School refusing to return deposit for cancelled school trip

Mancy

Hi all, quick ? please. 

My son is due to go on a school activity trip at the end of this month.  I paid a £50 deposit and paid the balance off over the past 6 months.  Payment was made via the school's payment system.

Today, the school inform me that they are no longer allowing my son to attend the trip, which is still going ahead, due to safeguarding reasons.  

They said that the activity centre has only agreed to repay 25% of the balance, due to cancelling at such short notice, but that the school would make up the difference.  However, they said that I will lose my deposit. 

As I paid the school directly, am I right in thinking that as it was they who broke the contract, they should return all monies?

Many thanks in advance!

Spendless

If the safe-guarding issue is seen as being down to your son (eg a behaviour problem) then I think you'll struggle to get a full refund. This is normally in the info when you sign up. 

If it's down to the centre not being able to accommodate your son though previously saying it would then you might have more of a chance, but I'd look through all the ts and cs. 

Mancy

Thanks Spendless.  Behaviour yes-ish.  He is autistic and has ADHD/learning difficulties and the school have left it until two weeks before the trip to decide.  Nothing was said to me before now (paid the deposit) back in September '22) and he's been with them four years.  Really very angry and upset about the whole situation if I'm honest.

Spendless

I did wonder if it was something like that. Schools are fond of blaming behaviour when it's actually something to do with having additional needs that are usually unsupported.

In that case I'd look through any info you signed up to and put in a complaint about it, that they were aware of your son's needs and did not fetch up with you before now there could be a potential issue. Put it in writing so it's evidenced. 

Good luck. 

T.T.D

Ok hope this helps:

Equality Act 2010 Disability Discrimination.

The school are aware of his ASD and his troubles, they have to offer the trip in order not to directly discriminate against him, but the fact they have not made any progress to make sure he has the correct level of assistance or even ask you to go with him or a relative they have directly discriminated against him by cancelling the trip purely because of his disability, as you never cancelled the trip and school has based on his disability the school should refund you entirely but they lose the deposit and suffer the loss. 

I assume there is statement of educational needs at school which would lay out the needs the school has to implement this is a statutory instrument and school is legally bound by it, if not they are still bound by the equality act. 

Get a complaint in as soon as possible with your L.E.A. 

Not legal advice but my own opinion. 

Flugelhorn

Agree it certainly isn't your fault that they have not made provision for him - if they was a significant concern that this was going to be the case they shouldn't have accepted the booking for the trip.

I suggest that you contact the LEA and the governors of the school - at the very least the school should be refunding the money and maybe they need to consider planning these trips a bit better

Mancy

Thank you for your time and suggestions, lovely people.  I'm distraught for him and to refuse to return my deposit is just rubbing salt into wounds. 

Thanks again!

Flugelhorn

Mancy said:

Thank you for your time and suggestions, lovely people.  I'm distraught for him and to refuse to return my deposit is just rubbing salt into wounds. 

Thanks again!

I would feel as you do - time for you to do your bit! I used to tear my hair out over the way my DD's schools managed trips - decided that being firm was the only answer. At the very least you get your money back and have a day out with DS sometime

T.T.D

I would put it simply to the headmaster:

”I am not going to suffer a financial loss from your lack of efforts to ensure he had the correct level of supervision, you also never asked me if I could provide him with someone to monitor him and you have taken that option away.

 This is direct disability discrimination under the equality act 2010, you cancelled based on his disability without directly working with me in order to make reasonable adjustments to make the trip happen for him, you the SENCO and his class teacher had failed him by not implementing those reasonable adjustments for him, you failed me by not properly consulting me to assist you in this also.

So I believe the School should suffer the loss of £50.00 deposit purely based on what I’ve just said. I will charge admin fee’s to the school in order to deal with this issue going forward because my time will taken away from caring for my son to compose, send and receive paperwork telephone calls emails and the like and i will seek legal representation if I need to and not only will I take this to small claims for my deposit and costs for dealing with this, I’ll take the school to court for disability discrimination or I can’t take £50 and be on my way, upto you!”

The_Unready

You may not want to bother with that third paragraph ☹️!

T.T.D

The_Unready said:

You may not want to bother with that third paragraph ☹️!

It was just what I would say, not necessarily what the OP should say, I’m just throwing what I would say in a discussion so to speak, OP is free to not say, say it in whole, modify or take idea away from it or not and simply ignore.