School trips are often the most fondly remembered times of education. When you put effort into planning a fun school trip, it truly pays off in the delight and enjoyment experienced by the pupils. However, the preparation itself can be a logistical challenge, especially if you are taking younger children. Here are some tips to help you plan a successful school trip to one of the UK’s coasts.
Choose Your Location
Despite being such a small island, the UK is home to a huge variety of coastlines. Sandy beaches and impressive cliffs are just two examples of the many possible coasts you can find somewhere around the edge of the country. Consider why you might opt for one coast over another. Perhaps rocky slopes aren’t the best idea for taking young children or maybe the types of wildlife in the rock pools of a particular beach would make for an excellent science topic.
Plan Transport
Getting a class of children from one place to another is rarely straightforward. Give a clear time when everyone must be ready to leave the school grounds but allow time for the inevitable stragglers. Arrange a deal with services such as theminibuscentre.com to make transportation of children simpler and more efficient. It all depends on the capacity required to get all the children to and from their destination.
Complete Risk Assessments
Make sure to fill in the necessary paperwork before heading out, including risk assessments. It is also important to keep a record of the parental permission forms and payments.
Create a List of Essentials
When taking a group of children to the coast, it’s important that they are all protected from the sun and kept comfortable in the event of high temperatures. If possible, you can write a list of essentials and distribute it to parents ahead of the school trip so they can prepare. Here is a rough example:
- Comfortable clothing and footwear;
- Sunglasses;
- Sunscreen;
- A hat with a brim or visor;
- A bottle of water or juice;
- A packed lunch.
Of course, there will always be one or two children who forget something, so be sure to come prepared with a change of clothes, extra sunscreen, lots of water and a couple of spare lunches.
Think About Learning Opportunities
While children see school trips as a time to escape from the mundane routine of the usual school day, you can still use the excursion as an opportunity to teach. You could create quizzes about your location based on the history of the area or the geography of the land. Of course, there’s no need to stamp out any fun by insisting upon a firm lesson but let the class’s natural curiosity lead them to their own discoveries, then discuss the trip back at school the next day.
School trips may be a lot of fun for the pupils, but for teachers, it can be a planning nightmare. Hopefully, some of the above points have helped you think of ways to plan a successful and memorable school trip.