Various visits are arranged for children during the school year. Day or half day visits are often arranged to fit in with class projects. We consider that activities of this type support the work with which your child is involved in this school.
A voluntary contribution is requested for some in-school curriculum activities and out of school activities, such as visits to places of interest linked to curriculum topics. Children will be treated the same whether or not their parents have made a voluntary contribution. However, activities can only take place if there are sufficient voluntary contributions.
Insurance
The school arranges a variety of out of school activities. Some of these are very much an integral part of the daily/weekly routine of the school whilst others take place less frequently, generally to places further afield and of longer duration. Those forming part of the regular routine of the school are as follows:-
Visits to Cheswardine Village Hall, visits to St Swithun’s Church, swimming lessons at Market Drayton Swimming Centre, field studies in the locality, sporting matches against local schools, residential visits and educational visits to events at local schools including The Grove School.
Transport for events taking place out of the village will be either by hired coach or parents’ cars (The school will make sure that parents transporting children will have the correct insurance). Supervision will be provided by use of school teaching and other staff, parent helpers and other adults, and will be determined for each outing taking into account what the children are doing, where they are going, how they are getting there and so on. Whatever other help is used, at least one member of the school’s teaching staff will be involved who will be in charge. Supervision will also comply with any standards set down by the County Council.
As these trips are all ‘local’, school journey/personal accident cover will not be taken out for these occasions but see the paragraph about insurance below. Parents who want more detailed information about these activities should see teaching staff. Parents are asked each year to signify their consent to their children taking part in these regular activities on their child’s annually updated Personal Information form each September.
For other trips, not listed above, detailed information and consent forms will be sent to the parents concerned at the planning stage of each trip. Under the requirements of the Education Reform Act 1988 we can only raise the cost of visits, activities, etc by voluntary contributions. There is no obligation to contribute and the children will not be treated any differently according to whether or not any contribution has been made. Visits/activities go ahead when the level of support is sufficient.
The County Council provides insurance cover to protect your children should they suffer injury, damage or loss through negligent acts by staff or others engaged on County Council business. The County Council does not provide any personal accident (ie where no one is negligent or to blame) insurance or cover for personal effects. For local outings like those listed above, we have decided not to either. For longer outings we shall judge each trip separately. Where we think it is wise to take out personal accident cover or any other insurance the cost will be included in the overall cost of the trip. If we do not think special insurance is necessary, we will make this clear to you so that you can make your own arrangements if you wish.
