School trips & special school days
Special school days develop pupils & create memories that last a lifetime
School calendars are busy places brimming with events and visits. In addition to classroom-based lessons, there's also a wealth of workshops, activities and trips to support children with their learning.
Trips enhance cultural capital and enable pupils to have new experiences that they might not have otherwise had. My class visited Sea Life London to support their learning about penguins and Antarctica. They were able to see real-life penguins, tropical fish and other sea creatures. Visiting the London attraction was an opportunity that many of them might not have had outside of school. During the trip, some pupils had their first experience on an escalator, and others were first-time underground users. It was lovely to see nervous pupils overcoming their fears, and I encouraged and supported them every step of the way.
Before pupils are taken on trips, there's always lots to think about and plan. In my school, parents and carers were always informed of trips via letter. As well as asking for adult helpers, the letter informed parents and carers of the trip details and when pupils would be back at school. On short trips, pupils were always told to bring a coat, and a backpack was essential for day trips. It was just so they were hands-free and could carry a packed lunch. The pupil-to-adult ratio was always a consideration ahead of trips, as there was often a need for additional staff or parent-helpers. If a trip went into lunchtime, the school kitchen was informed, so they could provide packed lunches for pupils.
Before any trip, teachers had to complete a recce and risk assessment. It's important that teachers do the journey that they'll take with their pupils so they can identify any potential hazards. Our risk assessments highlighted the medical needs of pupils, and their medication was always taken on trips, along with a first aid kit. The headteacher was always informed of planned trips and signed the risk assessments. Pupils all wore the school's high-visibility vests on trips, which were worn over their coats. They walked in pairs, and adult helpers stood in the road when pupils were crossing.
School children are excellent fundraisers, and red noses and Pudsey bear badges sell like hotcakes (for Comic Relief and Children in Need fundraising events). No uniform days are also very popular, and pupils love themed dress-up days. World Book Day is a key date in most school calendars when books are celebrated and pupils and staff dress up as much-loved book characters. I loved seeing Harry Potter, Hermione, Goldilocks and Matilda arrive at school.
Can you guess who I was on World Book Day?
. Special events such as book sales, bake sales and workshops are also really fun days in school. Visits from emergency workers and animals also go down a treat with pupils. Baby chicks, a dog from a local charity and a pen full of farm animals were just some of the furry visitors that my pupils got to meet.
Sports Day
My school's sports day was organised by a fantastic sports coach and a spectacular bunch of year 5's. The key stage 1 event took place on the school field, on a sunny June morning, and parents were invited to come and watch. Pupils were split into different teams and given the name of a country as their team name.
Teachers were all assigned a different sports station or event and facilitated the teams as they made their way around the field. The stations included a sack race, a goal-scoring point and an egg and spoon race. I facilitated archery, and a couple of amazing year 5 pupils taught me how to use the equipment. They recorded the scores for each team and tallied them all at the end. The teams all moved on to the next station when they heard the sound of a loud horn.
It was a really fun morning, with music, sportsmanship, families and laughter. I really liked how the event focused on teamwork rather than individual success. It culminated in an awards ceremony on the field, with the top three teams all receiving medals. Parents stayed for the awards and then kindly left their children, as they made their way back to their lessons. Sports Day was a real success, and it was one of my favourite school events.
Summer Fete
The summer term seemed to have a string of fun-filled events. My school's summer fete was on a Tuesday night in June and began shortly after school had finished. There hadn't been a school fete for a couple of years due to the pandemic, so it was a highly anticipated event. Thankfully, it was a lovely balmy evening, following a heat wave, and there wasn't any rain. An amazing teaching assistant organised the evening and spent the whole day setting it all up. She'd been planning it for months, along with the school council, and was thrilled to be hosting it again.
The fete was a spectacle, and the school field was flooded with gazebos. There was a book stall, a cake stall, a toy stall, a raffle and more. Pupils could throw a wet sponge at a teacher, and there was a much-needed ice cream van and candy floss seller. Teachers were all assigned a different stall, and I was at one of the bouncy castles. I loved chatting with all the families and seeing the children enjoying themselves. Meeting siblings from other year groups and babies in prams made it a real family affair. There was a great community spirit as families from all cultures mingled, and I loved it. It was a fun and safe event, and it's definitely one of my favourite memories from my first year of teaching.
