It is almost inevitable that things will go wrong on school trips because, as you will know if you have ever had the pleasure to organise one, there are some things over which you have little or no control.

A couple of weeks ago TES set out five things that are expected to go wrong on school trips, some of which you may be able to relate to. Here they are in TES’ own words:

“1) Permission slips – You told them they would need one numerous times, you told their parents they would need one numerous times, and you emailed/texted/posted a letter saying exactly the same thing. And yet, here they are: excited, grinning with enthusiasm, all their kit ready and not a single permission slip in sight.

“2) The packed lunches – You’ve spent 30 minutes travelling in a 1970s living room (complete with curtains) masquerading as a coach, and for some reason every child has already eaten their lunch. Quite why school trips cause insatiable hunger, no one knows, but what you do know is that your carefully prepared meal is going to be shared into 30 equal parts.

“3) The lost items – Yes, they’ve had the spiel about the school not being responsible for lost or stolen items, but guess who is running back through every exhibition room searching for a missing iPod? Wide-eyed and frantic, you interrogate anyone who looks vaguely official, only to eventually get a call from another teacher to say that the iPod has been found. At the bottom of the child’s bag…

“4) The vomit – Excessive excitement, excessive sugar, excessive tiredness and excessively aggressive driving by the coach driver. There is no combination more accomplished at causing vomit than that. You reach for the sick bag, but you know it’s too late. The children in the seats behind scramble for safety as the stream of sick winds slowly towards the back of the coach.

“5) Missing parents – You begin to think that, this time, things are going to be different. But then you spot them: the one student stood on their own. A phone call, some swearing, and then a screech into the car park. The frantic parent loads the student into the car with profuse apologies and protests that they are “sure it said 5pm not 4pm”. And with that, you finally head home, vowing never to do this again but knowing full well you’ll be repeating the process next term.”

However there is one thing that has to be every teacher’s nightmare scenario but which is one thing over which they do actually have some control:  and that is the possibility of the minibus breaking down.

For you can significantly reduce the likelihood of a breakdown by ensuring that the school’s minibus is enrolled on a full maintenance programme – just one of the services that Benchmark offers as part of the leasing arrangements they have with schools.

And another benefit of leasing a minibus with Benchmark is that it can often work out to be cheaper than buying a minibus outright (especially if one takes into account the re-sale value of a school bus at the end of its working life), or hiring a coach each time.

It is an arrangement which makes it possible for schools to fund the minibus through a small payment each month, which benefits both the budget and cash flow.

For more information about leasing a minibus with Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944 or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Link to TES article: https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-views/friday-five-things-always-go-wrong-school-trips

Benchmark Leasing Ltd
11 High Street
Eton
Berkshire
SL4 6AS

www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php

minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Tel: 01753 859944

How many of your students have visited the countryside in the past 12 months?

For many students who live in or near the countryside, going for a walk, playing with friends and generally spending a good proportion of their time outdoors in a forest, park, field, etc. is not a big deal.

However, according to a two-year study by Natural England (link below), some students don’t have much opportunity to get out into the country, with 12% of students reporting that they haven’t visited the countryside at all in the past 12 months.

These students aren’t only missing out on the enormous benefits that the countryside has to offer in terms of its potential to improve both physical and mental health, but also on the positive effect that learning outside in the natural environment can have on academic attainment.

The good thing, however, is that schools that are located in towns and cities can often organise trips to the countryside with relative ease – not least because such a visit is free.

Unfortunately, the travel to and from the countryside isn’t free, and travel expenses can be a barrier to providing students with any such LOtC experiences. Fortunately, however, some schools have found leasing a school minibus to be a way of making these expenses manageable.

With a leased minibus there is no need for a large upfront capital payment. The cost of leasing the minibus is spread over the life of the minibus with fixed monthly costs. The PTA, should it wish, can still contribute by raising money towards these monthly payments.

What’s more, where trips are paid for by contributions from parents and the PTA, it is possible to allocate a part of those payments towards the cost of the minibus. In other cases, the minibus can be funded through a small monthly deduction from the school’s income.

Benchmark Leasing specialises in the supply and maintenance of school minibuses and because of this we are able to offer very competitive prices.

For more information about leasing a minibus with Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944 or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk.

Link to study: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Large-number-children-8211-poor-backgrounds/story-28723279-detail/story.html

A Demos Study reveals how you can enhance your pupils’ engagement levels in the classroom.

The BBC has reported on a Demos study which has revealed the extent to which school projects such as renovating a garden or hosting a school club can enhance pupils’ engagement in learning.

The study reported that there was an improvement in the behaviour of 45% of the pupils in schools that hosted projects in which teachers and pupils worked together to achieve a common goal.

