School now banning all "out of term" holiday leave

[luke]

I like residentials, I just don't like organising/being in charge of them. The last trip we did, we had to do a risk assessment that predicted the 'risk' involved of stepping off the bus on to the pavement.

I've only done one so far, but it was just me and a TA taking some sixth formers to Spain, so I did feel the pressure of 'being in charge', in fact my sicth formers now regularly shout "risk assessment" at me in homage to what I would shout at them any time they got near a road

Next trip my HoF and also an assistant head are going too, so I'm hoping to have a bit of the pressure taken off me.

Anyway, it's a free holiday, I can't believe we don't have to pay for the pleasure...

 

[howlongtillsummer?]

I hate risk assessment - I always end up with very high numbers - what does that tell you!?

Hats off to you taking them abroad with a TA!

You couldn't pay me enough, free holiday or not!!!

 

[melly]

I hate risk assessment - I always end up with very high numbers - what does that tell you!?

!!

Well if you are a teacher and you get big high figures it means you are overestimating the risk unless your school is in the lebanon

 

[EPCOTFANROD]

My free jolly is to Edinburgh. My 7th year in a row. Edinburgh is a lovely city, but seven years in a row can get quite tough going on 3-4 hours sleep a night.

 

[Danauk]

But seriously guys, do you not all absolutely hate residentials??

I worry myself sick from the moment we get on the coach til I hand them back to their parents! And I count them constantly!!

I loved going back today knowing that my residential was over and that I could just enjoy my teaching!

I think next year I will strike that week

I love doing residentials. This year will be my 19th one (in 12 years of teaching.) The ones we take our kids on are to really well supervised activity centres (ranging from camping in tents to centres with en-suite rooms), we just go around with a group of kids during the day and join in with the activities. The only bit I don't like is trying to get them to sleep on the 1st night! Taking 8 year olds though we do often get a bit of crying and home sickness on the 1st night. I am shattered though after it all! But being on call 24 hours can be draining. I won't go to bed until all my children are asleep. Than can take a while, then you have to be up before them to make sure they are all up, showered, dressed and rooms made before breakfast.

 

[Kath2003]

Well if you are a teacher and you get big high figures it means you are overestimating the risk unless your school is in the lebanon

School risk assessments are like no other; you literally need a 15-20 page document to take kids half a mile to the theatre in town. It takes hours to organize a trip which is why in many schools they are declining in frequency. Personally I think trips have huge educational value but the responsibility and paperwork that come with taking one on is immense so I can see why people don't/won't.

 

[melly]

School risk assessments are like no other; you literally need a 15-20 page document to take kids half a mile to the theatre in town. It takes hours to organize a trip which is why in many schools they are declining in frequency. Personally I think trips have huge educational value but the responsibility and paperwork that come with taking one on is immense so I can see why people don't/won't.

Well that's just rediculous then and precisely why people like myself think there is a gross amount of money wastage in public sector working (not just teaching) I appreciate though that this messing around is not because of the teachers.

Going back to the earlier example of stepping off a coach , how preposterous to even have to consider it. Was there anything identified beyond the blindingly obvious that a fall could happen? After identifying did anyone do anything about it (safety nets, mats) probably not because. That would have been stupid. Its nothing more than a box ticking exersize unless your doing it for taking kids on hazardous activities

 

[joolz1910]

Going back to the earlier example of stepping off a coach , how preposterous to even have to consider it. Was there anything identified beyond the blindingly obvious that a fall could happen? After identifying did anyone do anything about it (safety nets, mats) probably not because. That would have been stupid. Its nothing more than a box ticking exersize unless your doing it for taking kids on hazardous activities

I agree - it was absolutely ridiculous. My jaw dropped open when I was told that I had to put 'measures' into place. These were 15 year old students going to the local theatre! I thought that I had been misunderstood and explained that the students wouldn't have to cross a road. It's not that my school is over-zealous, this is how risk assessments are for schools.

I had to write down that a member of staff would supervise embarking/disembarking and that we would ensure that students did this in single file. Good grief.

