Before we settled in the municipality where I live, it happened that one day in a month of May about six or seven years ago, a father went to say goodbye to his eldest daughter who was going on an excursion with his class, and when he Account of the state in which the covers of the wheels of the bus were, the girl was taken home, notifying the school that it was better that from now on they required certain safety measures from the bus companies that they hired.
I think all parents should take ourselves very seriously. safety when our children go on excursions, because within the coaches there are very fragile and vulnerable people who must be protected. As you know, since 2007, the law obliges newly registered buses to wear belts, most of them have two points; And what happens when the bus has been previously registered? Well, the responsible company can install the belts as long as there is pre-installation, well, and there is a will.
Even with all the doubts that the question of school buses can raise (and which are described here); we are not only worried about that, what happens is that we do not always dare to externalize it. I exemplify it with another anecdote: (also years ago) an acquaintance had to firmly demand from the school of her girls the revision of her safety protocol, after at the end of a school trip, she discovered that her daughter (4 years) had not returned to school, because she fell asleep in the seat, slipped, and the teachers neither saw her nor did the count well. The consequence of that failure was that he returned with the driver (who also did not know he was returning with an occupant) to the garage; in reality it all ended in a big scare, and with the girl safe and sound at home.
It’s not to scare anyone, it’s just that things are better if there is a collaborative relationship between school and family, and parents get involved to the extent of our possibilities, or what they let us get involved. It did not provoke the previous incident in me, so much fear that I would not allow my children to travel with their class in the future, and if they have never gone, our motives have been others.
What do school excursions contribute?
I don't need to extend it here a lot, but these are complementary activities that have a double purpose: On the one hand, children discover themselves living together in contexts other than the classroom; and on the other they learn from experience, they learn about pictorial techniques if they go to a museum, about native flora if they go hiking, or about ecosystems if they go - for example - to a 'marjal'.
It is often argued that students acquire more autonomy, I guess because they are not going to eat at home, or because the departure is two days, and they will not sleep in their room that day either. In any case, the experience can be very exciting and rewarding, although from the point of view of personal independence, a specific activity does not contribute much.
And as for the parents, because sometimes one is left with some restlessness, others even think that they will rest a little more when the children are not there ... but it is more positive to be happy for the children, and for everything they will discover during the tour.
The tranquility is provided by the information
I am very much in favor of parents being provided detailed information that should include:
Family contribution: how much the excursion will cost us, reminder to put a hat and raincoat (an example) in the backpack, recommendations for preparing food.
Departure and arrival times.
Itineraries, planned activities.
Organization: distribution of students by group, number of teachers accompanying. Who supervises the details of the excursion? Who tracks from school in case there are incidents? How do you count the students?
Do the buses have seat belts?
The monitor companies that have hired ensure that activities are adapted to age of the kids?
Should we prepare some pocket money for the kids? You know: for a soda or ice cream.
I may have missed something, in which case you should expand, if you feel like commenting ...
Remember that the teachers understand us, and they will not feel disgust if we ask them all the doubts from the trust. They also know that they have a very great responsibility, so great that some even verbalize that they spend the day of departure with some anguish, like that Infant teacher who told me that he had finished exhausted, because at each small stop he counted and recounted several times to all his students
This information should not only be written, but the school could offer to hold a meeting with parents (those who want or can attend); The truth does not make much sense to be summoned to ask you to prepare a headband with stars for the Christmas function, and do not do it on the occasion of the excursion. In any case, if the teachers do not have it, we must be the ones who ask to meet.
Safety: it's not just thinking about coaches
I will share with you information prepared by Mari Angeles Miranda, child safety expert, which we have interviewed here, and that you can follow here; He is a member of the National Child Safety Association. They are recommendations applicable to children in general, but in particular to the youngest children in Early Childhood Education, so I will highlight what I think is useful for everyone, and if you are interested, you review the specific recommendations.
It is important to understand that children they usually have little perception of risk, something that is acquired with vital experience, nor do they know how to function in an unknown environment. Therefore, it is the adults who would include the forecast of possible alterations in the course of the activity, and those who (important!) Will set an example of safety-oriented behavior.
I understand that the management of the excursions may be centralized, whether it is a teacher, or two who make contacts, and process activities, however, the information should be generalized: what would not be acceptable, is that a parent goes to the tutor to consult some detail about the excursion itself, or about its safety, and don't know how to respond
Aspects to consider before departure: the linked document mentions the establishment of safe roads for walking routes, the identification of adequate spaces, the procedure in case of emergency (depending on whether it is in a closed or open place), the number of adults per child, the responsibilities of the professors and the forecast of inclement weather.
We talked a little about buses, and expanded the information with a link above, which is repeated at the bottom of the page; and I don't want to stay without remembering that Due to different circumstances, it is difficult for coaches to have adequate Child Retention Systems. Do we have to settle for belts? At the moment it seems so, but could we not learn from other countries - at the moment I only know the United States - in which school buses have only that purpose and therefore are very adapted?
Mari Ángeles tells us that during the departure you must ensure the security and control measures as reflective vests according to the routes through which they travel, or personal identifications (bracelets, small signs attached to clothing, etc.). The exit will also be used to remember the road education that our children already know, and adults will always be a model for their students.
And speaking of coaches ...
We have mentioned the issue of belts, and we must do the same with other obligations such as the maximum age allowed in the case of vehicles for school transport (16 years, but if not previously engaged in the activity, only ten). In Safe Circle you have these points enlarged, but I rescue some more: the ground must be non-slip, it must carry a plaque indicating that it is school transport, the journey will be a maximum of one hour, the maximum speed is reduced by 10 kilometers per hour with respect to the rest of buses, no child will be able to stand ...
Relying blindly on the bus company is not enough, I understand that many directors will have it planned for excursions, but it would be convenient for the school to make a call to the transport company to verify if they meet these requirements.
This is the ideas I wanted to convey to you, Many times the intervention of fathers or mothers is capable of causing necessary changes In organizing these complementary activities of the school, it is not only the responsibility of the principal and the teachers, because children are not objects that are taken from one place to another, they are precious treasures.
I know I repeat myself, but I sincerely believe that parents confuse the sense of protection for our children, worrying about security is not overprotecting. For example, my son is on the mountain today, 'happy as a partridge' because it is not his parents who have taken him on an excursion and goes with his companions; every meter of the journey will be done on foot and I trust the adults in charge of the group. But when the long excursion arrives, the one they do by bus ... there it is time to ask the school (as every year), if the coach company that they will hire, assures them that there are safety belts, and ask about the suitability of the activities provided.
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