Furthermore, participation in school clubs or projects was also shown to increase pupils’ confidence levels and social skills, whilst also improving teacher-pupil relations.

All sorts of activities can be organised that will achieve such an improvement in behaviour – although, of course, some schools can be restricted in the types of projects and clubs that they can offer.

Such restrictions are typically as a result of the school having limited resources and facilities of their own or in their local area, such as a garden or another school that has a sports team with which your pupils can compete.

One way to overcome this is by leasing a minibus with Benchmark Leasing so that you can travel further afield and thus offer your pupils the opportunity to take part in projects which will ultimately enhance their engagement levels and improve their behaviour in the classroom.

Leasing means that the cost of the minibus is spread over time with fixed monthly costs. The PTA can still contribute by raising money to pay for the monthly payments, but there is no longer that long wait for a lump sum to be accumulated to pay for a vehicle up front.

What’s more, as part of the leasing arrangement, the maintenance of the minibus can be taken on by the leasing company, thus keeping the vehicle roadworthy all the time.

Benchmark Leasing specialises in the supply and maintenance of school minibuses and because of this we are able to offer very competitive prices.

For more information about leasing a minibus with Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944 or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk.

Link to article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35418346

Benchmark Leasing Ltd
11 High Street
Eton
Berkshire
SL4 6AS

www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php

minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Tel: 01753 859944

Could this be a gateway to education beyond the classroom?

The school minibus is a convenient gateway to education beyond the classroom. And yet a minibus can seem dauntingly expensive to buy and a lot of effort for someone in the school to oversee its maintenance and tip-toe around a tangle of red tape.

But a school minibus doesn’t have to be too expensive, nor does it have to take up too much of your time of that of your colleagues. It is simply a question of how you use the minibus, how you raise funds for the minibus, and the type of arrangement you have agreed for the minibus.

In terms of the way that you use the minibus, some schools have found that by sharing the use of the minibus with other parts of the school, the expense is something that can be shared as well. Some schools have also found that the PTA are keen to offer their financial support for the cause.

It has also been calculated that having a school minibus in which to travel to matches, museums, sites of geographic or scientific interest, other schools, art galleries, theatres, concerts, etc, can work out to be much less expensive than hiring a coach each time.

As for the issue of actually funding the minibus, many schools have found that by leasing rather than buying one they can overcome the problem of limited cash reserves. And some minibus leasing companies, such as Benchmark Leasing, will also undertake any maintenance work – keeping the vehicle fully operational at all times.

Finally, when it comes to obtaining a school minibus, ensuring that you have agreed an arrangement which is bespoke to your school is fundamental to getting more for less.

Benchmark Leasing specialises in the supply and maintenance of school minibuses.  If you are interested in the benefits of a minibus do call us on 01753 859944 or click here to see what we can offer.

If you are looking for LOtC ideas, please take a look at our Facebook & Twitter pages.

Benchmark’s LOtC newsletter: Turning your classroom inside out

We recently set up a Facebook and Twitter page to accumulate a vast amount of Learning Outside the Classroom research, news, free resources, locations, ideas and transport solutions to make implementing LOtC easier for everyone.

Below is just an example of some of the LOtC items that we have shared with our Facebook and Twitter followers thus far.

Research and News

School field trips ‘help students engage with subjects’ (BBC)

What are Ofsted rather keen on? (Benchmark)

Learning-outside-the-classroom benefits report (Benchmark)

The joys of learning outside the classroom (SEN Magazine)

Children need more geography field trips says Michael Palin (The Telegraph)

How a school turned around its GCSE results by taking learning outdoors (TES)

We need fewer exams and more wilderness in education (The Guardian)

Free LOtC Resources

Educational talks for your class – www.thelondonbridgeexperience.com/groups

Educational resources and services – www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/

Teacher packs and worksheets – www.haynesmotormuseum.com/home/discover-learn.php

Workshops – www.abingdon.gov.uk/museum/schools

Free LOtC resources from Woodland Trust and The Pod

School trip locations and ideas

BECKs Training – outdoor activities and leadership and team building programs.

Woodland Ways – offers in depth instruction in Bushcraft & Survival Skills

The Muckleburgh Military Collection – the largest privately owned military Museum in the UK

Field Trip to the Apple Store – Inspiring collaboration and creativity

For more Learning Outside the Classroom locations, ideas, free resources, research, news, and school transport solutions, follow us on Twitter @MinibusLeasing or like our Facebook page – Benchmark Minibus.

For more information about Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944, or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk.

