GOING ON A SCHOOL TRIP IN VIETNAM

If you work with children at schools in Vietnam, there will inevitably be a time when you need to go on a school trip with the children. These are very different to trips that you may have previously taken with children in other countries so best to be prepared. Let’s find out what you need to prepare when going on a school trip in vietnam with VTJ now!

Preparation

preparation (source: Internet)

As with all trips, it is important to initially prepare. You will find that your school will have a risk assessment form to fill in.  This is usually quite a long and detailed document which outlines the possible hazards that may be produced through the trip and ways that you can counteract these as much as possible. 

However, you may be surprised to find that typically teachers simply copy a previous risk assessment form rather than actually going to the site to check to see if anything has changed between the previous visit and this one. You then have a choice of simply agreeing that there is not much chance of some major changes at the location between the previous visit and now, or you can take it upon yourself to go along and make your own risk assessment. 

If you do decide to go along and make your own risk assessment, be sure to take your work ID so that you can prove the reason behind your visit. The place that you visit will be used to people coming and taking a look to see if it is suitable and thus will let you in for free so that you can have a good look. 

When looking for your risk assessment be sure to look out for sharp edges from which children could injure themselves and also look for potential dangers e.g. water that they could fall in / things that they could climb up and propel themselves off from! Don’t forget to also have a look at the toilets – make sure that there are enough toilets and that they are clean enough ( it may be a good idea to flush a toilet to check and turn on a tap to check for a good supply of water ) Check that there is toilet paper available ( as if not, you can make sure that you bring more with you ! ) 

What to take with you 

Your school may have a first aid bag that you can take with you. Do make sure that you check the contents of the bag instead of simply assuming that it will have all the things that you need. Typically you will need plasters / eye drops ( or eye wash )  / paracetamol/ tissues / bandage / cleaning alcohol and cotton wool – don’t forget plastic gloves for the person administering the possible first aid! 

Remember to check the first aid bag before you go on the trip 

check the first aid bag before you go on the trip (Source: Internet)

Make sure that you have all the phone numbers of people at the school in case of emergencies and that you have credit on your phone so you can make a call if needed. 

Take money with you (just in case ) – this is to ensure that you have money for an emergency taxi to the clinic if suddenly needed or alternatively if you get there and find that they charge a different price to the agreed one and more admission money is needed. 

The trip itself 

The trip itself (Source: Internet)

Make sure that you have a class list and are aware of the number of children that you are taking with you. Make sure that you count the children very frequently – it is much easier to lose a child than you realise! 

Make sure that you regularly count your children to make sure they are all there ! 

Make sure that you regularly count your children to make sure they are all there (source: Internet)

Ideally, each child should have a badge which details which school they are from and the contact numbers so if a child does wander off alone and is found then the school can be contacted. 

When going on a trip you may be surprised to find that the children are typically squashed into a bus with two to a seat. Do make sure that you put the seat belts on the children ( as much as possible ) and rearrange the adults if needs be so that no children are in the front seat. The front seat really is dangerous for children so do be sure to stress this when getting on the bus. 

Photographs 

Photographs (source: Internet)

Although you may have assumed that the main purpose of the trip was to educate the children in a new environment, you will be surprised that your Vietnamese colleagues instead seem to focus on the number of photographs that they can take of the trip. 

Although this may seem irrelevant to ex-pats, in Vietnamese culture it is important to have a wonderful set of photographs of the children on the trip. This will be expected by the parents and the school and will be used in newsletters/brochures etc – so rather than becoming irritated with it, it is advised that you simply join in with your broad ex-pat smile and allow the photos to be staged and taken. 

Allocate a lot of time for photo taking whilst on the trip! 

However, it is fine to make sure that there is time for educational aspects as well. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is to suggest that a certain amount of time is taken for the photo taking and then a certain amount of time when it is educational ( although one person can still continue to take the photographs ) 

You will probably finish the trip feeling that it was a photo shoot rather than an educational visit, however, it is important to simply note that this is the way it is in Vietnam and it won’t change overnight!  

Overall, when faced with organising and going on an educational trip, it is important to be flexible – not to have your Western expectations and assumptions leading your emotions. Instead, simply enjoy it as an experience and yet another wonderful Vietnamese story that you will be telling friends and family in the future!