School constantly asking for money

[Blurry29]

I'll admit this is a moan....

I always pay up. I always volunteer to help class when a trip is on but.....

In the last week school have asked for;

£2 science visit (held at school)
£2 another science visit (held at school)
50p easter egg hunt
All kids to take money in for cakes
£13.50 zoo trip

It seems to be getting more and more each week. It doesn't help that all the kids are informed of these events at assembly so of course get excited etc

Isn't that alot to ask for in one week??

X

Seeker - you are wrong - there is always expectation regarding childrens' photos and their own christmas cards. You are clearly firm enough to say no whereas I am not always.

No, I and many others on here don't feel schools should not offer their pupils trips/experiences, but maybe with a mind to the cost for those in more difficult positions.

Have a look at the excellent posting of an extract from CAB research which succinctly sums up what a number of us on here are trying to say.

Does anyone have a solution to this problem? A way of organising trips or plays or people coming in to special events for the children thatdoesn't cost any money?

Or a way of fundraising that does not somehow involve asking parents for money?

The CAB report made some specific recommendations. I'll look them up and post them later, and match them up to recent policy debelopments eg pupil premium.

Got to dash to DC's school event, to support!

Hopefully OP will come back with the answer seeker. She doesn't want to be asked, I expect that she wants her DC to have an enriched education so she ought to be able to give the solution.

I think that OP would be surprised at how much teachers supply themselves! I have never bothered to claim for a lot of things that I have used in the classroom-I suspect that most are the same.

Schools do not have the budgets for some of the essentials-never mind the extras!

Year ago (aeons ..) when mine were at Primary, the PTA didn't fundraise at all! They had a fantastic system where they had some sort of trust fund and parents were asked to set up a direct debit each month into it. Of course, you never knew who contributed, or how much, but if they didn't raise enough the threat was always there that they would start cake sales, bring-and-buy etc, so most parents saw this as a painless alternative!

OP has been busy doing extra shifts so she can afford to support her DS school/trips etc.

I certainly understand about funding etc that wasn't the initial OP

I just stated that I felt it was getting more and more each week.

I'm lucky enough to only have 1 DS so only have to find one set of money but feel for those that have multiple pupils at one school. I would be gutted if I didn't pay up and found that DS had missed out any kind of activity!

I completely feel for the staff/PTA that slog their guts out trying to find trips and extra resources. I am actively involved with the board of governors and volunteer more than most (in my son's yet, can't comment on other years) I have bought this up in many occasions.

I just felt that nearly £20 was a lot to ask for in a space of a week and I personally felt that this is becoming more frequent. Yes I do moan about it but always pay up for DS, would NEVER expect anyone else to pay for DS I just feel its alot and it's getting more and more

blurry schools are not allowed to make children miss out on activities if their parents don't pay. So if you have multiple children in the same school and can't afford to pay then children would not be missing out.

Yes £20 is a lot to ask for in the space of one week, I agree about that. Perhaps it is because it is the end of term and a lot of activities tend to take place around that time. Have a word with the school about giving more notice of when contributions might be required.

On a personal level I agree with Seeker. But we (my dh and I, not me and Seeker!) can afford it.

But I do feel for parents 'in the middle', the ones who are not exempt from paying but to who £30, £40, £50 per term is a lot of money and they feel obliged to splash out.

Do I have any other ideas how the school or PTA can raise funds? No.

I think the idea about a small direct debit is a good idea. I would be more than happy to set up a DD for say £5 a month (term time only) that would cover all extra activities. That way I wouldn't feel like I'm constantly pay larger amounts. I understand that it isn't a simple. The thread certainly wasn't starting to bitch or moan at the tremendous work schools do

Well, my solution would be to stop all fundraising for charities, by schools. It sounds mean, but I think it is just another layer of pressure on people who are already stretched. I also think that it's better for people to choose their own charities to support - spreading the giving, I suppose, rather than having everyone donate to one thing (possibly at the expense of smaller charities).

I would still have book sales, but after school, so those parents who can afford it, can raise money for the school. No more taking children to the book sale, during class time and letting them choose something that mum and dad have to pay for later.

I would limit school trips to one per term, per class or have a financial limit imposed so a class might do 2 or 3 cheaper trips rather than one big expensive one.

No more pricey trips to Alton Towers etc. These are not educational, and are something parents can do with their kids, in their own time. Not really connected to this discussion, but if I wanted to take my kids out of school for a trip to a theme park, the school would tell me no. Why is it okay for them to do it?

I would still continue with summer fetes, bonfire night activities, school discos and evening events for adults, which bring in revenue for the school.

But fundraising for charity is part of their citizenship education! Often the children choose where the money is going to go and put a lot of effort into planning the fundraising themselves. I think I said earlier that it doesn't do children any harm to learn to think of people less fortunate than themselves. And they get a sense of pride about the money they have raised.

It isn't right to take children to a book sale and let them choose something without your permission. I haven't seen this happen though and I wouldn't be happy as a teacher if I was expected to get children to do this. What I have seen in the past is parents given advance notice of the book sale and given the opportunity to send money in for their child to spend. I don't really think it's necessary to have book sales at school. However some of those book catalogues that go home do offer parents substantial discounts on children's books.

