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Plan A Field Trip For Special Kids

28th January 2022

School life is one of the best phases of one's life because the moments being created during one's school life can never be recreated. Having fun with friends, sharing lunch and snacks, preparing for exams, etc., are all the spicy ingredients that make school life very exciting. Besides, trips and tours like field trips, excursions, educational tours, etc., are the other sources of entertainment that one finds in school.

A field trip behavior management is an important issue because if not managed properly the happiness that is supposed to prevail can drastically change into nightmares. Planning a field trip, therefore, is not an easy task.

While planning a field trip, multiple aspects must be kept in mind like the climate, health issues of children, types of gifts like learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, etc., either a small group is going or a large group, and if the group is a mixed batch of special and ordinary children or not.

SEN teachers who have devoted themselves in the name of the special children often wonder how to plan a school field trip. SEN courses or special education courses help educators in teaching children using the best methodologies where every minute trait about a special child's behavior is mentioned and well explained. A field trip is one such funda that amuses specially-abled children and reminds those students how gifted they are.

Certain procedures must be followed while planning a school field trip. Those are:
 

1. The location
2. Discuss with your Administrator
3. Availability of Transportation
4. Food menu on the trip
5. Trip Schedule
6. Supervising methods
7. Seeking for permission
8. Students who'll be participating
9. Adding the trip to the curriculum

Choosing a perfect location is indeed a hectic job. An SEN teacher must be responsible for the safety of every child and therefore that location to be chosen must be devoid of any risk and hazardous substances. Special education needs (SEN) children always look for the day of the trip and teachers must make sure that their excitement does not go in vain.

Children with special needs require constant care and support. Consequently, teachers should never go to a place where kids might face difficulties. The place must have loos and restrooms attached to and those should be hygienic and properly maintained. Every case related to a special child is extremely delicate and teacher training courses like a certificate diploma, diploma in special education, or PG diploma in special education gives a clear view about gifted children to SEN educators.

The next step is getting permission from the school administrators. Educators must be aware of the norms related to the field trip and thus should chalk out points before presenting the idea to the administration. the administrator must have a clear concept that why this trip is occurring, where, who all are participating, what about the mode of transportation, food menu, and most importantly safety of the members going.

In the case of transportation, it is of prime importance to look after the comfort level of the mode of transportation. It is advisable to use the school bus as the trip is all about school children and having a known driver and vehicle is always safer than any travel agency's support.
 

The food menu is another significant issue. Children love junk foods and soda but teachers should keep in mind that those foods are not so good for health. Therefore, the preparation for meals must be planned in a way that will be appealing, satiating, and yet healthy. There are multiple ways of decorating healthy foods that look extremely eye-pleasing and grab the attraction of students to a great extent.

The meals should be packed hygienically in aluminium foils or so before setting off so that they do not become cold while reaching the destination. A strict eye should be kept on the packaging details as well so that food and beverages do not spill and make an unnecessary mess.
 

A timeline must be prepared that will state every detail of that trip including all the activities that have been planned. It will be the responsibility of the teacher to supervise the entire trip properly and if needed some school staff members can also join to support him or her. Before deciding the location, a form or permission should be sent to the authority of that place along with a no-objection letter prescribed by the school. Everything must be done legally so that nobody has to face any hurdle in the future.

A field trip can be of mixed batch students where both special and ordinary kids will participate. There can be different types of special children or one type and all these factors must be judged and planned very carefully. All information regarding their health issues, habits, special characteristics must be there with the teacher that will prevent any chance of the arrival of a problem. Thus, the trip can be successful and can be added as a successful curriculum.

SEN courses will guide tutors to the fullest regarding taking care of gifted children and all the teachers have to do is understand their thought processes, and support them immensely to bring the best out of them.

Written By: Rimpa Ghosh