Education Business

Every teacher should know that school trips have the ability to transform children’s learning. However, over the past 10 years a sense of fear and anxiety has descended upon school trips and meant that many children have been denied the opportunity to enjoy learning outside the classroom. The compensation culture that has taken over today’s society has led teachers to fear litigation in the unlikely event of an accident occurring whilst outside the classroom. Other factors, such as the economic climate, have caused teachers to back away further. Children are being deprived of this invaluable learning tool due to a culture created by adults, so isn’t it about time we set about putting things right?
    
Numerous pieces of research have, again and again, proved the benefits of learning outside the classroom on a child’s education and personal development. The government’s own ‘Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto’ claims that trips transform learning and have the ability to improve academic achievement, enable the acquisition of new skills and help children to realise their potential. The majority of teachers support the idea of school trips and recent research by Education Travel Group found that 95 per cent of those that take children on school trips believe that it facilitates a broader understanding of the subject concerned. Nonetheless, the same research showed that 20 per cent of teachers rarely or never take children on school trips. For these teachers, the perceived likelihood of legal action occurring in the unlikely case of an accident, the cost to parents, and the mounting paperwork and resourcing issues outweigh the benefits of a real life learning experience.

Worth the risk
The apprehension surrounding outside learning has developed over the past few years as a result of increased media coverage, and therefore public awareness, of rare tragedies occurring on school excursions. In reality, very few teachers actually know someone who has encountered problems whilst on a school trip and children are more likely to be seriously injured in the classroom than on a school trip. Any risks can be significantly reduced by travelling with a well-accredited and audited provider that adheres to a rigorous code of practice and safety management standards. Teachers can also put their minds at rest by checking that groups are insured through their provider and possess the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge.   
    
The Quality Badge is amongst numerous measures that the government has recently put in place to encourage teachers to take school trips. Teachers are being encouraged to participate in extra training for their duties outside the classroom and a learning outside the classroom manifesto and website has been set up (www.lotc.org.uk). The website provides training modules, resources and case studies for teachers, and is designed to encourage and instil confidence in teachers. The scheme also has an annual awards ceremony to celebrate and reward schools that are committed to providing challenging and inspiring learning outside the classroom activities.  

Important paperwork
Whilst the guidelines that the government has implemented to prepare for school trips have created superior safety standards, they have also produced a considerable amount of important paperwork. Teachers must complete this paperwork before undertaking any school outing and this can be daunting when they already have very busy school schedules. Nowadays, providers are offering more inspection visits to teachers, enabling them to complete their risk assessment forms with as little hassle as possible. Although they cannot complete the forms for teachers, they have been trying to make everything else that little bit easier – from organising parents’ evenings and promotional material, to offering free places for teachers. These are small things, but they have gone some way to helping teachers become more confident in organising trips.
    
With these measures having been put in place to help alleviate teachers’ worries, many of the traditional worries surrounding school trips are no longer as applicable. However, as with all things, times change and other issues crop up. Over the past year, the cost of school trips has crept in as a problem. Whilst travel has become cheaper, and therefore school trips should have become more feasible for many schools, the recession has prompted many teachers to think twice about where they are spending money. Teachers are concerned that parents are not able to afford trips, even if they wanted to, and are reluctant to organise trips for that reason. In reality, when a trip is arranged, teachers are finding that they have underestimated parents and that take up is relatively high. The economic climate will not stand in the way of parents giving their child a good education.

The future
So, as we start this new decade, what does the future hold for education and school trips? The general election must take place either on or before 3 June, and we may have a new government as a result. If the Conservatives do come to power, their policies are likely to affect the provision of school trips in a number of ways.
    
Firstly, teachers will be given more power to deal with unruly children without fear of disciplinary action or litigation. This would mean that teachers who are currently afraid to run school trips because of the potential bad behaviour of pupils would be more confident to do so. The Conservatives are also suggesting that teachers will be given the strongest possible protection from false accusations by both pupils and parents, something that many teachers feel is currently lacking.
    
Another policy that is likely to affect school trip provision is the planned overhaul of the National Curriculum to make it more challenging for children. Many of the most challenging elements of the curriculum are best dealt with ‘hands on’, and teachers often use school trips to deliver tricky areas of the curriculum. It is therefore possible that a greater focus will be put on learning outside the classroom. Related policies such as the overhaul of Key Stage 2 tests to make exams more rigorous and the opportunity for state schools to offer high quality international examinations will mean that school trip providers will need to adapt and change with them.
    
Perhaps the most well-documented Tory education policy is the promise to allow any good education provider to set up a new Academy school. The Conservatives hope that this will create a new generation of good small schools with high standards of discipline that are more akin to independent schools. However, if this policy does come into force, it will affect school trip provision as smaller classes will mean higher costs. Providers will have to find ways to cater for smaller groups and meet these new requirements, following the pattern of smaller independent schools. With fewer staff at such schools, it may also be difficult for teachers to take trips during term time as they simply will not have the man-power to support them.
    
It is impossible to predict the future but, whatever happens over the next few years and whichever political party is in power, the importance of learning outside the classroom will in no way diminish. Instead, as we better understand the science behind children’s cognitive and physical development, its importance is only likely to increase. Those in power should recognise the importance of learning outside the classroom and be considering how best to encourage teachers to provide school trips for pupils. By the same token, school trips should not be about politics. We should always be looking at new ways to develop learning, through school trips or otherwise, regardless of political agenda.

For more information
Web: www.educationtravelgroup.com