Planning a school trip – Essential tips for teachers

So you’re considering planning a school trip… 

We understand that planning a school trip can be overwhelming. To help you through the process, we have written a short guide on what to think about to get your tour off the ground. You need to decide on some critical factors before planning a school trip in order to help you narrow down the choice of destinations and achieve your desired outcome.

Before planning anything, decide on:

• Student learning objectives
• Where would you like to go? Does the destination cover the learning objectives?
• How long do you want to go for? The choice of duration may define the destination.
• When do you want to go? Is it the right time of year for your objectives? High season may increase the price of your trip, however during low season some visits may be closed or have restricted visit times.
• What is your budget?

 

At Esto we can help you tailor make your own trip to suit you and your students’ needs as well as our LIVE! Conference Events. We are ABTA and ATOL protected which gives everyone peace of mind. We are also accredited with the Learning outside the Classroom Quality Badge and understand the importance and value a school trip may bring, whether it be abroad or in the UK.

 

What else do I need to consider? 

• Authorisation from your manager or head.
• Permission from parents of students (comes later on after you have decided where, when, and budget).
• Insurance, risk assessments, travel firms risk assessments.
• Information about your students – medical conditions, allergies, special diets, emergency contacts, passport information, visa’s (if required), parent contact details.
• Communication chain – emergency contacts and out of hour’s contacts.
  Code of conduct.
• Disclaimers.

 

Additional hints and tips:

• Plan as early as possible, this can help increase interest and improve response rates, and a chance to tweak itineraries as required.
• Make sure your outcomes are clear from the start.
• Set deadlines for parents/students to respond to, retrieve documents and collect deposits.
• Visits may change opening times due to high and low season, be prepared to be flexible.
• Consider offering the trip to more than one subject area – this can improve numbers and costs.
• You may want to ask other staff members about their experiences of planning trips.

Have a look on our website for inspiration on destinations and visits. Our Resources section also has some material that you may find useful.

Wherever you decide to go, we’ll be there every step of the way to help plan your perfect tour, and for peace of mind, we are on hand 24/7 whilst you’re away.

Get in touch today for your personalised quote on 0330 838 4120 or Request a Quote and let us help you plan your perfect trip!

For more advice, visit our resources for trip planning information, including risk assessments, our Safety Management System, and downloadable posters and presentations for your school.