If you want to be involved with your child’s education, one of the things you can do is help out on their school trips. As well as giving you time with them, you can get to know their classmates and teacher, and talk to other mums and dads. It’s also an interesting taster of handling a group of children if you’re considering working with kids in the future. You don’t have to make a regular commitment to join in on trips, and you can reassure yourself that your child will be safe. But it’s not just a fun day out; there are lots of things to organise to make sure everything goes to plan.
Signing Up for a Trip
When your child goes on a school trip, their teacher will probably ask for volunteers to help out. If you decide you want to go along, think about what volunteering entails before putting your name down. It might sound like a fun day out with the kids, but you will probably be in charge of a small group of children, who will be your responsibility for the day. Schools usually ask you to have a police background check before helping them out, so it helps if you already have one through work or somewhere else. Although this may seem over the top, you will be working with other people’s children. You probably wouldn’t be happy to hear that the teacher had been let off having a check because they have kids of their own.
Before the Trip
Whether you’re going away for a day or even longer, it won’t all be fun and games. Before you go, everyone volunteering needs to know their duties and responsibilities. The trip organiser will need to do a risk assessment to examine anything that could happen and how to prevent or address it. Make sure you know the purpose of the trip, as they can range from fun trips to Blackpool to educational museum visits. The teacher will give you information about the day and what you need to do, so don’t forget to read any notes you have and ensure you know what you’re doing. If you are in charge of a group of children, you should have a list of their names.
On the Day
When the day of the trip arrives, you should have support for the teacher or trip leader in your mind. Although your child might be there, you need to help watch out for all the children. The teacher will have legal responsibility for them, even if you’re in charge of a small group, so help them as much as you can. Encourage children to listen and follow instructions to keep them safe and make sure the group is manageable. Remember they should be having fun too, so keep the kids engaged by talking about what they’re seeing and doing.
School trips can be stressful for everyone involved because they need to be carefully organised. But if you go prepared, you’ll find that you have fun and enjoy getting to know your child’s classmates.
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