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Skiing Europe/Chris Reynard - Children's ski holiday left in ruins.

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Samerberg Sue

If SE owes you more than £750 you should file for a County Court Judgement against Reynard trading as SE if the debt is less than 6 years old. If there had been more CCJs against SE then it would have been more difficult for him to carry on operating - I also expect that CCJs may be the only demands for payment that Reynard has an interest in and he seriously doesn't think he has any obligation to pay until then.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Samerberg Sue, Stephen101,

Thanks for that. It can't be said too often!
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Next you will be telling us all that of you are under paid and over worked, wish i had a job that was made up of 20+ weeks holiday per year fully paid or a job where training days are at the expense of the children you teach, how gaulling is it to have your child off for 6 weeks only to be told that they cannot go back on the first date due because the teachers are training, they have just had 6 fu******g weeks to carry out training.

And before you ask i know plenty of teachers who participate in these school trips funded by the parents and they are a jolly, their words not mine!!!! Twisted Evil
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I wish I had a job with 20+ weeks of holiday a year too. I'm a teacher.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Apologies - Typo - should be 12+ weeks Shocked
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leedsunited, There is an advert on Sky right now asking people to train as teachers. You have not missed your chance! Despite the fabulous holidays and easy money people are not queueing up to join. (And of course, the free ski trips.) What are you waiting for?

snowHead
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Not worth responding to leedsunited,
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Chris Bish, I seem to remember a certain teacher travelling to LDA at his own expense then linking up with his school trip and spending most of his time with them. Dedication or what wink
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Stephen101, so long ago it is not worth it and I no longer live in the UK so I really cannot be bothered. I doubt if it would ever actually get to court anyway as the period concerned was 1988 and 1989.

leedsunited, you must have been badly scarred by someone at school to have such blinkered view of the teaching profession. Sad that you never enjoyed any inspirational teaching as many of us obviously luckier than you did. rolling eyes
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Colin B, Not at all. Enjoyed skiing with my students, but not prepared to do the work involved for the mere cost of a ski trip. The hourly rate (24 hours on call!) was just not good enough. The dedicated ones were the ones who went for "free". I wouldn't do it.

snowHead
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Samerberg Sue wrote:
Stephen101, so long ago it is not worth it and I no longer live in the UK so I really cannot be bothered. I doubt if it would ever actually get to court anyway as the period concerned was 1988 and 1989.

leedsunited, you must have been badly scarred by someone at school to have such blinkered view of the teaching profession. Sad that you never enjoyed any inspirational teaching as many of us obviously luckier than you did. rolling eyes


Samberg Sue - I had many inspirational teachers but i chose a proffesion that was to serve Queen and Country which i found to be much more rewarding than going to university at the tax payers expense to study degrees that will have no value to society thereafter. Just need to go into Headingley any weekday night to see that study is the last thing on many students agenda.

I am not tarring all with the same brush but we hear all to often many in the teaching proffesion hiding behind stats and unruly pupils as an excuse for poor results, you just need to look at the state of many kids literacy and numerical skills when they leave school to see that the system is broken, i know many current and retired teachers who hang their heads in shame at the state of our education system. I am now the MD of a succesful business and the people we see coming for interviews fresh from school is frightening.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
leedsunited

Why do you find it so galling to have your own child for an extra day - given that you make such a fuss about it perhaps you should show a little bit more appreciation for those teachers who take him/her of your hands for the other 32 weeks of the year, especially if he/she shows a similar amount of respect to the teaching profession as yourself. And no I'm not a teacher!

Ccl - i know - you shouldn't feed trolls!
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@leedsunited - I am now the MD of a succesful business and the people we see coming for interviews fresh from school is frightening.

Perhaps they don't have your mastery of spelling, verb - subject agreement, punctuation and apostrophes?

Ccl - sorry I could't resist.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Tut.. Children, children... it's your own time you're wasting. leedsunited - behave or I'll have to ask you to stand outside.
Stephen - don't patronise the less able children.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
ccl wrote:
inspection trips (often a requirement for risk assessment).


Is this for real?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I think so bar shaker, but can't say definitely. Perhaps someone else more up to date can answer.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
bar shaker, some schools/LEAs will insist on an inspection trip, especially if taking primary school age kids. While a good tour op will ensure that the health and safety requirements are similar to the UK, many do not. Fire regulations is one area that will differ. Many kid friendly hotels have bunk beds, but do the top bunks have safety rails? etc etc.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Chris Reynard went to Switzerland himself. Anyone know why?

Ski trips for Easter are being diverted to Austria. If so, there is not a school that can meet the risk assessment criteria out there now. There is simply too much information in the public domain to meet the criteria set out by Rospa or LEAs for high risk school trips abroad.

