Schools Blog

This month its the 2nd of 7 quick-fire steps to hitting the school tour 'bulls-eye' - by Eryn Cutler…

Quick-fire Step #2: Follow a clearly defined trip planning process - if you don't you may fall uncomfortably on your face...

An effective school trip is like a well executed salsa, requiring a series of moves and a great deal of trust by both parties. With good communication and a set plan partners can find themselves swinging their way across the dance floor together with flair and finesse, smiling from ear to ear before ending with a dramatic hold and a photo while onlookers cheer and applaud them back to their seats.

When organising a school trip the two dancers are you (the lead teacher) and the school travel company - but the experience and result should be no different. A clear and well communicated school trip planning process will lead to an experience as enjoyable and as replicable as the salsa.

What you need...

An effective tour planning process should clearly outline the steps you and the tour company will follow and include the following elements at a minimum:

  - Scheduled phone calls to agree on specific itinerary requirements, modifications and other requirements 
  - Transparency with lead in times for advertising and deposit collection
  - A Communication Plan – what communication will happen before, during and after the tour? 
  - When and how the trip promotion will take place and a plan for collecting first deposits 

With these things in mind you can ensure effective communication at the critical stages between all those you need to be in contact with. You are also more likely to get an itinerary and quotation that meets your goals and remain relaxed and focused throughout all steps. 

You should demand to see a clear and easy to follow trip planning process from your school travel provider, so you know what will be happening (and when). You will be able to step through this with them at any time you require.

Next month

I will follow up with the 3rd key quick-fire step. It will give you a very clear idea of what your school travel company should provide you to get your students prepared and safe! 

Until then, don’t waste time on muddily planning – get a clear process, agree to it with all involved and make history for your school and students!!

Stay tuned!

Eryn Cutler
Managing Director
Educating Adventures Limited

PS  Mat (below in previous tour profile) has already started organising his 2009 trip with us, but we know not everyone is as organised as him! So we are letting you know now that if a school trip for 2009 is on your radar then you need to get in now because booking dates are disappearing like hot cakes…

This Month's Offer!

Want your own easy reference trip planning process??

Many of our clients have found our wall size flow chart with step by step trip planning requirements great to help them see the process from start to finish... If you want a copy to put on your wall then here's what you need to do to get one: name="Section3420851" >

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name="Section3420852" > PREVIOUS TOUR PROFILE Location: Queenstown, New Zealand School: St Mary’s Catholic College, Cairns, Australia When: September 2008 “Great attention to detail with excellent communication and a personal touch” Mat Rattray - Party Leader & Head of Physical Education “The relationship with our guide made the trip what it was - Humour, openness, really organised and great fun!” Tommas Field - Senior Student   Read more testimonies by clicking here...

name="Section3420853" > WHY TEACHERS ARE CRYING OUT TO RUN THIER NEXT TOUR WITH US... Reason #9 - You get a superb on hand tour manager – the number one reason why our clients return year after year. Local knowledge and support is key! “The trip cannot be explained in any other terms than spectacular. We are already lining up for next year. A massive thank you to Eryn Cutler at Educating Adventures and all the support from their team for making it an enormous success and an experience I shall never forget". Justin Creighton, Reddam House School, Sydney, Australia Need more reasons? - click here

1. Email Jenna at schooltours@educatingadventures.com and ask her to send you one of our colour school trip wall planning charts
2. Include your postal address and phone number so we can update your file and get this to you
3. Also tell us about plans (or dreams) for your next school trip

As a bonus (or if you already have a wall chart) we will also be including a copy of a recently published article on the 7 biggeset mistakes teachers should be avoiding in school travel today AND a colour advertising poster to get your next school trip off the ground. This is a great compliment to the the above wall planning chart and will be given to all those who request it.

This month Educating Adventures School Travel Managing Director, Eryn Cutler tells a quick story and summarises the first of 7 key points you should consider when running a school trip. Each following issue will discuss the next key point - but, I want to let you in on a little secret... the last point is the most crucial becuase without it (and without this action you take as a teacher) students will be left to experience bland old classroom learning for many years to come.

So, read this quick story and key point number 1 then at the end of this report Eryn lets you know how to get a user-friendly checklist whcih automates the steps for you and more...

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“You must learn from the mistakes of others Eleanor Roosevelt once said. "You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself”  

Since Eleanor Roosevelt’s era there has of course been time for plenty more mistakes, mishaps and ‘near misses’ to ruffle the feathers of teachers, parents and school boards. Luckily schools and the school travel industry has learnt from these, but many unfavorable situations still occur.

Recently I was talking with a teacher from a private School in Sydney who had taken a school trip for a group of enthusiastic year 11s to New Zealand. The objective was to enjoy some skiing, experience a fun holiday, learn first hand about a new culture and bond as a team. “Great goals” I said! He went on to say that the students had been as excited as a box of hot popcorn for months but it wasn’t until he was beginning to pack his bags that the alarm bells started ringing… His thoughts centered around the lack of communication with the company organising the tour, he hadn’t talked to anyone about what was to happen on arrival and wasn’t even sure if he was supposed to be meeting a tour rep on arrival. The trip didn’t improve and the end result he called a ‘disorganised debacle’ with poor management, bad communication and a string of events through the tour that the whole group found disappointing.

With a few simple tips, some good preparation and decisive action you can minimise the chances of this happening to you. Below I run through the first of 7 most common and costly mistakes to avoid:

Mistake #1: Not knowing how to start or how much time is required to prepare

Too often school trips fail before they even start. Many teachers find they do not know where to start with the initial steps required. Here is a 6 step process you can run through to make sure you are starting with the right mindset and preparation:

Step 1: Outline specific goals and objectives (what do you want the students to gain and what is motivating you, also what prior experience / knowledge already exists within your school). Once you have this clear – ‘stick to your guns’

Step 2: Assess your commitment and available time (even with the best assistance you can expect to spend a substantial amount of time involved in planning)

Step 3: Survey students to assess interest and price (Will there be good interest, is the cost a key factor? Also, how many free teacher places are required?)

Step 4: What particular destination and activities will be included (destination may be the main driver, price may assist determining this)

Step 5: When will the trip run (what other trips and extra curricular activities are happening and how long do you need to prepare)

Step 6: Do you know how to gain the required support and/or approval? (Survey students early to ascertain likely interest and know the school approval process and requirements)

 

Consideration also must be given for the time required to plan, obtain approval, promote, collect deposits, hold information evenings for scrupulous parents and of course fill out all of the required forms. So, how much time is required? The cost and complexity of the trip you are planning will help determine the time necessary to organise the trip but in general we recommend the following:

·          Firstly, work backwards from the date you want the trip to run

·          Aim to have deposits collected 11 months prior to departure

·          Allow one month for trip promotion and student commitment

·          Add on an extra month for school approval and planning

With this in mind you should allow at least a year to plan an international school trip. This will you the best chance of securing seats on flights at the price advertised in a school travel package because airlines only released seats eleven months in advance.

So thats it for this month! I will follow up with the 2nd key ingredient in the next issue. Until then, get started on providing students with key learning experiences!

For a user-friendly checklist and a step by step trip planning wall chart visit our online teachers page at http://school-group-tours.educatingadventures.com/teacher-tools-resources.html 

Kind regards and happy planning!

Eryn Cutler
Managing Director
Educating Adventures