More on school trips....

[R1Geezer]

Further to the question below, we know that teachers are effectively working when they go on school trips but, does anyone know if the teachers costs are added into what the pupils pay or do they get exes off the school/education authority? For example I have just paid £1400 for R1lad to go on a 10 day trip to China in October now £1400 seems pretty reasonable to me for the travel accomodation and general Itinerary, there are 20 boys going and I think 3 teachers so I can't really tell from the figures but if it was included then the true cist of the trip would be around £1200. Anyone know what the general form is here? Any teachers any experience of this? BTW I don't/wouldn't object to paying extra for the staff to go.

[Mosaic]

When companies offer trips to school, the price is scaled so that for x number of kids a teacher goes free. This seems to be standard practice in the travel trade when dealing with groups. Schools who release teachers during term time have to pay a supply teacher in their absence. Schools and local authorities are not set up to generate income from activities, other than school fetes and plays. It would take a lot of extra auditing and accounting to enable a school trip to be an earner. If a teacher incurs a legitimate agreed cost in excess of the price of the holiday, that can be rclaimed from the local authority, eg if a child fell ill and had to be accompanied back with an adult separately from the rest.
I'm not saying teachers / schools never make a few quid on the side through back-handers, but this is not an audited and accounted activity and if caught out could result in dismissal.

[R1Geezer]

Thanks, good answer but who's talking about back handers etc?

[Mosaic]

Whoa back Edster! Some schools may certainly be getting a free gift of the size you describe, but most schools can't afford much in the way of trips, and I bet if a survey were done most schools would be travelling within their region or UK.
Part of the issue is with the litigation culture, teachers have become reluctant to be made scapegoats if a kid does something daft and gets hurt.
Geezer, didn't say you were talking about backhanders, just saying how it is.