Ski hosts with no CRB checks? Safety first, party leaders.
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Stephen101 wrote:
leedsunited

Why do you find it so galling to have your own child for an extra day - given that you make such a fuss about it perhaps you should show a little bit more appreciation for those teachers who take him/her of your hands for the other 32 weeks of the year, especially if he/she shows a similar amount of respect to the teaching profession as yourself. And no I'm not a teacher!

Ccl - i know - you shouldn't feed trolls!


Daveyladboy - No need to go outside, it is a forum and surely i am entitled to add my opinion, it may not be to everybody's liking but a question was asked and i responded with my opinion.

Stephen101

I have not said that i do not respect the work that teachers do, just that some are better than others and i cannot understand why after having six weeks off my child should be deprived of a days teaching when the training day could have been carried out in the 6 weeks prior, a period that we as a family have had to arrange time off work, relatives to help mind and additional child care as unfortunately we only get 5 weeks paid holiday.

I also do not understand the statement that "they take them of my hands for the other 32 weeks of the year" is this not their job and are they not being paid for the pleasure.

Sorry if the grammar, spelling or punctuation is not up to the standard expected but my PA is on holiday.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
bar shaker, it is also important for staff to know where all the safe pistes are as well as the main facilities. Things like evaluating the risks around the hotel that would normally not be seen as such, for example is the hotel on a road where the younger pupils could be at risk. I always used to talk to the owners about the licensing laws and the need to ask a member of staff before serving a student with an alcoholic drink (we took a very wide age range on our trips and sixth formers do not always look that old while Year 8 & 9s can pass for a lot older if they want to).

It does not matter how good the reps are, if there is an accident the party leader is in loco parentis and needs to get to the medical facilities quickly in order to authorise treatment. Not easy if you do not know your way around the resort and you are elsewhere when the call comes in.

I always went back with a folder of information and photographs for my group leaders each time we went to a new resort. After a while I decided that it was better to stick to a resort we knew that had loads to offer. I travelled there under my own steam for my holidays and built up an excellent rapport with the hotelier, ski school and equipment supplier as well as the various entertainment venues we took the students to each year. Funnily enough it is the same resort that Team Evolution chose for their base so it can't be that bad, can it? wink
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leedsunited wrote:
Stephen101 wrote:
... I have not said that i do not respect the work that teachers do, just that some are better than others...



And how does that differs from other professions ?

leedsunited wrote:
they have just had 6 fu******g weeks to carry out training.


Is your training carried over your holidays?
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
to get back to the original topic, and costs, as we pit together a costing for a not to be named school trip firm, iwas stunned to see them slap 50% ontop of the cost!, and this was after the 1 in 10 free places etc, that was their 'cut' so its easy to see how a normal cost becomes £900. My nieces school were quoting £950 for a coach trip to france next year, now a load of them are going on a trip organised by me for £550, all in as the mmekat says, simples!! wink
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Teacher Training days are prescribed by law. The first day of the new autumn term has to be a training day. Training days were removed from teachers' holidays by an Education minister called Baker and are still sometimes known as Baker Days.

snowHead
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[quote="Kruisler"]
leedsunited wrote:
Stephen101 wrote:
... I have not said that i do not respect the work that teachers do, just that some are better than others...



And how does that differs from other professions ?


It doesn't but in the commercial world it is difficult to hide your incompetances (im not saying all teachers are incompetent) behind stats and policies, what was it Mark Twain said " lies, damned lies, and statistics.
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After I retired from teaching, I feared I would lose my ability to be patient and polite with idiots. You will all be pleased to know I have not lost that ability.
Yet.

snowHead
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Kruisler wrote:
leedsunited wrote:
Stephen101 wrote:
... I have not said that i do not respect the work that teachers do, just that some are better than others...



And how does that differs from other professions ?

leedsunited wrote:
they have just had 6 fu******g weeks to carry out training.


Is your training carried over your holidays?


No and when we do carry out training the business continues to operate normally.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Chris Bish wrote:
After I retired from teaching, I feared I would lose my ability to be patient and polite with idiots. You will all be pleased to know I have not lost that ability.
Yet.

snowHead


So not an unbiased opinion then
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@leedsunited "but in the commercial world it is difficult to hide your incompetances" - I'm in the commercial world and I see plenty who do all the time, look at all those bankers who managed to do so for many years if you don't believe me.

