In a recent interview Countryfile star Ellie Harrison made the controversial call for school children to be taken on trips to abattoirs. Speaking to the Mirror the well-known TV personality argued that it would allow children to see where their meat came from and make their own decisions on diet. She stated that “to my knowledge, there are no abattoirs open to the public or to school trips and I think it’s a shame.”
Ellie Harrison’s statements contribute to an ongoing debate about what children should be experiencing as part of an education which will equip them for the realities of modern life. Primary school Head Teacher Mike Fairclough, who was recently shortlisted for the TES School Awards, has been quoted across several major newspapers calling for a move towards a ‘creative in nature’ approach. He argues that many in his profession ‘want their children to thrive and be happy and have amazing experiences, without the red tape’ and that we should not ‘be waiting for permission to give children the experiences and education that we know that they deserve, or limiting ourselves and others through fear.’
Trips to radical and controversial destinations can expose children to ideas which they had previously not considered and prepare them for the realities and decisions which adult life will ask of them. If they are taken to these locations in the context of education and guided through the questions with teachers, it is arguably a more healthy way to understand.
However, there is also the powerful argument for allowing children to enjoy the controlled environment of education. Although perhaps not as ground breaking, the value garnered from a museum or gallery, a stately home or archeological site is just as important for academic and personal enrichment. School trips are a platform for supplementing classroom learning and should look to enrich the curriculum content, not be excuses for random eccentric excursions.
The debate returns to an even older argument, of when children should be exposed to what experiences, and where the role of the educator begins and ends versus that of the parent. Currently, DfE advice allows educators to take students on age-appropriate learning outside the classroom experiences without formal consent from the parent provided that the trip or experience is part of the ‘curriculum’ and is wholly within normal school hours, although they must inform parents/carers in advance of where their child is at all times and give them the opportunity to withdraw their child from the session, fully respecting that decision. So there is some flexibility available to more adventurous educators. Indeed that same advice lists as the first of its key points ‘children should be able to experience a wide range of activities.’
Handsam can help you decide on how best to plan and deliver these slightly more offbeat trips for your school and students. We offer trip consultancy advice, an online trip planning tool and you can always search www.HandsamSchoolTripsAdvisor.org.uk to find the venues and destinations to inspire different types of learning and enrichment for your students.
