School children are missing out on trips due to financial issues (Image: KENNEDY)
Research conducted by Hyundai Motor UK suggests that educational excursions can boost children’s attention by 80%, their curiosity by 75%, and their happiness by 60%.
Yet two-fifths (40%) of children across the UK have either missed out entirely or come close to missing out on such experiences owing to their parents’ financial limitations.
Teachers also cite cost as the most significant barrier for schools (82%) and for parents (77%) — despite 81% of them asserting that school trips are essential to their child’s wellbeing.
Hyundai claims their nationwide study of thousands of children, parents and teachers has pinpointed what makes for a positive school day. This has shaped their School Experience Index (SE Index), which is said to bring together wellbeing and engagement into a single score.
It is hoped this will assist schools in gauging how experiences such as school trips enhance children’s learning and wellbeing in comparison to a standard classroom day.
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Hyundai’s Great British School Trip helps families with bursaries (Image: KENNEDY)
The study was carried out by University of Greenwich behavioural scientist Dr Martha Newson and evaluated the feelings of more than 100 children both on a school trip and during an ordinary school day.
It purports to demonstrate that children enjoy a marked uplift when learning takes place outside the classroom. Results also revealed a 71% rise in excitement, 70% in memory-making, 62% in inspiration, and 40% in self-esteem.
Dr Newson said: “We measured how the same children felt and behaved on a normal school day versus a school trip day.
“By doing this we found significant uplifts in curiosity and self-esteem on trip days, which are factors closely linked to engagement and learning.
Two fifths of parents can’t afford or struggle to send their kids on school trips (Image: KENNEDY)
“Our research means that we can see how the trip impacted factors like wellbeing, confidence, self-esteem and focus.
“We tracked the same pupils on both regular and trip days across a range of school trip types. The SE Index turns what teachers have long observed into quantifiable evidence.
“It’s designed to support education providers to plan experiences that will have the most positive impact.”
In the survey of more than 100 teachers, 93% stated trips should offer new experiences, 91% believed they should prioritise learning new facts and 89% felt they should value developing skills beyond the classroom.
The study even disclosed that 77% of children describe a school trip as their ‘best school day ever’.
Research by Hyundai Motor UK claims educational excursions can boost kids’ attention by 80% (Image: KENNEDY)
The research marks the fourth year of Hyundai’s Great British School Trip programme, which provides essential funding for trips to schools nationwide.
Hyundai’s Great British School Trip initiative claims to have invested more than £3 million in bursaries to send over 200,000 children on school trips since 2022.
They say it has reached almost a third (30%) of schools across the UK and they plan to invite parents to become involved and help bring more school trips to life. Ashley Andrew, President of Hyundai Motor and Genesis UK, commented: “Hyundai’s Great British School Trip programme is all about giving children access to truly memorable learning beyond the classroom that they may not have had otherwise.
“And now, with the School Experience Index, we’re able to give teachers rigorous, science-backed data that they can use to plan really impactful school trips.”
To find out more about the programme and to apply for bursary funding, you can visit https://greatbritishschooltrip.com/