 

[tttessa]

mmmm - risk assessments may be box ticking, but they do show that someone has actually thought of the problems that may be encountered....

We had one (I was a parent helper) where a Y1 child fell down the steps to the coach toilet - while just getting off the bus, walking down the main aisle, turned to his mate, fell - and broke his arm - you can bet that was "risk assessed" properly for every subsequent trip and no further accidents of that nature have happened since - so they can be useful....

Yes they are "silly things that could happen anywhere", but when my kids go on a trip, I'm glad someone has actually taken the time and thought of the risks and ticked the boxes... Kids are careless, accidents happen, but some can be protected against.

Tessa

 

[scojos]

mmmm - risk assessments may be box ticking, but they do show that someone has actually thought of the problems that may be encountered....

We had one (I was a parent helper) where a Y1 child fell down the steps to the coach toilet - while just getting off the bus, walking down the main aisle, turned to his mate, fell - and broke his arm - you can bet that was "risk assessed" properly for every subsequent trip and no further accidents of that nature have happened since - so they can be useful....

Yes they are "silly things that could happen anywhere", but when my kids go on a trip, I'm glad someone has actually taken the time and thought of the risks and ticked the boxes... Kids are careless, accidents happen, but some can be protected against.

Tessa

i took a group of kids ice skating massive risks kid broke his ankle...i learnt the hard way...4 months off school

 

[Kath2003]

Well that's just rediculous then and precisely why people like myself think there is a gross amount of money wastage in public sector working (not just teaching) I appreciate though that this messing around is not because of the teachers.

And of course teachers aren't paid to carry out any risk assessments so many see it as an additional workload that they simply do not have the time to carry out on top of their usual teaching responsibilities.

Going back to the earlier example of stepping off a coach , how preposterous to even have to consider it. Was there anything identified beyond the blindingly obvious that a fall could happen? After identifying did anyone do anything about it (safety nets, mats) probably not because. That would have been stupid. Its nothing more than a box ticking exersize unless your doing it for taking kids on hazardous activities

Yep, but schools have to cover their backs to show that they did everything possible to ensure that the children were safe during the trip. We have "parental" responsibility for the children in our care - we have to show that we would consider the risks as a parent would. As other posters have said, they help to highlight any problems that you otherwise may not have considered (e.g. how do you safely get 60 school children across a busy main road?). Taking kids on a trip is stressful anyway.

 

[howlongtillsummer?]

Well said Kath

 

[2Tiggies]

Yep, but schools have to cover their backs to show that they did everything possible to ensure that the children were safe during the trip. We have "parental" responsibility for the children in our care - we have to show that we would consider the risks as a parent would. As other posters have said, they help to highlight any problems that you otherwise may not have considered (e.g. how do you safely get 60 school children across a busy main road?). Taking kids on a trip is stressful anyway.

As parents we do it all the time. For example, I will not, under any circumstances, allow my daughter to get out of the car on the "road side". She has to climb out on the pavement. The only differences are that I only have one child to keep an eye on and that I don't use a piece of paper to check the boxes. However I do appreciate the fact that she is as safe at school as anywhere else. Thanks teachers. I know it's a pain and yes, a lot of it is a bit over the top, but better too much than too little when it comes to our kids.

 

[wishspirit]

A few years ago, to encourage relatively healthy eating at mealtimes I started a Menu Night at home, which falls on a Friday or Saturday. Basically DD earns credits for making healthy choices. There are bonus points for those she makes of her own accord. No penalty for taking crisps over an apple, but apple scores points. It has been such a success I still do it. Every Thursday evening she is presented with a menu which I put together with a list of fun entrees, beverages and desserts. She gets to tick the boxes and gives it to me the next day.

I thought I would put together a Downtown Disney menu listing her favourite places, Goofys, Candy Cauldron and Ghiradellis. When she gets the menu the night before we fly she will finally put two and two together. In case she thinks I am just doing another "theme evening" I am doing a fun travel pack for her with itinerary, stationery, puzzles, etc which is for the flight. It should keep her occupied for a few hours on the plane! Still early stages. Oh, and really off topic too. Sorry folks.