I don't know if you have ever tried to do any training/teaching but my experience giving and receiving training in the commercial world is that if you don't understand or get over you subject well you are discovered pretty quickly. And if not why not ask your children - I suspect they have discovered which of their teachers are competent or otherwise pretty quickly.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
And as for hiding incompetencies and worse in the commercial world - perhaps on a more relevant matter you should ask yourself how long Reynard has been able to get away with it without being stopped.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Opinion? Where?

snowHead
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Iskar

One in ten free places would add 10% to your costs - not 50% - I think the difference just demonstrates that the tour business is a bit of a racket whose days and margins are probably numbered given that it is a lot easier to make your arrangements with the internet etc.
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Stephen101 wrote:
@leedsunited "but in the commercial world it is difficult to hide your incompetances" - I'm in the commercial world and I see plenty who do all the time, look at all those bankers who managed to do so for many years if you don't believe me.

I don't know if you have ever tried to do any training/teaching but my experience giving and receiving training in the commercial world is that if you don't understand or get over you subject well you are discovered pretty quickly. And if not why not ask your children - I suspect they have discovered which of their teachers are competent or otherwise pretty quickly.


Fair comment and i think the banking industry has a lot to answer for not only in the last 10 years but many before that.

Yes i have spent many hours carrying out training for both customers and people that have worked with me and for me and you do need to know your stuff, some are passionate and some are not, the wheat soon sorts itself from the chaff.

If we go back to the original topic all of which is very sad for the kids who lost out on a trip, had the staff received the neccesary training in how to carry out "due diligence" and was a proccess in place to make this easy for them? I think there is a lesson here for all.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Chris Bish wrote:
Opinion? Where?

snowHead
Laughing Laughing
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leedsunited

I don't think it is the teaching staff who should be carrying out due diligence - this should be the job of whoever places the tour operators on the local authority lists. It doesn't make much economic sense to have every school looking at all its suppliers - far better to have someone centrally who is competent and has the necessary financial skills and who does the job properly. Teaching is hard enough without asking them to be accountants and health and safety experts as well.
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> >Sorry if the grammar, spelling or punctuation is not up to the standard expected but my PA is on holiday.


But you've still got all this time during the working day to make all these postings. Is business not good? Trust he/she is getting some training done. Little Angel
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Stephen101 wrote:
leedsunited

I don't think it is the teaching staff who should be carrying out due diligence - this should be the job of whoever places the tour operators on the local authority lists. It doesn't make much economic sense to have every school looking at all its suppliers - far better to have someone centrally who is competent and has the necessary financial skills and who does the job properly. Teaching is hard enough without asking them to be accountants and health and safety experts as well.


Yes you are correct, should that fall within the remit of the Local Authority? another subject for lively debate Laughing
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I think some of us need a holiday! And a sense of irony...
Now back to the subject, skiing europe & Chris Reynard:
I'm intrigued - noskitrip - you know of schools being switched to Austria: surely this begs some questions; are they aware of the fate awaiting them?! Will they get a ski trip at all?
You know Reynard's been to Switzerland - but isn't sending schools there...
Are no authorities investigating, with a view to closing him down once and for all?
How many more tales of woe will be hitting the press on April 9th when most school Easter hols begin?
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
daveyladboy

If we achieve nothing else but publicity and schools "do the right thing" with the information in the public domain then there will be some success at least. Smile I hope they recognise that paying a 70 year old £ooo's for him to personally bank and run a trip with questionable process and procedures, or worse.
If trips go ahead now there is a high chance they will breach the guidelines and risk assessment process set out in the UK. If they still press on, the trip organiser will put themselves directly at personal risk of negligence. Embarassed
Deeply unpleasant to be duped by SE in the first place and then he continues on with a over £100k in the bank for no work. That's like a lottery win for running a web site and taking a few aggro calls from hotels, ski instructors, schools, parents, insurers, police, trading standards etc

Why is Reynard in Switzerland, yet moving holidays to Austria? dunno, more odd behaviour in the odd organisation he smirks at us from NehNeh
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[quote="leedsunited"]
Stephen101 wrote:
leedsunited

Yes you are correct, should that fall within the remit of the Local Authority? another subject for lively debate Laughing


Fact - You or I can pay to go on a LEA list as a Tour Operator
They "do not have the time to verify listings" !
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I find it hugely ironic that the reason schools, councils and youth groups have to conduct and submit detailed risk assessments prior to any activity is in no small part due to The Lyme Bay tragedy, in which Reynard was involved, and there seems to be a chance of history repeating itself with the risks skiing europe are allegedly forcing schools to make.

I find it hugely ironic that a previous company of his made spurious claims, risked children's safety (again) and went into liquidation owing creditors substantial sums - and there seems to be a chance of history repeating itself, again.

I find it hugely ironic that an employee turned whistle-blower of a previous company of his, warned of the dangers but no action was taken until it was too late and there seems to be a danger of history repeating itself.

I find it hugely ironic that the issues were debated in parliament, legal history was made, and new laws and amendments were passed - with a view to preventing matters from happening again...

Anyway enough rhetoric, time for vino!
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