A Field Trip Permission Slip is a document allowing the facility to take minor children on a trip away from the facility, keeping them safe and providing valuable information in case of an accident.
While a field trip may be a lot of fun for the students, a lot of planning goes on behind the scenes to ensure the field trip happens and goes off without any problem. Those in charge of organizing the field trip will need to get approval from the administration, schedule the date and time, figure out transportation options, and get permission from the parents to take the children. There must be a lot of open communication to make all of this come together.
The facility hosting the trip can’t take any student away on the field trip without communicating this to the parents and giving the parent a chance to approve or disapprove of the child’s tour. The parent will need to know about the details of the field trip and what their child needs to bring and should communicate about medical concerns or other potential problems before the trip.
All of this can be done through a field trip permission slip.
What is a Permission Slip?
When an organization, most often a school but could also be a daycare or another group, decides to take the children on a trip away from the usual facility, they need to send home a sheet to the parents to gain permission. This ensures that the parents know about the movement and the trip and that the organization is not just taking the children without prior knowledge.
This document is vital for alerting the parents of what is going on, giving them a chance to approve or disapprove of the trip. Furthermore, it provides liability protection for the organization while traveling with minors. In addition, the permission slip will let the organization know who to contact if an emergency occurs on the trip. While the facility likely has that information stored somewhere, having the permission slip on hand will make a big difference.
What to Include in a Field Trip Permission Slip?
You should add different things to the field trip permission slip based on the activity you plan to have and how many children are going along. Some of the information that needs to be present in this document includes:
Relevant details of the activity
You will need to include all of the information that will answer as many questions as possible for the parents ahead of time. In addition, it will need to summarize the trip, including where the trip will take place, where it is going, the time they will be gone, and what the costs will be. If transportation is needed, this letter can also include information about needing parents to help or whether the students will use the school bus to get there.
Each field trip permission slip will include different information. However, some of the essential information to include is:
- Teacher in charge: Ensure to include information on which teacher is in charge of this field trip. This will help the parents know who is responsible and who to contact if they have more questions at the time. You can list more than one teacher in charge if necessary.
- Field trip location: Tell the parents where the field trip will go. The name of the location and any relevant address is essential.
- Date and time: You need to list the date and the time the field trip will occur. It is best to include a time when the field trip begins and the time when you expect to be back to help answer questions.
- Lunch arrangements: If the students have to take their lunch with them for the field trip, you must also include information on lunch arrangements. Some field trips will provide this, and others will ask the children to bring a lunch.
- Field trip fees: Some field trips will have fees, while others will be free of cost. Let the parents know the cost of the field trip so they can send the money along with the child ahead of time.
- Due date: You need to have all the permission slips handed in ahead of time to know which students are going and make arrangements as needed. Give the parents enough time to submit the permission slip for a field trip while not cutting it too close.
- Expectations: There are sometimes rules based on where you are going for the field trip. If this is true for where you are going, list all the expectations and rules ahead. The parents can then discuss this with the children and ensure the rules are followed along the way.
Parental/guardian consent
Before accepting the permission slip and letting the child go on the field trip, you need to ask for permission from the parents or guardians. Leave some room on the permission slip for this to happen. For example, include a statement where they can write that they permit their child to take the trip.
This does not have to be a complicated or long paragraph at all. Something as simple as
“I agree to permit “child” to attend the field trip at “location.”
will often be enough. If there are special rules you need to follow, you can also add those to the permission line.
Medical details
Some children may have allergies or need to take medication on the field trip, so including medical details or their medical consent form will be super important to include space for the medical details of the child in case they need special attention during the field trip.
If there is a child in the group with a specific medical condition or an allergy, or if the field trip happens over an extended period, ensure there is some space for the guardian or parent to give information about these medical concerns. This will make it easier for the teachers and volunteers to look at that information and provide the needed medications or other options.
Emergency contacts
The field trip permission slip should include a space for emergency contacts. Everyone hopes the field trip will go well, but there are times when someone will get hurt, and the organization will need to contact someone for the child. This emergency contact will be the person who can be reached if the child is injured on the field trip. The emergency contact should be someone other than the parent or guardian, such as a family friend or another relative.
Call to action: volunteers
All field trips will need assistance from parents and others to be successful. For example, one or two teachers may struggle to handle all the children and move them from one area to another. Maybe you need parents to help organize the field trip, parents who travel with the kids on the bus or provide transportation, or assistance getting other things done to help the field trip go well.
If your field trip will need some volunteers, put that information on the permission slip. This will help parents know that you need this assistance and can be an excellent way to get a few people to sign up to help. You can have them contact you or leave space on the sheet for them to agree to help, along with a contact method, so you can get ahold of them about the various volunteer opportunities you have.
Parent/guardians signature
You must have the parent or guardian’s signature at the end of the permission slip for a field trip. This is one of the essential parts, so do not skip it at all. Make sure there is a line at the bottom for the parent or guardian to sign to show they give full permission for the field trip and for their child to go on the trip.
Special comments or instructions
When possible, make sure that your permission slip has space for some comments or special instructions. Most parents are not going to fill this part out, but it does allow some parents to have some room to include any essential information or comments about the field trip that you did not explicitly ask for in the rest of the sheet. This can keep you protected along the way and ensures you have all the information to make the field trip successful.
Permission Slip Format
I, ________________________, grant permission for my child, _______________________ to partake in the (event/trip/project)__________________, on (Date/time)__________, with ______________________.
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Conclusion
A field trip permission slip allows a school or another organization to take children away from the facility for a day or longer. This is usually an educational trip, such as a zoo trip or a visit to a museum. This permission slip alerts the parents of the field trip and asks for permission ahead of time, which allows the parent to know about the field trip and choose whether their child can go on the outing while providing the necessary information like emergency contacts, allergies, and other vital data to help the organizers of the field trip be prepared.
Field trips can be an excellent way for the facility to get kids out and about, teach them something new, and make learning a lot of fun. The permission slip ensures that the parents can provide the required information to keep the child safe during the field trip. Any school or facility that would like to take the children out on a field trip should send out this permission slip and give the parents time to respond to ensure the field trip is a success.