Benchmark Leasing Ltd
11 High Street
Eton
Berkshire
SL4 6AS

www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php

minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Tel: 01753 859944

The team here at Benchmark Leasing have for some time been working hard to create the most convenient minibus leasing packages especially for schools – evolving the arrangement through feedback, primarily from administrators and school managers.

Here are the arrangements that we have put together to date:

The New Ford Transit Minibus
Key features: Daytime running lights, Bluetooth, power side step, curve control, tinted glass, and remote central locking. The Trend in addition (for a modest rental increase) includes such items as metallic paint, power heated and folding mirrors, heated front windscreen, and parking sensors.

Ford Transit Minibus 12 Seater
2 years, 20,000 Total Miles gives Monthly Rentals of £299 + VAT.
A favourite as it can be driven on a regular driving license due to its light weight.

Ford Transit Minibus 15 Seater
2 years, 20,000 Total Miles gives Monthly Rentals of £317 + VAT.

Ford Transit Minibus 17 Seater
2 years, 20,000 Total Miles gives Monthly Rentals of £368 + VAT.

Renault Trafic Minibus
Key features: 62 mph speed limiter, electronic stability control, digital tachograph, two 2kg fully compliant water/foam fire extinguishers, first aid kit with VOSA approved content, electric side step, individual spot lights and air vents for passengers, and rear safety doors.

Renault Trafic 9 Seat Minibus
2 years, 20,000 Total Miles gives Monthly Rentals of £318 + VAT.

Vauxhall Movano
Key features: Padded head restraints, dual front passenger bench seat, individual saloon lighting, optional air conditioning, illuminated rear passenger walkway, overhead storage and coat racks, retracting side step, and standard Electronic Stability Programme (ESP).

Vauxhall Movano 17 Seat Minibus
3 years, 30,000 Total Miles gives Monthly Rentals of £470 + VAT.

All prices include a Full Maintenance package consisting of tyre replacement, servicing, Road Tax, MOT, and 6 Monthly Safety Inspections. Based on an initial rental equivalent to 3 monthly rentals.

You can find more information about Benchmark Leasing’s school minibus packages by visiting our website. Or, if you’d prefer, you can call us on 01753 859944 or email us at minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

It is a fact that minibuses are expensive. And at one point they were expensive to the point of being unaffordable as school budgets quite simply could not accommodate the large upfront expense that buying a minibus entailed.

However, schools have found a way to get around this expense so they can have a school minibus parked in the grounds of their school ready for the next school trip, away game, etc.

They have discovered that a school minibus is usually affordable under a leasing agreement that has been designed specifically with the school (and the school’s budget) in mind.

Through this arrangement the minibus leasing company not only leases out the minibus, but is also fully responsible for the maintenance of the minibus and for keeping the vehicle fully operational at all times.

A minibus which is leased is simply paid for on a monthly basis through a small monthly deduction from the school’s income and some schools are finding that it is possible to fund the minibus without actually taking anything from the school’s capital account.

In cases where trips are paid for by contributions from parents, it is possible to allocate a part of those payments towards the cost of the minibus.

And in other cases, the PTA has agreed to make a monthly contribution.

Benchmark Leasing specialises in the supply and maintenance of school minibuses. If you are interested in the benefits of a minibus do call us on 01753 859944 or click here to see what we can offer.

To get notifications of learning-outside-the-classroom activity and location ideas and how LOtC can be used to benefit your pupils’ learning and development, follow us on Twitter @MinibusLeasing or like our Facebook page – Benchmark Minibus.

Sometimes at Christmas there are some really heart-warming stories.  But rarely have they much to do with minibuses.

I mean, minibuses are good, but generally a minibus is not exactly “good news” of the Christmas variety.

Except it is now.  For the Times Education Supplement has just run the headline

How a school turned around its GCSE results by taking learning outdoors

The story is that when Julie Hazeldine took over as headteacher of Flixton Girls School in Manchester, only 39 per cent of the school’s students achieved five or more GCSEs.

In 2015, 74 per cent of students got five or more A* to C grades, and the school entered the top 7 per cent of schools in the North West.

The centrepiece of her story is that a “major factor was that we decided to move learning outdoors”.

Now we all know that one of the great things that learning outside the classroom does is enhance self-esteem.   And when Ms Hazeldine surveyed the girls in her school she found that “A common theme among the responses from the girls who were underachieving was a lack of self-esteem, self-belief and confidence.”

The pathway she followed was to use the Outward Bound Trust, and her vision was that “of creating a culture that gives students an opportunity to discover hidden talents, let them know what’s out there in the world and really widen their horizons.”

She writes about overnight camping, fell walking, climbing, canoeing, blackberry picking, learning about glaciation, and even standing in the sea in a wetsuit in February promising to catch the girls as they jumped off a boat.

