Hi Carol

I haven't been to the trenches in France so cannot comment on accessibility but I did take a group of 8 wheelchair users to The Staffordshire Regiment trenches which are also near the National Memorial Arboretum. Maybe school could consider this as an alternative for all pupils?

I feel that asking Mum to go would be seen as discriminating and also not very empowering for the girl whose peers will be without parental supervision. We have a policy locally of advising that all newly appointed school support staff should have personal care responsibilities written into their job description.

Not sure how much this helps your particular situation. Sorry

Thanks for your response. It's always helpful to know of other places that are accessible, but in this case the trip had already been booked for several months before the girl joined the school in year 10 and expressed an interest. Since it is a GCSE History trip I'm not sure whether it would have to be France- but certainly for KS3 groups who do it in some schools it's a useful suggestion I could make for them.

If LSAs are specifically appointed for a young person we would also put the personal care side in the advert; unfortunately these are LSAs who were already in the school and have been allocated to support her.

Many thanks for your help

Carol

Hi Carol

The school also needs to think about trips out and about in France; it is not the easiest of countries to travel round if you have a PD.  Although not a fast food fan, whenever we go on holiday we find ourselves frequenting a certain fast food chain just because so often it’s the only place you can guarantee you’ll get an accessible toilet.

Thanks Jane- good point!