to not pay full whack for this school trip?

[LazyGaga]

DCs' school has arranged an educational visit for KS2, priced at £12 per child with a suggested limit of £3 per child spending money. We have two dc in KS2, if we pay full price and give them £1 - £3 spending money it will come in at £26 - £30 (I know spending money isn't essential but I would feel a bit shit if my dc were watching everyone else pick something iut in the shop but had nothing for themselves). We have had loads to pay out in the last few weeks and quite frankly money is tight at the moment.

The form does state that it's a voluntary contribution but if 80% of the full cost isn't raised then the trip would be cancelled. We have always paid in full for every trip but AIBU to think we need to cut our cloth at the moment and pay a reduced contribution?

I ask this because I found out when dc3 was going in a trip last year that not all parents pay the full cost (part of the payment for a trip fell out of the envelope into her bag, I took it in the next day and the TA said "Oh we didn't like to say some money was missing because some parents choose not to pay the full amount".

This might sound wrong but the school has a tiny proportion of children on FSM and a large number of professional parents. It's got me thinking whether we've effectively been subsiding other parents who choose not to pay 100%, and whether I'm being tight for considering it this time when we have had a financially hard month?

[ExitPursuedByADragon]

Clam. Sorry. That was irony.

[BlackeyedSusan]

dd's school go on a lot of trips. they make very little use of the school grounds which could be developed at little cost to enhance learning for all year groups. at least one trip could have been run on site.

I suppose I have been lucky to have worked for head teachers who have had the vision to develop the school grounds with wildlife areas, ponds, willow plantations, orchards.

they do go to town on the bus though sometimes to make use of cheaper transport.

[LazyGaga]

Exit oops. I suspect clam may have combusted.

[amistillsexy]

FreshLeticia I want to come and live there.

The school sounds like it's got the right approach.

Our school is in a beautiful area, with stunning woodland and a safe little stream running through the village. We had to pay for a coach to take the children into the next valley to...walk in the woods and dip the pond.

Not teacher-bashing by any stretch, Clam, but that's ridiculous by anyone's standards.

[Tabby1963]

Exit teachers and other support staff have to go to meet the 'one member of staff per 8 or 10 pupils' rule. The school trips I organise are educational and linked to topics they are studying at the time. Some trips, for example to church related events (whole school Nativity), are wholly paid for by the school.

Occasionally classes will walk to a local museums or the local woodlands but mostly we use coaches. I was looking at my archive paperwork recently and have noticed a big increase in coach costs (for regular trips) over the last few years, mostly because fuel and insurance costs have vastly increased, for example a doubling of costs.

I have read a poster saying that children who didn't give money for a visiting show were excluded (sitting in a classroom), that is so unacceptable. We don't exclude any child whose parents don't pay. Why should they suffer the shame and embarrassment?

Finally, each class will attend one educational (pay for) day time trip per year. That is the limit at my school.

[BrokenSunglasses]

Amistillsexy, of course there comes a point where it's too much, but the OPs trip is £12 and I don't think that comes anywhere close to being too much.

What is too much will depend on the school and it's individual families, but you are being a bit OTT suggesting that there could be paid for educational experiences every day. That's clearly not going to happen.

I think one reasonably priced experience or trips each term is fine.

Schools can do things more locally, as all the schools I am involved with do, but that doesn't mean that trips further away don't have a very valid place. There's only so many times children are going to enjoy walking to the local woods and pond, and I don't see how those things can serve every area of the curriculum that teachers are trying to teach.

[pixiepotter]

The only way to not send your DC on the trip is to keep them off school for the day

No it isn't, you don't sign the consent form, you take your child into school and they are sent to another class

They use the general consent form to take your child unless you specifically revoke consent and in any case in a small school the trips are usually 'whole school' because the cost of a coach means they have to fill it!

[pixiepotter]

There is a lot of rubbish being talked on here.If you are in England and the activity is in school hours (non residential),

1. you have the right not to pay and you have the right not to be chased or questioned on your reasons for non-payment
   
2. They are not allowed to excludeyourchild from the activity.

[LazyGaga]

BrokenSunglasses I can only assume from your comments on this thread that you have a healthy disposable income because you seem to be unable to comprehend that £24 (I have to pay for two dc to go on the trip) is a fairly substantial amount of money to find when we have had other demands on our cashflow this last few weeks which have left us, to be blunt, pretty fucking skint.

Maybe you think £24 is nothing? At the moment I don't.

[NK493efc93X1277dd3d6d4]

If enough parents opt not to pay then the school will simply stop organising trips. There are vast differences in the number of trips made between schools. Depends on what you would prefer.

[liquidstate]

I think in this case you should pay what you can afford and not worry about it. It sounds like you are having a tough few weeks. I certainly couldn't afford to produce £24 out of thin air at the moment without resorting to credit cards. Of course when things are better you can pay the full amount for the next trip.

[LazyGaga]

Yes. I. Know. That.

I'll try once more for luck:

We have ALWAYS paid in full for EVERY school trip our dc have EVER been on.

This month we are skint and the school wants £24.

It is this trip, this one off time, to which I refer.

My question wasn't "Shall I stop paying for every future school trip because I really don't want to and I've spent all our money on Champagne, coke and caviar anyway?".

