School trips evoke fond memories of sitting on the back seat of a bus with your friends singing, eating, laughing and enjoying freedom outside of the classroom. Not a thought did we have about risk assessments, behaviour, being sick, losing a child, parent volunteers and the myriad other things the trip organiser has on their mind. That is as it should be – children benefit from school trips in countless ways because of the efforts of the organisers.
As the organiser of many school trips, both residential and day visits, I have ridden the emotional rollercoaster that surrounds these events. From the enthusiastic high at the start of planning the trip, through the lows of the paperwork mountain to the utter relief and exhaustion when it is all over. Of course, other emotions occur and skills, you didn’t realise you had, are needed during the event. Wearing many hats simultaneously is just par for the course. Which of these rings a bell?
- Bus Monitor – a missing child or a missing lunchbox; dealing with rubbish and differences of opinion amongst the passengers are resolved from your seat at the front of the bus – in theory!
- Diplomat – sorting out who sits next to whom on the bus requires the skills of a master tactician. The patience of a saint is tried so that little Chloe is sat next to the girl she wants to be best friends with, but every other girl also wants that important seat – life time friendships depend on this, so get it right!
- Lunch Monitor – preventing children from eating their lunch now and being sick or complaining about hunger for the rest of the day
- Nurse – the child who feels sick and has not been given travel sickness medication even though they are sick on every school trip – silent cursing of parents is permitted at this point! Trips to First Aid or worse the local A & E can really spoil a trip.
- Accountant – managing the fraught time in the shop and explaining that if you buy the pencil for 50p you won’t have enough for the over-priced chocolate.
- Cheer leader – when you sense the children are flagging, you go into over drive and jolly everyone along – even the blades of grass are interesting! Not to mention arranging the communal singing on the journey home.
- Shepherd – herding children, counting heads, sweeping up waifs and strays.
- Weight-lifter – hauling around your bag packed to the gunnels with the paraphernalia required on every school trip: risk assessments; medical information; sick bucket; first aid; wet weather attire and in the smallest corner – your lunch
- Liaison – with the venue and their staff – often the easiest part of the job!
Then, of course, there are the one -off events which can’t be predicted. Delays on the trip home with a bus full of tired children are not pleasant. Constantly phoning school with estimated times of arrival which are plucked from the air as there is no real way of predicting how long the accident miles ahead is going to take to clear. Explaining the mysteries of a ’picnic wee’ to children who are desperate for the loo and you are stuck on the M1. Sharing out water, providing entertainment but mostly retaining your sense of humour and optimism.
The bus breaking down is just as bad – the driver sucking his teeth and muttering ‘it’s not done that before’ is not helpful. Evacuating the bus to a safe location in the middle of nowhere has its own risks – how much does the farmer mind a horde of Y4s trampling along the side of his field? Is that layby wide enough for 40 Y5s? Waiting for the replacement bus whilst singing songs from the Leavers’ production with no backing track, is a joy that only Y6 teachers understand.
Amidst all of this, the staff must keep cool heads and transcend their own emotions to care for the children who are unnerved by these events. It’s not until you are safely back at school and the children reunited with their parents that the relief is felt and the tension evaporates. Did everyone enjoy themselves? Did every learn something from the experience? Would you do it again? Of course, you would – school trips are a crucial part of the school year and live long in the memory of all concerned. Some of my most memorable are the ones with unexpected moments!
Let’s gird our loins and enjoy many more – Grand Days Out!
