The Ultimate Checklist: What Every Educational Tour Should Include
Posted on April 29, 2019
Educational tours are jam-packed full of benefits and should be part of every child’s school experience. However, with there being so many things to remember in terms of organising the tour and staying in line with all the regulations that must be followed when taking children out of their usual classroom environment, sometimes it can be difficult to successfully implement the plans into a tour. Therefore, we have created the ultimate checklist for you, so you can organise the best educational tour and not forget a thing!
1. Choose The Destination
The first part of an educational tour that you need to plan is the destination. Without knowing where you’re going, everything else won’t work. It’s important that a lot of thought is put into choosing the best destination for your educational tour. Whether you choose to stay in the same country or travel abroad, the destination needs to have relevance to either what you are teaching your children or what will be taught to them in the following term. There is no point in choosing a destination that isn’t going to benefit or educate the children about something they need to know.
Ultimately you want this tour to consolidate your children’s knowledge, as well as encourage and motivate them to continue their studies. Despite it being an educational tour, it’s also a chance for your children to make memories with their classmates that they will carry with them for years to come.
2. Get Permission
It’s given that you will need permission from both the principal at your school/college, but also from the parents. That is why it’s important that you have a firm plan put together before you showcase your idea to them, so they have more of a reason to say yes.
3. Organise Transportation
No matter where you are travelling to, efficient transport is necessary, especially when you have a group of children who don’t want to wait for ages for a coach to turn up. You will need to know each stage of your tour, so you can instruct and book your transportation accordingly on your educational tour.
4. Create An Itinerary
The key to the most successful educational tour is to have a planned itinerary. You will have a number of children that you are responsible for, so you will need to keep them occupied and engaged, and definitely not bored! Make sure that you schedule some time in for ‘free time’. It depends on the age of the group whether you let them go off shopping or they just play in a local park under your watchful eye.
Ensure that your itinerary for your educational tour includes enough time for you to see everything, but not too long that it becomes dull for the children.
5. You Need Supervision
When it comes to taking children on educational tours, you need to have enough adults to the number of children you have, to ensure maximum safety for the children. This can depend on the age of the children, as well as their maturity. For example, a group of young children may need lots of supervision, so you may need help from some of the parents, as they might not be enough spare staff.
6. Permission Forms Are Necessary
You need to create a permission form for the parents to sign to say that they give permission for their child to go on the educational tour. The letter needs to include where you are going, the reason why you are taking the children on the educational tour and how it connects to the curriculum. It also must include when you are leaving and when you’ll be back, as well as contact information. All the details of the tour, including meals, transport, as well as prices must be included, so the parents are fully aware as to what they are paying for and where their children will be. You will need to get a signature from the parents and the name of the child that's attending the tour, so you have proof of the permission.
As you can see, organising and planning an educational tour is quite intense and takes up a lot of time. Therefore, if you want a seamless and successful education tour planned, don’t hessite to get in touch with our team, who have a lot of knowledge and expertise in organising them.
