Introducing our Travel Manager: The School Trip Planning Tool Every Teacher Needs
Whether you’re new to school trip planning or a seasoned pro, there’s something all teachers will agree with: there are a lot of things to coordinate before departure day arrives. From medical information and parental permissions to keeping track of payments, itineraries, travel documents, and accommodation details, the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming – especially when it’s all stored in (what feels like) a million different places.
Fortunately, Equity has developed a handy tool to simplify and collate everything into one helpful hub. On our Travel Manager portal, party leaders can store everything in one place, including links and uploads available for parents, too, for easy sharing.
Read on to find out how Travel Manager helps keep every aspect of your trip organised, accessible, and in one place.
A central hub for your school trip
One of the biggest challenges we hear about again and again is how time consuming it can be for educators to track down what they need, especially when information is being spread across multiple systems. From emails and spreadsheets to documents and dates, it can feel like you have to search through the entire Microsoft suite while planning your school trip – not exactly ideal when a parent or school administrator is asking for specific details.
With access to Travel Manager, this issue disappears, as everything concerning your trip is presented together into a single, secure platform – with the most key details on the dashboard immediately as you log in. Whether you need to check your itinerary, review accommodation details, track payments, or open key travel documents, access to this hub means you'll always know exactly where to find the information you need. Then, with less time spent searching through inboxes and file systems, more time can instead be spent focusing on your students and the educational outcomes of the trip (or simply on a well-earned rest with a cup of tea!).
Simplifying forms and parent communication
Over 90 years of organising school trips, we’ve seen many changes and developments take place. However, there’s one thing that’s remained the same, and that we know for certain: collecting passenger information is often one of the most complicated and time-consuming stages of the process.
The good news? Travel Manager removes the responsibility from solely the party leader. While you’ll still be in charge of reviewing and submitting the final form, the platform provides a link you can share with parents – so they can input their child’s details directly through the platform themselves. This means medical information, dietary requirements, and passport details can all be provided electronically, helping reduce paperwork and minimise the risk of mistakes, miscommunication, or missing information.
Essential documents whenever you need them
From the planning stage to the trip itself, easy access to your essential documentation is so important – especially when you’re responsible for 30+ students! Via a tab on the Travel Manager hub, organising and viewing your booking documents – as well as any supporting resources – has never been easier. And, because all of this information is held on our servers, you won’t need to worry about filing or organising anything from your side (though if you do wish to, everything is available for download too).
Whether you're preparing risk assessments, checking travel information ahead of departure, or accessing travelcards or tickets while away, Travel Manager means the resources you need are always within reach.
Supporting teachers every step of the way
At Equity, we're continually looking for ways to make school travel easier, more efficient, and less time-consuming for teachers. Travel Manager is one of the ways we're helping schools who book with us spend less time on administration and more time focusing on the experiences that matter most.
School travel should be about inspiring students, enriching learning, and creating opportunities that simply can't be replicated in the classroom. By bringing trip information, passenger management, documentation, and planning tools together in one place, Travel Manager helps make the journey to departure day that little bit smoother.
All schools that book a school trip with Equity will have access to our Travel Manager portal – please get in touch with your Account Manager or on enquiry for more information.