That sounds like a fantastic idea! I am so glad it is helping her to make healthy choices, and that you get to have a bit of Disney fun with it too!

I like residentials, I just don't like organising/being in charge of them. The last trip we did, we had to do a risk assessment that predicted the 'risk' involved of stepping off the bus on to the pavement.

I work in a playscheme for children with special needs and you wouldn't believe the paperwork! Every child has their own individual risk assessment, as well as for the site, staff, medication, equipment, trips out- all of them have to be done by more than just one person by 'thought showering ideas', then signed off by a supervisor. I have been working there for ages, to the point I know all the paperwork inside out so I end up being given it all by my bosses which they then sign to say is done. We are drowning in folders full of the blooming things!

I understand why, if the children I look after were my kids I would want every procedure in place to know they are safe and happy. However even going out to the local park is a major undertaking!

 

[2Tiggies]

Thought I would add my view on the flip side of the coin regarding risk assessments.

My daughter's school had a new climbing frame erected in the playground last year. Naturally the kids were delighted. Each day one class got a day to play on it and it rotates so it isn't a free for all and there is some element of control. Fair enough. However imagine my amusement when DD returned from school one day and announced "No more climbing frame". It turned out someone had slipped and grazed their arm. So there was no climbing frame for a week while a new risk assessment was carried out. One of the staff were talking about it when I droped DD at the breakfast club the next morning and was slightly taken aback when I pointed out that only a few days earlier my daughter had collided with another child in the playground and they had smacked their head together. Yet my child was not returned to me (thankfully) with her head retained by the school to assess the dangers ..... On that same day one of her little classmates had caught her fingers in a swinging door and had to be taken to the A&E. Yet I noticed that every door in the school was still hanging in its rightful place .....

It is just an example of situations where I can see why, sometimes get infuriated with all the red tape and as in the above case, found it too amusing to get angry or annoyed even if I had wanted to. An above average sense of humour makes life a lot easier to tackle. If you don't like something, do something about it. If you can't change it, laugh about it and move on.

 

[joolz1910]

This is why there are fewer school trips - the red tape and masses of paperwork make it an onerous task and the burden of responsibility is huge. Unfortunately, we live in a litigious climate and schools have to cover themselves, so it's a vicious circle.

 

[stephensmum]

I'm involved in the running of a church holiday club that takes place the first week of the summer holidays, it's run for many years & it was thought that it may have had to end when the new risk assessments came into force. Thankfully, everybody 'mucked in' & after the enitial major changes we have just been able to add any extras as & when. It's run for a full week, for 80 children & is free, so we feel very lucky that we have managed to comply, sadly, a lot of others had to close.

 

[joolz1910]

I'm involved in the running of a church holiday club that takes place the first week of the summer holidays, it's run for many years & it was thought that it may have had to end when the new risk assessments came into force. Thankfully, everybody 'mucked in' & after the enitial major changes we have just been able to add any extras as & when. It's run for a full week, for 80 children & is free, so we feel very lucky that we have managed to comply, sadly, a lot of others had to close.

My kids go to one of these every year and it is great.

 

[2Tiggies]

My kids go to one of these every year and it is great.

My DD is doing one this week and is loving it. It also gives Gran a few hours to herself as she cares for DD while I am at work.

 

[katytrott]

I'm involved in the running of a church holiday club that takes place the first week of the summer holidays, it's run for many years & it was thought that it may have had to end when the new risk assessments came into force. Thankfully, everybody 'mucked in' & after the enitial major changes we have just been able to add any extras as & when. It's run for a full week, for 80 children & is free, so we feel very lucky that we have managed to comply, sadly, a lot of others had to close.

I'm involved in our church holiday club as we speak - still going strong with kids coming from all over our local villages. Such great fun and a great way of reaching out to the local community.

The main problem we had this time was every single helper had to be CRB checked regardless of having one with a different orgainsation, or even the same organisation. Those of us who are CRB checked for being volunteer helper in the church kids group week in, week out, still had to be checked, for doing this extra programme, even though it was with the same church.

Didn't deter us though and can't imagine it ever will!