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Parents struggling with expense of school trips
Parents struggling with expense of school trips

Scotsman

time3 days ago

  • Business
  • Scotsman

Parents struggling with expense of school trips

RZ - According to new research, a growing number of parents are struggling to fund the cost of school trips for their children, writes Rosemary Gallagher. Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The survey by public sector insurer Zurich Municipal found that 13 per cent of UK parents said they have had to work overtime to meet the cost of away-day or residential trips. And 9 per cent have taken to selling possessions on websites such as Vinted or eBay to cover the costs. Some 8 per cent of children said they used their pocket money or fundraising to pay for their school trip. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Zurich Municipal stated the findings reflect the on-going squeeze on finances for parents, with 35 per cent citing the cost of living as the biggest challenge and a further 24 per cent blaming high utility bills. The One Poll survey of 1,000 parents for Zurich Municipal found almost one in ten said their child had not been able to go on their recent school trip due to the expense. Some 15 per cent admitted to going without so they could afford to send their child on an educational excursion. The research for the insurer found the cost of a day school trip is now £30 on average, while residential trips – which have grown in popularity over recent years – cost £412 on average. Unsurprisingly, not being able to afford to send their children on school trips left more than a quarter of parents surveyed feeling guilty. Zurich Municipal said that schools are conscious of the financial pressure that parents are facing and are stretching their budgets to help foot some –or all – of the cost of some educational trips. Just over one in five parents reported that their child's school has either covered the full cost of a trip, subsidised it, or taken part in fundraising activities to ensure pupils don't miss out on the excursion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Almost 40 per cent of parents said they scramble to fund school trips as they believe they are a critical part of their child's education. It is the key life skills that children learn on school trips that parents value the most. For instance, children learn to be adventurous and try new things (61 per cent), be independent (59 per cent), and become more confident (57 per cent) on excursions.

Parents do overtime and sell on eBay as school trips now cost £400
Parents do overtime and sell on eBay as school trips now cost £400

Wales Online

time6 days ago

  • Business
  • Wales Online

Parents do overtime and sell on eBay as school trips now cost £400

Parents do overtime and sell on eBay as school trips now cost £400 Some children are having to give up their pocket money or raise their own funds to pay for trips Students fill a bus as they head out on a school trip Some parents are working extra hours or selling possessions to fund school trips, a survey has found. About one in eight (13%) parents with school-age children said they have worked overtime to meet the cost of away days or residential trips, according to public sector insurer Zurich Municipal. Meanwhile, 9% said they have taken to selling possessions on second-hand sites such as Vinted or eBay to cover the cost. The research also indicated that, in some cases, children's own pocket money or fundraising efforts had been used to help pay for the trip. ‌ About one in seven (15%) parents also said they had needed to make their own sacrifices and 'go without' to be able to afford to send their child on an educational excursion. More than a third (35%) of parents surveyed said the ongoing cost of living is their biggest challenge and nearly a quarter (24%) blamed utility bills. ‌ The research indicated parents were paying around £30 on average for a day school trip and £412 on average for a residential trip. Nearly two-fifths (39%) of parents said they believe school trips are a critical part of their child's education and nearly half (49%) said children learn a lot from a school trip. Learning life skills was also seen as a valued benefit of school trips, with 61% of parents believing they help children to be adventurous and learn new skills, 59% believing they help children's independence and 57% saying they give children a confidence boost. In general, parents who are struggling with school-related costs may benefit from seeing what support is available from the school, the local authority or the parent teacher association (PTA). Article continues below The survey also indicated that schools are conscious of the financial pressure that parents are facing. More than a fifth (22%) of parents said their child's school had either covered the full cost of the trip, subsidised it or even taken part in fundraising activities to ensure pupils did not miss out on the opportunity to enrich their knowledge of a subject. Jason Elsom, chief executive officer at Parentkind, a network of PTA fundraisers, said: 'School trips are an important milestone in children's lives and something that many of us look back on and reminisce about as we get older. But these trips are becoming more expensive and unfortunately many parents are struggling to afford them. 'Parent teacher associations work tirelessly all year round to raise money for their school. A new trend we've seen emerge over the last year is the number of PTAs now stepping up to cover the cost of these extracurricular activities. Article continues below 'Schools struggle with budgets at the best of times and it is important we do what we can to make sure children don't lose out on school trips.' Natalie Bate, head of education at Zurich Municipal, said: 'These trips are a key milestone in a child's education and often open children up to experiences they wouldn't necessarily have with their parent or guardian outside of school. School trips should conjure up happy memories, but the truth of the matter is that they're now often steeped with guilt or embarrassment as parents struggle to find the money to pay for their children to attend.' Zurich Municipal's analysis of claims data indicates that cancellations or lost deposits are a particularly common claim that schools make on their school trip insurance policies. The survey research was carried out by OnePoll in May, among 1,000 parents of children aged five to 16 years old across the UK.

One in seven parents ‘going without' to pay for school trips
One in seven parents ‘going without' to pay for school trips

The Independent

time6 days ago

  • Business
  • The Independent

One in seven parents ‘going without' to pay for school trips

Some parents are working extra hours or selling possessions to fund school trips, a survey has found. About one in eight (13%) parents with school-age children said they have worked overtime to meet the cost of away days or residential trips, according to public sector insurer Zurich Municipal. Meanwhile, 9% said they have taken to selling possessions on second-hand sites such as Vinted or eBay to cover the cost. The research also indicated that, in some cases, children's own pocket money or fundraising efforts had been used to help pay for the trip. About one in seven (15%) parents also said they had needed to make their own sacrifices and 'go without' to be able to afford to send their child on an educational excursion. More than a third (35%) of parents surveyed said the ongoing cost of living is their biggest challenge and nearly a quarter (24%) blamed utility bills. The research indicated parents were paying around £30 on average for a day school trip and £412 on average for a residential trip. Nearly two-fifths (39%) of parents said they believe school trips are a critical part of their child's education and nearly half (49%) said children learn a lot from a school trip. Learning life skills was also seen as a valued benefit of school trips, with 61% of parents believing they help children to be adventurous and learn new skills, 59% believing they help children's independence and 57% saying they give children a confidence boost. In general, parents who are struggling with school-related costs may benefit from seeing what support is available from the school, the local authority or the parent teacher association (PTA). The survey also indicated that schools are conscious of the financial pressure that parents are facing. More than a fifth (22%) of parents said their child's school had either covered the full cost of the trip, subsidised it or even taken part in fundraising activities to ensure pupils did not miss out on the opportunity to enrich their knowledge of a subject. Jason Elsom, chief executive officer at Parentkind, a network of PTA fundraisers, said: ' School trips are an important milestone in children's lives and something that many of us look back on and reminisce about as we get older. But these trips are becoming more expensive and unfortunately many parents are struggling to afford them. 'Parent teacher associations work tirelessly all year round to raise money for their school. A new trend we've seen emerge over the last year is the number of PTAs now stepping up to cover the cost of these extracurricular activities. ' Schools struggle with budgets at the best of times and it is important we do what we can to make sure children don't lose out on school trips.' Natalie Bate, head of education at Zurich Municipal, said: 'These trips are a key milestone in a child's education and often open children up to experiences they wouldn't necessarily have with their parent or guardian outside of school. 'School trips should conjure up happy memories, but the truth of the matter is that they're now often steeped with guilt or embarrassment as parents struggle to find the money to pay for their children to attend.' Zurich Municipal's analysis of claims data indicates that cancellations or lost deposits are a particularly common claim that schools make on their school trip insurance policies. The survey research was carried out by OnePoll in May, among 1,000 parents of children aged five to 16 years old across the UK.

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