Voluntary donations from parents/ carers

@WhereAreTheWildThingsNow mending holes in the roof!! That should be paid for by the taxpayers ridiculous that schools are having to raise money to fix things that are fundamental in the operation of a school!

Also the government ought to do what the Major of London has done and all primary school children get lunch free at the point of access - in my mind there’s a good argument for this being continued into secondary schools too!

@CopperWhiteat my DC school the money goes to buy things like pritt stick, mend holes in the roof and buy those in need, food. I wouldn’t say any of that is conferring advantage. It’s sad that it is necessary.

Our local comp suggested that parents could make donations but it was done with as little pressure as possible. I and other parents still felt pressured though, and I don’t really like it. Everything about some schools having more money than others feels very distasteful to me though. It doesn’t seem fair that some children get free trips and enrichment from their schools and others don’t. It doesn’t make much difference whether the money comes from an active PTA, affluent parent donations or pupil premium.

My child’s (secondary) school has recently introduced this after years of campaigning to do so by parents. It’s another potential revenue stream not a replacement for PTA activities, PP funding or any other of the sources of income that they already have.

I want to donate to my children's primary school as this is the last year a child of mine will be there, and they've been absolutely instrumental in supporting me and my children in various ways. But I have no idea how to, they don't ask, and I feel very weird asking!

No teachers should know this. The school should make that clear in their letter. Donations will usually be handled by school business managers or finance staff, and there would be no justifiable reason under GDPR for them to share transaction details with teaching staff.

Our school provides the option of using Just Giving, which facilitates anonymous donations if preferred.

Would my child stand out if I offered the school a really generous amount monthly, and get nicer roles for the yearly production? Would my child be disadvantaged if we are unable to contribute at all? What if I don't seem like it but my financial circumstances don't allow me to contribute at all.. would it seem intentional to the school and the school sees xxx's parents that way? Would the teachers know how much each household is donating? Would the top figures be recognised and their children shown more appreciation knowingly or unknowingly? I know a primary school where a parent donates in hundreds for school fairs and they recognise her name and put up a thank you banner in the school. Everyone knows who her child is. I don't know if the school or the teachers try to show further appreciation in other forms.
I don't like the idea.

@conditionality I think many of us need to vote differently and more strategically. Not sure whether your post was sarcastic difficult to tell, but the sun will always shine in there kind of suggests it is. I don’t believe lobbying your MP is sufficient, this is just the middle class way of easing your conscience and patting yourself on the back that you’ve done something, when it makes very little difference. In the meantime I get people are going to give voluntary donations to their schools when asked if they can afford it, doesn’t make it fair or right. Also I don’t think all politicians would agree that schools are underfunded. Especially when so many of them have been complicit in under funding them over the past couple of decades.

@privatenonamegiven saying schools need to be better funded is a truism. Hopefully all past wrongs will be righted, the economy will boom, teachers (and nurses, and doctors, and social workers, and carers) will get the pay they deserve, and the sun will always shine. In the meantime we can all lobby our MPs. I expect they would agree with all the above, and just be less clear on how to get there. 🙂

The problem with that is that pupil premium isn’t actually that much and it seems that schools aren’t always using it for what it is intended for.

I know voluntarily contributions are well intended but this sometimes, in my opinion, take away from the fact that schools need to be funded better by taxpayers rather than middle class, well off, parents topping up the school with voluntary funding.

Remember that schools with high numbers of disadvantaged students do receive more funding than other schools via the Pupil Premium.

Also, primary schools tend to have a more active PTA because they have higher numbers of parents who are SAHP or working part time.

When children go to secondary school parents are more likely to work longer hours, but have lower childcare costs, so some who are used to supporting their local school are willing & able to contribute financially.

@smogsville absolutely get you’re saying and appreciate the difficulties schools are in. But it still irks me, as this kind of thing leads to some schools being able to provide much better education and experience for children.. while I’m not begrudging those children, what about the other children, we end up with a three tiered education system. How are things going to change? Clearly this isn’t a question for this thread - I’m just saddened by the whole situation.

Our primary school doesn't, they do some events throughout the year but its always very clear that donations are optional and stuff is very affordable ie school dicso £1 with sweets included. I actually wouldnt mind donating something every month because we can afford to, but would feel weird approaching them to offer.

Yes it is interesting.

However, I would say there could be some people who have the money but are ideologically opposed to idea.. and to be honest I don't blame them. I would probably be in that camp if we had any spare cash to consider donations like.

I would also suggest that just because an area appears reasonably affluent does not mean the intake of the local school is full of children from affluent background. In my opinion these voluntary donations are the thin of the wedge...

Have just completed the online registration information for yr 7 in September and one of the qs was will you make a one off donation or standing order? I just said no as don't have any spare cash in account right now, but in hindsight probably should have just asked my DH as he's the higher earner. Did feel a bit weird as the response will be there on the form they read with all the other registration information! Highly regarded comprehensive in a relatively affluent area. My friend said the local catholic secondary told them they are expected to contribute when she filled out their paperwork, I think she said £260 a year. Our primary won't ask for anything. We don't even have dressing up days or hardly any trips they would have to ask parents to fund as very conscious of the cost of living.

This is a very interesting thread. My child's primary school doesn't ask for donations, but the PTA is fairly active in raising money. My eldest's secondary school does ask for voluntary donations from any parents that are able, but its very targetted for a specific need, eg. school trips, art materials etc.I have no idea how much money this raises for them.

My borough has falling pupil numbers and primary schools have been closing. This fact and the complete lack of adequate funding from the government is really squeezing school budgets. There is very little left for extras...

@smogsville £35k pa? Is that for one class, one year group, or an entire school? If across a typical senior school of ~700 DC, that's £50/child, so consistent with what @roses2 mentioned but a long way from the £2.5k/year or £200pcm mentioned above.

Mine goes to a small church state primary and they ask for £50/year

State secondary - relatively new free school