Educational Visits Policy 2023-24

Educational Visits Policy 2023-24

Hackney and London have much to offer in enriching the curriculum. Local and whole day visits are planned into programmes of study.

We send out annual consent forms in September for parents to give permission for local trips. Parents can also choose to give permission trip by trip if they wish.

When we organise school visits by coach we ensure that each child has an individual seat on the coach and that seat belts are fitted to coaches we hire.

We must know of any potential health problems your child might have and would ask you to keep us informed at all times.

Details of forthcoming trips are emailed home, put onto the website calendar and your child’s Arbor account. We try to give as much notice of trips as we can, but sometimes trips are organised at short notice to enhance a particular topic of study. Reports of trips appear in the school newsletter (the Patten Pages).

Equal Opportunities

Educational visits are not optional; they form an integral part of each child’s education. All children should go on all educational visits.

Disabled pupils will have their specific needs catered for. Pupils with medical or other specific needs will not be excluded from visits. Every effort will be made
for pupils with special educational needs to be included in visits and suitable safety arrangements will be considered in conjunction with the parents.
It is the responsibility of the school to inform the venue in advance if there is a child with SEN and seek the support of the provider where necessary.

No child will be excluded for financial reasons, as payment for school visits is voluntary. Parents should be made aware that any contribution is not compulsory.
If a parent seeks to withdraw a child other than for religious reasons, the teacher will discreetly determine if it is for financial reasons. If so, the school will pay for the child.

A child may only be exempt from a visit if:

• The purpose of the visit conflicts with their religious beliefs.
  We would hope in these circumstances that we could resolve this issue in a positive manner by negotiation. If this is not possible we will require a letter from the parents.
• A child’s behaviour may cause concern.
  In the first instance the school should make provision for the child to support their improved behaviour. Adequate support should be put in place to make this possible and the parents involved from an early stage. Where possible, the parent should be allowed to accompany the child. If the parent is unable to accompany the child, the Head teacher will assess the risks to the child and others on the trip.

Year 6 journey

Year 6 children go for a week to Kench Hill, a Georgian mansion set amongst beautiful gardens in the Kent countryside. It has hosted residential trips for Hackney school children for over 35 years, providing high quality, safe and fun educational activities for all pupils.

The children enjoy activities such as visits to local places of interest, shelter building, gardening, breadmaking, archery and survival skills. The children go as a year group and we try to make sure that every child attends. For many children this is the highlight of their last year at William Patten, and is a very important preparation for the greater independence they will need at secondary school.

Visitors/events

We also have an extensive programme of visitors to the school, including:

• Visiting theatre companies
• Business volunteers
• Environmental experts
• Artists in residence
• Members of religious organisations
• Scientists
• Musicians, including opera companies

Details of visitors appear in the the Patten Pages.

Charging policy

It is the school’s policy that no child should miss any educational activity through an inability to pay.

Should a parent have difficulty in paying a contribution for any outing or activity, they are asked to speak to the class teacher or make an appointment with the Headteacher.

The main activities for which contributions are requested:

• Educational visits – usually at least two per term.
• A week for Year 6 children at an outdoor pursuits centre, costing around £280. All children have the opportunity to take part. Families receiving benefits are eligible for a grant towards the cost of the trip.
• Theatre trips.

We are grateful to the PTFA for its support in subsidising many trips and visits.

The Governors keep under review the number and nature of charging activities. The principle they work to is that any activity taking place at school should be available to all children.

Before and after school clubs are currently £6.00 per session.

School photographs