Having spoken to a lot of school and college senior leaders, we know there can be mixed feelings about permitting an out of the classroom trip. On one level, you will know that the educational benefits of such extra-curricular excursion are significant. The students gain not only in terms of academic learning but also some of the independent social skills that will be essential as they mature.
However, on another level, getting a group leader to follow a sound trip management process can be frustrating at best and alarming at worst. There is significant risk involved for all stakeholders, and the need for sound management is essential.
You are likely aware that some of your teachers are excellent practitioners in their subject and brilliant managers of the classroom space. However, you may also be mindful of a lack of expertise in project management with the necessary skills in organisation, administration, and budgeting.
While we wouldn’t want to assume to tell you how to lead your team, we thought we would collate some useful tips. We know that giving authorisation for trips can feel burdensome, and we wanted to offer some supportive advice on how to make the whole trip management process simple and effective.
Often teachers go into organising a school trip without thought of what is involved. Therefore, when they make an informal inquiry via email or in-person about running a tour, hand them a sheet with the trip management process laid out in simple steps. I know this sounds like “granny and eggs”, but many leaders hand over a policy document or just explain that you need an official proposal believing that the teacher will then know what to do next. It is just easier to enforce a process when you know that the individual has had a clear sight of what this process involves.
Much of what happens in schools and colleges occur quickly. The pressure of the bell and the changing lessons makes it easy to progress projects after a quick conversation in the corridor. No one wants to add to the bureaucracy of an educational organisation. However, asking for the submissions dates and the learning outcomes laid out from the start helps with accountability down the track. As you are aware, you must provide value for money for your parents, so it is best to establish this from the beginning.
It can be frustrating when you are put in the position to reinvent the wheel. Young teachers come through and have to learn afresh what makes a successful trip, losing so much of the institutional memory that has been established over the years. Therefore, if you are looking to encourage out of the classroom experiences, you may want to provide details of a past trip that has worked brilliantly.
Having templates of successful trips in place will help you to retain the best of the excellent practice that has been achieved in your school or college. It will also offer a foundation from which new members of staff can work, be fruitful and maybe suggest new imagination that makes the trip even better.
Much of the research into out of the classroom experiences prove it is educationally far more valuable use of time. The progress a child can make in the “real world” can exceed most that are achieved in the classroom. Imagine the student who goes on the exchange to France, struggling to understand why they are learning a language, being thrilled when they can communicate abroad. Not only is the relevance provided, but the chance to use that skill and have it tested in an immersive and intense environment.
If there is this much value to school trips, then offering some in-service training time to the best practice in running such excursions could be genuinely useful. It might be that you show a how-to video during a staff meeting. It could be that you invite in a consultant who helps you and your staff create your trip management process using the best practice available.
There is no room to be polite in the leadership of school trips. Set boundaries and expectations are essential if you are hoping a trip will run smoothly. Consequently, you need to be clear that missed deadlines could mean the trip not going ahead. Using this stick of punitive action is no leaders favourite go-to place, but the stakes are relatively high, with parents’ money and student safety of prime importance. Therefore, making the level of accountability clear and following through is another way to encourage group leaders to support your trip management process.
Project management of any kind requires expert administration. It is not just the completion of forms but also the filing of materials. We are aware that leaders in schools do all they can to reduce the administrative burden on teachers. Yet, in trip management, the administration is often the most essential part of the process. Therefore, if you can find a way of completing the necessary forms using an online collation system, it is well worth giving this a try. It has value because there is the chance for data aggregation, easy data duplication, automated actions, reminders and more.
However, you need to be sure that this digital approach will save time and effort. The value of going paperless should be apparent in terms of time and stress; otherwise, it is counterproductive. If paper form filling is quicker, there would be little sense in changing. Therefore, researching the best approach for your trip management system could make all the difference.
We love supporting schools in the running of trips and would be happy to help. We know that the trip management process can be burdensome, but then the outcomes are worth the while. Taking time to encourage group leaders to follow the right steps to a successful trip will save a lot of stress and heartache along the way – for students and teachers.