Schools Blog

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