Sonic'

Ok

Are seat belts required for school kids on a school trip ?

Or is it an option

The kids went on a school trip a couple of months ago, and we had to provide booster seats (no child seats, booster only)

Now the kids are going on a School trip on Thursday and a big kick off has happened with the Headmaster with some of the parents, as he is not using a coach this time and is using a double decker bus, because he couldnt find a suitable coach company that covers health & safety so they are using double decker buses instead and they dont have seat belts in either !!

It all started because some parents asked where booster seats required again, they have on previous trips and they have been relatively short trips

This one is a trip to Camelot where we have been charged £13 per child or adult if a parent wishes to go along too

Now Camelot themselves only charge £9 per child to the schools and one adult goes free with every 8 children going

So the School are making out of this, as we even have to provide lunch for the kids too, and if one of us wants to go as a parent your kids have to stay with you, and not with the Teachers

Is there anything compulsory now about having to have seat belts for School Trips?

This is also a School who recently had a Miners day where the kids put a show on for the Miners, we had to pay for the kids to go in out of uniform ( a penalty fee) we were not allowed to go to the Concert as the Miners & their Families were going, not the Parents, they also had a sponsored bounce to help fund the concert

And then I read in the paper that school got 34,000 grant to produce the Miners show !!!!!

David Lock

Years ago I was a primary school governor and dealing with seat belts on school buses was a nightmare!!

In fact there were strong safety arguments on both sides. Lap straps could be dangerous in some circumstances and you could look up "expert" opinion and end up even more confused as it was contradictory. Some parents went OTT as they do. In the end we decided, as the Governing Body, to insist that only buses with belts would be used on school trips. Getting the kids to use them was another matter. The rules may have changed since then. dl

speedking

DoT advice. HTH

Sonic'

Thanks

There is a problem now in that the School sort of set a precedent by all previous trips used coaches only with seat belts fitted and the use of Booster seats

Now the Head cannot find any coach companies with seat belts that are availabel for that day, so has opted to use double decker buses that do not have seat belts

This is partly where the confusion is coming in, why just not use coaches as per normal if the double decker buses dont have seat belts either

This particular trip will invlove a reasonable amount of motorway travel too, this is a primary school too

They have known about the trip for quite a long time, as we got sent the letters etc many many months ago

I dont know what the legal requirements are, but reading the link above, it sort of says that you only need to use them if fitted

It wasn't us having the beef with the Head, we have our own issues to deal with him about, but they can wait for now

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

As regards the price of the trip, have you figured in coach transport?

If the school is making a profit, ask what it's for. They may have it earmarked for something useful. A local school has been fundraising in various ways recently for a mini adventure playground for the kids, and now thay have it, it's lovely.

Personally, I've NEVER understood why ANY sane teacher would agree to take a group of someone else's kids ANYWHERE now.
With the PC crowd as they are, the slightest problem and it'll be that teacher's job, or worse.

Talking to friends in France, they were absolutely gobsmacked when we mentioned school trips, discos, etc. They couldn't understand why teachers would do it when they don't have to.

Alcazar

D.K.1

They are charging £4 a head for the coach, but are wanting payment for ALL children and adults to get into Camelot, despite a lot of children being under 1 meter in height and a lot of parents won't be going on anything. Parent's don't count under the free adult for every eight children

IMO, the head has chosen the cheaper option of old double decker buses because the coaches that are usually used would have cost more than he had bargained for with the amount of people going. He has had more than enough time to organise transport and they usually use a specific company, which has always been fine with health and safety regs, maybe they didn't have enough coaches for the day, who knows, but he could have had coaches from different companies as long as they fitted the H&S criteria, so instead he has opted for these buses which are a lot cheaper and they don't pass the H&S regs either!! The way some parents were talking this morning, the trip may be pulled now, as nobody is happy about the buses and alternative transport has to be found before 9am tomorrow. I bet the head runs and hides at hometime

We have to sign consent forms for everything due to all the PC stuff now, it gets ridiculous what they have to cover themselves for!

The school have done a lot of fundraising throughout the year and today we have been issued with a letter, they are going to re plaster a wall in the hall, have all the corridor's re painted, the SEN room re done, new reception area (nothing at all wrong with the existing one) and new entrance which won't be used in September as they want parents to use another door And they have recently bought a wooden train thing for the playground which has seen far more accidents than it's worth already

Sonic'

LOL I know what you mean Alcazar

I think thats why they would like the Parents to go, as the School then have no responsibility for the children whilst on the trip

I know Coach transport isn't cheap, but the School want payments for pretty much taking your kids to School these days, at least this one does

They have a Voluntary Contribution of £5 per child for standard school trips, excluding this current one to Camelot

We have always paid this and it costs us £15 for every school trip they go on, and we never refuse them the trips

However because some parents never pay, they have now put this price up to £7, so in future it will cost us £21 per trip and some parents will still not pay

I think what they should do is make it a compulsory payment and no one should be allowed to go unless payments have been made

D.K.1

Apparently they can't make it a compulsory payment due to some red tape or other with the rest being subsidised through the school fund, Steve

Well, I think we should all boycott it and nobody pay the *voulantry* contribution so the only children that get to go are the ones who pay in full, OK shooting ourselves in the foot in some respects as it will get more expensive this way, but it might be the shock the scabs need to pay the fiver in future

Abdabz

1984 - Abdabz was on a mini bus to Wales for a cub scout trip... The minibus had a bench on either side of the back of the van - 20lads crammed in, some on the floor sat on the bags, no belts, no windows and the entire vehicle only kept together by rust... Didnt do me any 'arm

Sonic'

You sure about that

SJ_Skyline

Benches? You were posh!

We didn't even have benches in our scouts transit van, just a length of rope hanging from the roof to hang on to and we could see the road through the rust holes in the back and we got 30 lads in our van!

Actually - the bit about the rope is true! We used to rush to get in so that we might get to sit on the wheel arch nd have a bit of stability and not fall over....

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Reminds me of going from college in Nottingham to Cornwall on a field trip in the college mini-bus.

At some services outside Bristol, the rest of the group mutinied and replaced the tutor doing the driving with me (I WAS over 21), as he had nearly killed us all twice by then

He was quite happy to sit in the back and smoke his pipe

Alcazar