Planning residential trips for children – how it all began
Whilst I’ve planned travel extensively, both for work in the past and for family trips, this doesn’t come close to comparing the level of planning, preparation and challenges faced when taking other people’s children away on residential trips!
The rewards however are incredible and it’s the most fulfilling experience when everything comes together and a great trip is delivered.
For me, what started in 2022, as a one-off organisation of a rugby tour to Matlock has evolved through me organising primary school residentials and now to a new career as a Travel Consultant at Blue Stamp Travel. Oh and of course, organising many more rugby tours!
Where it all started
As team manager for a local under 10’s rugby team, it was our turn to organise the annual rugby tour…100 children, two nights away somewhere in the UK, outward bound activities and a rugby festival to finish the weekend…. reluctantly I took it on, knowing from my own children that this was the highlight of their year & if no-one volunteered, they’d miss out!
Thankfully, I thrive on being organised and I threw myself into the challenge with numerous spreadsheets & new risk assessments created within days…leaning slightly on the teachers within the family!
Venues were booked & visited to assess suitability, many meetings were held with rugby coaches, parents and children to make sure all medical & dietary needs were catered for, DBS checks sorted for all attending adults, and everyone knew what the weekend itinerary was looking like. The details were endless! Costs were determined, monies collected, and payments made. Finally with packing lists ticked off, it was time to head up to Matlock, two coaches full of excited children and their rugby coaches for Tour 2022!
It was a tremendous but exhausting weekend, seeing the children having the time of their lives was one of the best feelings ever!
Now whilst, in theory, I’d done my duty as 2022 Tour manager, I somehow sensed that this wouldn’t be the end of it!
How it developed
Working in a primary school, my experience running a successful rugby tour immediately became the chat of the staffroom and soon I found myself working within year 4 who funnily enough…. during the Spring term have an annual residential trip!
Within a matter of weeks, I was gathering information from the families, liaising with the accommodation provider to sort the itinerary and working with them to ensure all special requirements within the diverse group of young people were met. As the first aider, I had the additional responsibility for the medical requirements and made sure that this was all in place.
For many of the children, this was their first time away from home which was a big deal for them and their parents! Prior to the trip, I worked directly with the families to reassure them and put any worries at ease.
During the trip, it was wonderful to see the children outside of the classroom and see their personalities come alive with the new experiences and challenges they faced. The trip delivered such a positive experience for all, and it was incredible to be a part of it.
Despite stress that can come with managing a group travelling away from home, the sense of accomplishment when everyone is back safely having had the most amazing time makes it all worth it! I loved being involved in my first school trip so went onto support many more at the same school.
What I’m doing now
Out of the blue, in Autumn 2025, a brilliant opportunity arose for me to become a Travel Consultant at Blue Stamp Travel!
So now, I can apply my experience of planning and delivering residential experiences for young people every day.
I’m so excited to be given the chance to learn & develop further alongside the wonderful team at Blue Stamp and to be able to plan and deliver enriching school trips for a career…. Maybe whilst also planning just a couple more rugby tours in my spare time!
