you be fit and able to go on a school trip when you have demonstrated that you are unfit and unable to go to classes the very reason she is a student?

maman

Retireby40 said:

But how can you be fit and able to go on a school trip when you have demonstrated that you are unfit and unable to go to classes the very reason she is a student?

Yes, that occurred to me too.  Hopefully OP will come back after her meeting with the school and explain further but I think focussing on the child's attendance and health and maintaining her place on the school roll is far higher priority than a trip. 
Of course, it's possible that even if she stays on at school they may still not let her go on the trip as staff may be reluctant to take responsibility for the health problems without additional support or maybe the activities aren't suitable for someone with a health problem. Although in that case I'd expect they would either have refused to accept her application (OP says she's been ill for two years) or would use their insurance to reimburse. 

Shepp66

Retireby40 said:

Would it possibly be better taking them out of full time education and letting them focus on getting better both physically and mentally. They can always go back a year down the line to a college or educational institute and start again but from my experience of A Levels if you are missing most of the course it's going to be virtually impossible to achieve a decent grade. 

You have to look at it from the schools point of view also that when they book and pay for these trips the cost is usually on the basis that theres a certain amount of people going. If people start dropping out and getting refunds it can end up costing the school more money and therefore either the school pays or all the other children's parents pay.

I understand mental health can be challenging and can come and go and have good and bad days however you say that your child has been unwell most of the 2 years of the course. What made you think that if she wasnt able to attend the school/college for the main purpose of education that she could go on the school trip that is probably more for fun and enjoyment. Again this isnt a dig I'm just trying to understand cause the school would be thinking the exact same thing. 

All i was asking on this forum was if anyone else had been in this situation and what happened.  As i have tried to say above, we are dealing with the issue of her being asked to come off roll seperately, what i couldnt find much information on was the issue around the trip and what rights we had if the school were stopping her from going, not us or her illness ( so cant claim) by taking her off roll.   This particular trip occurs every two years and she signed up to do it AT THE START of her 6th form so we didnt know then that she would be so ill so the school shouldnt be thinking along those lines. it is possible she may not be well enough to go in July but by doing this now she loses the chance to go and the money she has paid so far. She is a very capable student and i do believe she could get reasonable grades but if they remove her it will mean she can not sit them this year.  She doesnt want to retake a year, she wanted to take a year off and sort herself out to then hopefully go to uni later on.

Shepp66

thank you to those that have given some useful information and sign posted some websites etc that i can use.  After my meeting yesterday  the school have agreed not to take her off their register for now as she is starting to improve and will hopefully be attending more regularly from next week.  They have acknowledged that she comes under the disability act and has genuine reasons for her non attendance. The post from Silvercar really helped. So at the moment the issue around my original post is sorted as she can still go on the trip as she is currently still as student and hopefully will remain so.

Shepp66

maman said:

Retireby40 said:

But how can you be fit and able to go on a school trip when you have demonstrated that you are unfit and unable to go to classes the very reason she is a student?

Yes, that occurred to me too.  Hopefully OP will come back after her meeting with the school and explain further but I think focussing on the child's attendance and health and maintaining her place on the school roll is far higher priority than a trip. 
Of course, it's possible that even if she stays on at school they may still not let her go on the trip as staff may be reluctant to take responsibility for the health problems without additional support or maybe the activities aren't suitable for someone with a health problem. Although in that case I'd expect they would either have refused to accept her application (OP says she's been ill for two years) or would use their insurance to reimburse. 

As i explained above, this trip was booked AT THE START of her 6th form so obviously did not expect her to be ill for a lot of the time.  As i have also said above, i am dealing with her attendance and remaining on the school register, but IF they wouldnt reverse their decision i couldnt find any advice on where we stood with the trip, she had booked it in good faith, paid the deposit and hopefully would be well enough to travel come July, but by taking her off the roll they were effectively stopping any chance of her going.  It would their fault she couldnt go, not that she had pulled out and if she was fit and able in July wouldnt be able to claim on insurance either so please dont assumn i wasnt taking dealing with the school and keeping her on the roll as a priority as i most definitely was.  They have agreed to reverse the decision so hopefully she can complete her A levels as she so desperately wants to do and therefore this issue is negated at the moment.