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.

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