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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to be pissed off with 'voluntary contributions' for school trips?

188 replies

Chundle · 08/09/2011 15:42

dd came home today with school trip form. It costs £19. They won't be able to go if enough people don't pay this voluntary contribution but those that don't pay still get to go blah blah blah. I'm totally not a snob- I live in a council house so don't have a ton of money but I always pay for my kids to go on trips yet it seems to me there's always a group of parents standing there laughing there tits off that they didn't have to cough off!
When I was a kid if you didn't pay you stayed at school and had a fun time anyway that was that and what's wrong with that???
I had to miss out on school trips as a kid and wasn't overly bothered.
My tin hats on I'm ready for a bashing

OP posts:
worraliberty · 08/09/2011 15:47

In all my 19yrs as a parent I have never heard anyone laugh or boast about not being able to pay for a school trip....yet I often read about it on internet forums?

I live in an extremely deprived Borough, yet parents tend to keep things like that to themselves so no-one would no who pays and who can't.

CalamityKate · 08/09/2011 15:49

I know what you mean, OP.

I've never known anyone actually laugh and boast about it - but I would bet good money that very, very many parents who don't contribute, could actually afford it but just don't bother.

BahHumPug · 08/09/2011 15:50

I imagine the parents who can't afford to pay are quite embarrassed about that fact, and also extremely grateful that their children still get to enjoy a school trip without being singled out as 'poor'.

You're not giving the parents a free ride, you're enabling their child to have a day out they otherwise wouldn't have been able to go on.

Insomnia11 · 08/09/2011 15:50

I think they can't demand payment if it's in school hours? So it has to be voluntary.

Original poster
Chundle · 08/09/2011 15:53

Hmm maybe we just have a few shitty mums at our school then what they said was "haha I won't be paying" it just bugs me that's all. I realise that those very very hard up would be very embarrassed about not paying and feel for them and it's mums like those I mentioned that drive me insane!

OP posts:
mercibucket · 08/09/2011 15:55

Unless your school has a whole ton of money the trip will just be cancelled if more than one or two don't pay. I'd rather that happened than someone had to stay behind cos their parents didn't pay. At our school some kids have to stay as parents won't give permission. I suspect they can't afford it but are too proud to ask which makes me sad. I've never ever heard anyone boast about not paying - plenty of parents seem to assume x y or z parents haven't paid but just cos imo they are being bitchy

create · 08/09/2011 15:55

I think Imsomnia is right, but I am Shock that people boast about not paying. Have you really heard that, or do you just imagine that they must be?

mercibucket · 08/09/2011 15:57

Loads of people talk crap as well op - bet they do pay but want to seem hard nuts in the playground. Sigh

mercibucket · 08/09/2011 15:57

Loads of people talk crap as well op - bet they do pay but want to seem hard nuts in the playground. Sigh

Original poster
Chundle · 08/09/2011 16:03

Yeah maybe merci or maybe schools should fundraise for school trips instead of buying nintendo wiis but that's another thread :)

OP posts:
WhereTheWildThingsWere · 08/09/2011 16:03

We have boasters, have heard 'What's the point in paying if he can go anyway?' and 'I'm not paying, there are enough poncey twats who will, and then x still gets to go'

Still I have been told I am a 'bit of a snob' for making my own pizza dough, 'mental' for co-sleeping and asked 'who the fuck does that?' for giving ds soup in his packed lunch.

Not surprisingly I only really talk to about 3 mums now.

RedOnion · 08/09/2011 16:06

There really were mothers at my daughters school who would blatantly say "not paying for that, why should I, enough other people will".

fourkids · 08/09/2011 16:09

I assume that if you don't pay they don't go?

There is a system in place to give you a 10% reduction if you are on certain benefits.

At my DCs' schools the voluntary contribution is not in any way voluntary! I always thought it must be some sort of legal thing that they have to say it is voluntary?

Cartoonjane · 08/09/2011 16:09

As a teacher who has organised many school trips, some of which were at a school in a very deprived area, I have never come across a family who has made it known that their child wants to go but they can't pay. Of course that doens't mean they don't exist but it does mean that they have not asked the school to pay.

StopRainingPlease · 08/09/2011 16:10

Why on earth is the school planning trips that will cost £19 a head? I wouldn't care much if I were paying 1.50 and other parents weren't bothering, but at £19 per child I certainly would be annoyed.

BTW is this an English thing. Here (Scotland) I've never heard of this voluntary contribution lark, only on mumsnet.

create · 08/09/2011 16:12

I don't think £19 is that ususual TBH, we've certainly had a number in the £12-15 range. Organising coach travel seems to be very expensive. My DS1's trip to the "free" Science Museum cost £12

worraliberty · 08/09/2011 16:18

I think £15 - £19 is about average here in London

It's mostly the cost of the coach and insurance that's staggeringly high

Original poster
Chundle · 08/09/2011 16:21

Yes it is England if they don't pay and enough other parents pay then they still get to go

OP posts:
BakeliteBelle · 08/09/2011 16:35

£19 seems incredibly expensive and I imagine that it increases the amount of non-payment. I always cough up but would be mightily pissed off to subsidise people on the same very low income as me.

Perhaps school trips should be restricted to affordable ones - under the £5 mark, say.

seeker · 08/09/2011 16:39

Coaches are mind bogglingly expensive to hi.

seeker · 08/09/2011 16:39

Hire. Obviously.

FootballFriend · 08/09/2011 16:49

WhereTheWild - how do you give your DS soup in his packed lunch? What do you put it in and how does he reheat it?

MyGoldfishIsEvil · 08/09/2011 16:50

The most we've ever had to pay for day trip was £14. I bet there are people at the school who don't pay (heard rumours anyway) but nobody boasts about it to my knowledge.

The last trip ds1 went on was FREE - was so refreshing! No coach - they walked (quite a distance) so they didn't need to hire a coach. The place they went didn't charge schools either. There should be more like that.

worraliberty · 08/09/2011 16:51

Football...my guess is a flask Grin

FootballFriend · 08/09/2011 16:56

A flask? Gosh, that's a bit hardened commuter ware. It must then be a very thin soup that the child can just drink out of the flask, hardly worth bothering. Not criticising, just observing.

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