Planning a field trip sounds fun, but it isn’t easy. From getting administrative approval and scheduling transportation to getting parent permission, it can feel like you’ve gone from teaching to project management.
The most important aspect of the process, though, is parent communication. It can be difficult to know what to include in your field trip permission slip and how to lay it out.
Here, we offer our tips to designing a permission slip that is teacher and parent approved.
Information to Include on Your Permission Slip
When you’re creating your field trip permission slip, it’s important that you both ask for the right information and give it too. You don’t want to end up with a student who forgot to pack a lunch, or one with a bee allergy and no EpiPen.
Here are some details to include:
Field Trip Location
The field trip location is what creates the excitement for the parent and child. It also helps parents know how to dress their child appropriately. To really build interest, talk it up. It’s one thing to say you’re taking a trip to the zoo. It’s quite another when parents learn their child will be going to the zoo where they’ll be face-to-face with 15 different sharks at the newly built sea-life attraction.
Date and Time
Three of the most critical pieces of information to share are:
- The day the field trip takes place,
- The departure time, and
- The expected return time.
Providing this information allows parents to coordinate scheduling and give them a sense of security knowing exactly where their child should be at any given moment.
Lunch Arrangements
Will students be provided lunch? Should they bring a sack lunch? Money? Make sure you let parents know if there is anything they need to do to ensure their child has plenty to eat and drink while on your trip.
Field Trip Fees
As a parent, nothing is more frustrating than being told your child couldn’t participate in something because they didn’t have the money to pay for it, especially if you never knew they needed it.
Help parents avoid this frustration by specifying how much they need to pay, the methods of payment that are accepted, and the deadline for sending the funds. Many times, parents think they can send the money with their child the day of, when funds need to be collected and recorded at least a couple of days prior.
Due Dates
This part will seem redundant, but as you know, it’s worth repeating. Be specific about due dates for payment and permission slip returns.
If possible, provide reminders leading up to the due date so that parents don’t miss it and their child gets the opportunity to participate in one of the most memorable parts of their educational experience. As tempting as it seems, don’t be too generous with the dates.
Give yourself ample time to collect, and report the funds so you and your school can plan accordingly.
Expectations
Not every field trip permission slip will need to include expectations, but it’s a good idea. Do students need to wear closed toed shoes? Do they need to remain quiet and seated throughout the field trip? Expectations give parents the opportunity to prepare their child for the event. You, of course, will do this too, but it’s helpful to involve parents to support the directions students receive at school.
Calls to action: Volunteers
Every good field trip needs good volunteers. Don’t be afraid to ask! Be clear about what you need. How many people can volunteer? What will they be doing? How do they sign up? If you’ve included all the pertinent information and clearly asked for what you need, you’ll be surprised at how good of a turnout you will have.
What to ask of Parents/Guardians
Now that you’ve given parents all of the information they need, be sure to ask for what you need as well. Here’s what you should consider adding to your permission slip form:
Basic Student Information
The student’s name, grade, and teacher’s name should be included on the form, even if the teacher themselves is the one creating it. This will not only make collecting funds and knowing who has permission easier, but it will help the front office staff double check and record that information as well. Plus, there will likely be more than one class participating, so you want to make keeping information separated as easy as possible.
Medical Information
Asking for medical information will ensure your students are safe and can be tended to if there’s an injury and illness.
If you don’t already have this information readily accessible, you may want to ask for:
- Allergies.
- Medications and whether or not they need to be taken on during the field trip.
- Special health conditions your school should be aware of.
You might also want to consider asking for health insurance information and contact information for their doctor so everything goes smoothly if you need to seek medical treatment.
Emergency Contacts
If an emergency happens and the parents aren’t available, you’ll need to know who to contact. While your school probably has this information on file, including it on the field trip permission slip ensures you can quickly access it and it’s the most current information available.
Parental Consent
This seems obvious, but make sure you ask for parent/guardian permission for the trip. Provide a space for parents and guardians to clearly mark “yes, my student has permission” or “no, my student does not have permission” to avoid any miscommunication. You also may want to consider asking for content for medical treatment and/or a media consent to take pictures if your school district doesn’t already have this paperwork on file.
Design Your Field Trip Permission Slip
Once you know all of the information you will need to include on your permission slip, it’s to design it. Generally, you’ll want to give the field trip information first and then have the parent provide the requested information and sign. This lets you create a “return to school” portion so the parents can keep the details section.
Try to keep your permission slip to one page. If you go any longer than that, you are likely asking for too much information. Having just one page makes it much easier to keep school paperwork organized and find information.
Consider a Paperless School Permission Slip
If you’re looking for an easy way to design, deliver, and track your permission slips, consider making it paperless with a system like LINQ.
With LINQ, you can easily move fields around to make any of your school forms electronic. Once your permission slip is created, parents can go online to complete it and make payment.
Paperless school permission slip forms save everyone time and prevent them from getting lost. Discover how Script can help your school create paperless forms, and save time and money. Check out our field trip permission slip template or schedule a demo today.
Consider a Paperless School Permission Slip
If you’re looking for an easy way to design, deliver, and track your permission slips, consider making it paperless with a system like LINQ.
With LINQ, you can easily move fields around to make any of your school forms electronic. Once your permission slip is created, parents can go online to complete it and make payment.
Paperless school permission slip forms save everyone time and prevent them from getting lost. Discover how Script can help your school create paperless forms, and save time and money. Check out our field trip permission slip template or schedule a demo today.