Many schools and colleges, at the end of a school year, abandon the set timetable and encourage extension and enrichment experiences. While the benefits for students and staff are immense, the management of such a period can be stressful. Even if you are responsible for overseeing several curriculum field trips, the amount of paperwork and tracking can be challenging.
While we understand there is a lot of expertise in educational establishments, we thought collating some of the best advice in one place could be useful. Here we take you through some of the essential tools and techniques for managing multiple trips successfully.
All schools will have a policy document relating to the provision of school trips, extension activities and enrichment. The policy might be a statement of intent to provide such experiences and may include mission goals, such as powerful learning outcomes and a commitment to close the gap between different groups in your school. You will also likely have procedures documented in an overview, for instance, the need for a risk management form, the requirement for a teacher inspection visit, etc.
All this is good practice, but it might also be a good idea to document the processes in detail too. Something as simple as an overview document with a checklist of methods to be followed could save a lot of time and stress. A list is simple to produce but could be the one tool that helps you manage multiple trips along the same timeline of events. You can then simply ask: where am I up to with X trip and check on this quickly?
Part of documenting the process could also include the writing of template letters and emails. There are set statements that have to be included in letters to parents. For instance, the payment is requested has to be a voluntary donation, and there should be a way of paying for those who cannot pay for themselves. There is likely standard wording that should always be used to communicate this, as per the school policy. Therefore, it makes sense for there to be a template that is always used.
However, not of this documenting of processes has to be so formal. Every time one of your team takes a trip, they will learn valuable lessons about what worked and what didn’t. Therefore, a way to collate this experience could become a useful tool. Maybe you can have a paper where you explain the ten things you should always check on an overseas trip or a sheet that reads the things that worked and how we did it.
In short, you need to write down all the processes so that you don’t have to remember how to do it each time. There is this simple go-to guide that holds your hand through each stage and just takes that pressure off your shoulders.
Setting up an excel spreadsheet with all your trips progress mapped could act as a central dashboard when managing multiple trips. You could align the columns in the spreadsheet to your processes, and you could check in weekly to assess your progress and update any information.
There are off-the-shelf packages that help when managing multiple trips. The package will prompt you to input all the relevant data, store these centrally and offer reminders about upcoming deadlines. While the same can be achieved in a spreadsheet, you might find the one-stop-shop feel to these programs, as they have usually thought of things that you may have forgotten.
Even when a single teacher is managing a trip, communications are tough to track. Emails coming in could get mix within internal mail, parent correspondence and a whole host of other sources. Consequently, it becomes easy to skip over an essential message that requires action. While most teachers excel at setting up folders within which to sift and sort emails, people are busy, and mistakes are made.
If you are responsible for managing multiple trips, then this issue grows exponentially. It would, therefore, make sense to set up a separate email where all trip correspondence is sent. Having an account with an address such as [email protected] could be a valuable tool for storing and responding to communication. It is possible to set up a forwarding feature that allows the teacher responsible for the trip to receive the same message. However, by having a central account, there is a backup and a place where you will find the information you need.
It is also useful to have this email while the trips are away. Suddenly, the person, the parents, have been communicating with is away from their desk – with their children. The parents will still want the opportunity to contact the school, and this email could be their first port of call. Better yet, if you want to keep anxious parents calm, set up a social media group and encourage posts to the page each day by children and staff. This way, parents can check in to see what their kids are doing that day without having to communicate with anyone.
While there is a definite educational rationale in having time away from the curriculum, collapsing the whole timetable for all students at the same time of year poses a logistical challenge. While it is possible to achieve a successful week away from study, you take the idea of managing multiple trips to an extreme.
Consequently, finding a way to spread the trips throughout the year could have its benefits. Although the summer term feels like a natural time to get away, it is also a busy time. Most professionals in school always underestimate what needs doing in terms of timetabling and reporting in those late spring and early summer months. Therefore, it might be better to consider an autumn term trip, when the life in an educational institution is more routine. This time is a great moment for teachers and students to bond, especially your fresh starters and their pastoral tutors.
For students, getting to know teachers in a different context can cement a relationship. From conversations we have had with school leaders, we know that this relationship is the core of a successful educational outcome. It seems a shame to wait until summer to maximise this opportunity.