Have no issue with the book catalogues. in our school the children choose a book and it's put aside for the parents to collect (and pay for) later. Of course, a parent isn't obligated to go in and pay for it, but it's hard to say no, when the kids have chosen something already.

I don't know if the dc in our primary actually choose their charities, although I suspect not, for the big events like children in need. In our secondary school, they are definitely told, rather than asked, if the recent Sport Relief is anything to judge by.

Am not saying these are not good charities, only that I think it is something parents should do, according to their own finances, rather than school. Although I do accept that not all parents will teach their children that it's good to help others.

I agree a regular direct debit would be a good idea.

I never feel pressured to buy personalised art, tea towels and cards etc and have never bought them as we just don't have the money.

Linerunner - sorry wasn't able to come back before, but our state school is now having to pay for things like internet access and web hosting (previously provided by County) and all sorts of other stuff we used to get as standard. We've been told there is absolutely NO money for buildings and grounds maintenance, far less improvements - re-wiring, replacing windows, all that stuff, we will have to fund ourselves (bit of a problem as our school was built in the 50s so the buildings are way over their intended lifespan).

Schools library service and music services are going. Even services outlined in a statement of special educational needs - apparently has one pot and our school won't qualify for any of it, no matter how severe the needs of any particular child. Which doesn't sound entirely legal to me - have suggested the governors on the finance committees look into it.

sorry, mean to add, direct debits sound sensible but in practice, very few parents sign up. People seem to need an activity to put their hands in their pockets. Unprompted giving is far less effective - I think this is generally true across the charity and voluntary sector. Of course, once you've got a £3 a month sub to Mencap or whatever, you tend to keep it going but only a very small minority of parents will sign up to a DD in the first place.

Hi, edam, just got in myself.

I think an awful lot of the stuff you describe was meant to have been dealt with for a generation through BUilding Schools for the Future (BSF) but which was cancelled for a lot of authorities at the 11th hour. Does that apply to your county?

I have lately been trying to understand the 'Music Hub' government replacement for schools' music services. Any luck your end??

A direct debit is a ghastly idea. It would mean that parents would be paying out every month whether they could afford it or not.

Convenient for the affluent, possibly, but a disaster for everyone else.

The CAB report's recommendations from 2005, The Cost of a Free Education:

"Recommendations
The Government has made it a priority to
tackle child poverty, but has so far done little to
combat the exclusion caused by the costs of
schooling. A coordinated response from
government, local authorities, schools and
parents is now needed to allow all children to
take up the opportunities that school offers.
? All schools should have an equal
opportunities policy, to ensure that no child
will be excluded from any activity in school
time due to an inability to pay.
? OFSTED should conduct a ?themed inspection?
on the impact of school policies on children
from deprived backgrounds.
? The Government should make the funds
available in the next spending review for
local authorities to provide grants for school
uniform. This should be a statutory duty, and
grants should be available to all those in
receipt of maximum child tax credit.
? The Government?s Manifesto for Education
Outside the Classroom must include a
commitment to equality of opportunity.
? The guidance on school uniforms and school
trips from the DfES should be improved, and
schools adherence to it more closely
monitored.
? Schools should be provided with ?activity
funds? to ensure that activities and school
trips are open to all children."

The NUT supported these recommendations.

However, I don't think any of them have been implemented. In fact many councils have cut the discretionary uniform grant, whilst trying the balance the books in over-stretched children's services, whilst schools instead of simplifying uniforms make them ever more blazer-based and expensive.

The Government argues that it is sending more money directly to schools than ever before, with additional grants to pay for functions previously provided by councils; the schools argue that they have 'not enough money.'

I haven't found any schools yet that publish how they spend the pupil premiums, but there will be something out there somewhere.

It's all very well saying that those are the things that should be done- the fat remains that they weren't. So what do we do with the situation as it stands?

No trips or enrichment activities at all?

My solution (when I rule the world, etc etc) would be

a) to keep uniforms as simple and low-cost as possible, with a transferable school badge that can be pinned onto a jumper, cardigan or shirt;

b) to divert a small proportion of the pupil premium to a fund, to assist children from lower-income backgrounds to access trips and enrichment activities.

To everyone moaning about the pta - if your school doesn't already do them, why not organise a community jumble sale or table top sale in the playground? All you will need to donate is things you genuinely don't want or can't use any more, you can buy great things extremely cheaply, you can bag up the leftover clothing for a pay-by-weight scheme like Bag To School, you can have a tea and cake stall, and charge 50p for entry. Our school makes nearly £2000 by holding 2 jumble sales per year.

Line runner- I think certainly most primary schools do the first- and those that don't often have highly questionable motives. Which should be questioned.

Many schools also do the second- for example, at our school everyone on FSM gets an automatic 50% reduction on residential trips. And nobody's ever excluded from anything on financial grounds. But it seems to me that some people expect schools to be psychic- "I can't afford this" "Well, talk to the school about it" "I'm not telling them my business".

Blurry29 I think the idea about a small direct debit is a good idea.

Blurry it is working brilliantly for me, it is so nice to be able to read a school notice without feeling gripped by anxiety. Good luck [smiley]