With a number of primary schools set to take pupils on an end-of-term trip to see the sights of London over the coming weeks, headteachers have been forced to reconsider their plans after the second terrorist attack to hit the capital in recent months.
Vickerstown Primary School, North Walney Primary School, Ormsgill Primary School, Dalton St Mary’s and Askam Village Primary School are among those which have already cancelled their upcoming trips to the capital following discussions with parents.
Lynda Woodburn, headteacher at Dalton St Mary’s, said that during her meeting with parents today she had been asked if the decision to cancel was “letting the terrorists win”.
“We have been planning this trip for the last two years and we have continually carried out risk assessments during that time,” Mrs Woodburn said.
“We carried out a further risk assessment after Saturday’s attack and following feedback from parents I decided it wasn’t fair for staff to be put in such a position of responsibility.”
In a remarkable turnaround, Mrs Woodburn has recruited local businesses and leisure centres to arrange a fun-packed five days of activities including a campover at school with a barbecue, a meal at Abbey House Hotel and a trip to Lakeside YMCA.
Headteachers at St George’s, Roose and Haverigg Primary School are all due to hold meetings with parents last night before making a decision. South Walney Junior School and St James Catholic Primary School in Millom are also set to invite parents to a meeting.
Parents at the schools have paid around £250 per child and it is not yet known if this can be recouped through the insurance policy.
It is understood that the itinerary of Chetwynde School’s trip to London tomorrow has been amended.
Sir John Barrow School in Ulverston is holding a parents’ meeting on Thursday to discuss how their trip to London at the end of June should be managed in light of the recent terrorist attacks.
At a meeting with 21 parents last night, Yarlside Academy headteacher Janine Pierce said they had decided to go ahead with their London trip on June 19 after hearing of the changes and additional security measures due to be put in place.
“Quite a few of the parents who had been concerned changed their minds after hearing how we would change the itinerary and put extra measure in place to allay their fears," Mrs Pierce said.
"We are going to cut out the walking tour and replace it with a different attraction. We're also going to increase the adult to child ratio from one adult per five kids, and we'll be updating our social media and sending text messages to parents at every step of the way so they know where we are and where we're going next.
"We've also got one extra parent coming with us who's a police officer, so that reassured the parents too."
The mother of one Walney School pupil contacted the Evening Mail to voice her worries about her child’s visit to Paris next month.
Her younger child was also due to go on Vickerstown’s London trip which has now been cancelled.
The mum-of-two said: “I do see where people are coming from when they say it is allowing the terrorists to win if we cancel our plans but can you imagine if something happened while they were away?
“It would be completely different if I was going with them but you’re putting your child’s safety in someone else’s hands.
“We had to sign up and start paying for the Paris trip over a year ago. It’s an awful situation but after what’s happened recently, I don’t want either of my children to go anywhere like that without me.”
The majority of parents who have voiced their opinions so far agree with the decision to cancel trips to London.
In an online poll on the Evening Mail’s website, two thirds said they would not allow their child to go on a school trip to the capital.
Teachers across the UK have all been issued with fresh guidance on how to tackle the topic of terrorism in the wake of recent attacks.
The overwhelming advice is that both teachers and parents are encouraged to be proactive in these conversations, not reactive.
Yarlside headteacher Mrs Pierce added: “We don’t want our children to live in fear, we need to be open and honest with them.”
Terrorism is a difficult issue to talk to children about because even adults struggle with it, both the motivations behind it and the trauma it can cause. Young people are exposed to the news in so many ways it would be practically impossible to shelter them from reports of terrorist attacks and they may want to talk about it.
The NSPCC stresses that the important thing throughout any conversation is to make your child feel comfortable in talking to you, that you reassure them that they are loved and safe, and that you don’t panic them with your worries.
Terrorism is a frightening reality but, by remembering to ask them questions, listen to their answers, being honest, and reassuring and comforting them, you can help them to feel safer and calm their worries.
HELPFUL VIDEOS
The NSPCC and The Times have produced a helpful short documentary which shows the different ways parents can talk to their children about terrorism. You can watch it below.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PyeVdGvgdS0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
A clip from children's news programme Newsround also aims to answer any child's worries direct. You can watch it below.
<iframe width="400" height="500" frameborder="0" src="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/13865002/embed"></iframe>
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