Now I will openly admit that in this report the head makes no mention of the minibus – it is a short article, and the question of getting to and from each venue is not covered.

But I find it hard to imagine that such a varied and extensive range of activities could have been arranged without transport such as a minibus, simply because sometimes a coach full of students is just too many to take and look after in such challenging occupations as jumping off a boat.

However, I do know that whenever I talk about this sort of activity I do receive comments about the fact that the school can’t afford a minibus – or another minibus.

Which is where the leasing comes in.

With a minibus lease you will know how much you need to pay each month – and you will also be able to estimate how much the PTA might be able to raise for you each month towards that sum.

From then on there will be no question of waiting and waiting until the money is in the bank.  Now, this year’s students will be able to benefit from the extra minibus as well as next year’s and the year after’s.

You can find more information about Benchmark Leasing’s school minibus packages by visiting our website. Or, if you’d prefer, you can call us on 01753 859944 or email us at minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Benchmark Leasing Ltd
11 High Street
Eton
Berkshire
SL4 6AS

www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php

minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Tel: 01753 859944

“Learning outside the classroom is a great way of helping pupils with SEN to reach their potential, and Ofsted are rather keen on it too”

Elaine Skates, Deputy Chief Executive of the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom

SEN Magazine reports on the results of a survey, conducted by TeacherVoice on behalf of the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, revealing that 70% of teachers value LOtC over classroom teaching in terms of how effective it is at engaging different learning styles.

The article, entitled ‘Outside intervention’, reports that children with SEN typically learn best through doing, also known as kinaesthetic learning. However, this preferred learning style can sometimes be difficult to undertake effectively in the classroom.

It also highlights that in the school grounds and beyond there are more opportunities for pupils to undertake sensory learning which enables them to see, hear, smell, touch, and ultimately explore the world – encouraging pupils with SEN to “expand their horizons and become more alert and aware of the world around them.”

However learning outside the classroom doesn’t just support pupils in reaching their academic potential, but also support pupils with their personal development, particularly in terms of their confidence levels and communication skills.

Further to this, SEN Magazine states that LOtC is “relevant to demonstrating good/outstanding practice across all four areas of the Ofsted inspection framework”. However, evidence must be collected of such learning to achieve this, such as:

Attainment and achievement – examples of where LOtC can be directly linked to improved attainment.

Quality of teaching – proof that LOtC is well-planned and integrated into the curriculum with the aim of extending the knowledge, skills and understanding of pupils with different learning needs and abilities.

Behaviour and motivation – examples of how different learning environments increase your pupils’ motivation and encourage positive behaviours. It could be argued that LOtC promotes learning that improves pupils’ safety as they’re encouraged to manage risks themselves.

Leadership and management – clear documentation, including: LOtC in the school policy, LOtC evaluation (how has LOtC improved the quality of teaching and learning at the school?), and a development plan (how can LOtC be improve for the future?).

To get notifications of learning-outside-the-classroom activity and location ideas and more on information on how LOtC can be used to benefit your pupils’ learning and development, follow us on Twitter @MinibusLeasing or like our Facebook page – Benchmark Minibus.

For more information about Benchmark Leasing you can go to our website, call us on 01753 859944, or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk.

Link to article: https://senmagazine.co.uk/articles/articles/senarticles/outside-intervention-heling-pupils-wuth-sen-reach-their-potential-by-learning-outside-the-classroom 

It is a fact that minibuses are expensive. And at one point they were expensive to the point of being unaffordable as school budgets quite simply could not accommodate the large upfront expense that buying a minibus entailed.

However, schools have found a way to get around this expense so they can have a school minibus parked in the grounds of their school ready for the next school trip, away game, etc.

They have discovered that a school minibus is usually affordable under a leasing agreement that has been designed specifically with the school (and the school’s budget) in mind.

Through this arrangement the minibus leasing company not only leases out the minibus, but is also fully responsible for the maintenance of the minibus and for keeping the vehicle fully operational at all times.

A minibus which is leased is simply paid for on a monthly basis through a small monthly deduction from the school’s income and some schools are finding that it is possible to fund the minibus without actually taking anything from the school’s capital account.

In cases where trips are paid for by contributions from parents, it is possible to allocate a part of those payments towards the cost of the minibus.

And in other cases, the PTA has agreed to make a monthly contribution.

Benchmark Leasing specialises in the supply and maintenance of school minibuses. If you are interested in the benefits of a minibus do call us on 01753 859944 or click here to see what we can offer.

To get notifications of learning-outside-the-classroom activity and location ideas and how LOtC can be used to benefit your pupils’ learning and development, follow us on Twitter @MinibusLeasing or like our Facebook page – Benchmark Minibus.