[LazyGaga]

Sorry that was to NK49etc.

[LazyGaga]

Thanks liquidstate.

[Feminine]

op I understand.

My yr4 (at the time) had only just returned from a 2 day residential trip, we were then hit with a request for another close to £200 pounds for another!

I've been scratching around for the remaining £60.

Then... my eldest came home and said he needed another £20 for a 'reward' trip for some of the yr10s.

It never ending!

I thought it was expensive in the US ( school bits etc )

[LazyGaga]

Feminine - I simply do not remember this much stuff going on when I was at school. We have recently had to pay the final instalment for dc1's residential, that's 8/9 yr olds going away for three nights with the school. When did that start?!

[Feminine]

Right...its never ending.

Each month, I think that it will be a quietmonth ...and then we get hit for ££.

Crazy, too many waste of time trips IMO.

Oh...and don't get me started on all the 'bits' he needs for this little jaunt!

[IceCreamForCrow]

It's very hard to opt out of school trips at primary school. Not unless you want your dc to stick out like a sore thumb.

By senior school it's not very noticable much of the time who goes where or when and big holiday type trips are often during holiday time anyway.

But at junior school the trips are presented as a fait accompli. By the time the parents are presented with the details (and the cost) they've already sold it to the children who think they're going.

[MrsZimt]

OP, we're in a similar situation right now, because this month has been very expensive school wise.
We've had installment for residential trips (£100), a language magazine which I thought was optional and it turns out it's not £10, trip to the town £2, contributions for sports transport £30, contributions for art and dt (£60), a strongly recommended course on financing £20 (bit of irony, that)...

and music for 2 dc plus an upcoming exam £550.

At least some of it is termly.
We have always paid everything we've been asked for, plus pay our dc's secondaries monthly voluntary £25 each to support them.

I need to get a job. We just cannot manage on one salary. I left my job in July as it was making me ill. Don't know if these money worries won't be making me even more ill though

I have about £30 to get through the next 2 weeks, we'll have to eat everything out of the cupboard and freezer. I know if another letter with a request for contributions comes in, I will freak out.

Nobody will ever suspect we're so skint at the moment, as dh earns a very good salary. If another request comes, I will have to take it from the dc's savings (and put it back of course).

to you and roll on next pay day.
(no no, we don't want to think about Christmas).

[ExitPursuedByADragon]

We have just had to pay out £25 for a trip to Chester, £30 for a trip to the Clothes Show, £150 for Duke of Edinburgh Bronze and will soon be presented with the £1100 we owe for next year's ski trip.

Oh joy.

[Akray]

I have 3DC in primary school and it seems like they come home every week asking for money for one thing or another. We are in an affluent area and I feel the school definitely plays on this. Whilst our finances used to be good, my DH lost his property business and now we are really struggling but I try to keep up appearances not wanting DC to stand out by not paying. It just means paying for school trips etc comes out of the household budget. My friends DC go to a school in a much poorer demographic and she very rarely gets asked for anything but I don't know if this school will get extra funds from government (we are in Scotland),

My DD has an end of school residential trip in April costing £300. I did expect this as every P7 gets asked to go. I have just put £10 away in a jar, together with spare change each week and hopefully will have enough to pay in full when its due in February. But it is a struggle and £300 could go towards a bill etc. What alternative is there though, if you don't want your child to stand out as different.........

[UniS]

Not ALL schools do lots of pay for trips and activities thankfully. I think DS only had 2 pay trips last year,each costing around 12- 15 quid. One of those he didn't go on. Not because I refused to pay, but because I thought he would have a miserable time and refuse to participate.
They also walked to visit free places at least once a term.

[amistillsexy]

NK4etc
If enough parents opt not to pay then the school will simply stop organising trips.

Which is exactly what they should do, if they can't cover the costs from their budgets, because...

...at junior school the trips are presented as a fait accompli. By the time the parents are presented with the details (and the cost) they've already sold it to the children who think they're going.

[DuckToWater]

I do think £12-£15 is a lot for a school trip. I don't think we've ever paid more than £10. Often they keep costs down by keeping it local and getting parents to organise transport.

[amistillsexy]

UniS, I have 3 children. If each of them is 'offered' two trips per year at a accost of £12 - £15 per trip, that costs my family around £80 per year. I don't have that amount spare in my yearly budget (seriously!).

Many people are cutting to the bone with finances nowadays. It's not a question of whether or not it's 'worth it', or if it would be more expensive to go as a family because school arranged a discount, it's a question of what you do when the money simply is not available.

It's a funny thing, this 'affordability' issue. If I spend £100 at Tescos every Saturday, can I be said to be able to 'afford' to contribute £24 towards my childrens' school trip to the zoo? The Tesco shop is my choice. I need to buy food, but I have a choice about the food I buy (Value/Budget ranges, or shop elsewhere, etc.). I choosewhere to shop, and, to some extent, what to buy and what proportion of my income I spend on different things.
It is not reasonable for the school to decide that I will give up a quarter of my budget for food this week so that they can take my children out on a trip.

My issue with school trips is that they are spending money on my behalf, without consulting me first. As I said up thread, Tesco don't add things to my basket without asking me, and then expect me to pay for them because my children will like them!