AIBU - School Fund - Standing Order Request???

[louisawhitegenius]

My dd is due to start Reception in Sept and hubby came home from intro meeting with a form requesting we donate to the school every month. They say that it provides 'extra provisions that are impossible within the limitations of their budget' Their suggested contribution is £15.00 per month PER CHILD! AIBU to say I've never heard of such a thing in my life?? Feel free to ostracise if I've been out of the loop so long that this is common practice!

lots of schools do this. however ours asks for £3 per month...

It is common practice, but it's optional, so don't get angry about it, just don't complete the form.

really? so I am out of the loop then! :)

Of course you're not BU to say you've never heard of it, if you haven't.

Just ignore it if you don't want to/can't do it.

15 quid does seem a lot for a monthly observation.

Would you be willing to invest any money into the school that is educating your children?

I work in a school and my own children's school do this, but I didn't sign up for it.

I was a but tipsy when he came home, he said I went on a rant!

It does seem a lot, but I did arrange to do our yearly contribution on a monthly basis instead of one big cheque because it's easier to fit into the budget and you don't really notice it. If you wouldn't have donated to the school anyway then just don't do it. I imagine you can also donate a different amount of your choice?

I guess its been 25 years since I was at primary school so things prob have changed! I have already agreed to donate time/help out at fund raisers etc...just feel these are the ways to enrich school life/funds - not a standing order

It's to enhance your child's learning - why would you begrudge it if you can afford it? You must be aware public services are being cut and I assume you want your child to have a good and enriching education with as many interesting opportunities as possible?

Our school don't do this, I bet it's only naice middle class schools who get away with demanding regular payments from parents.

The OP hasn't said it was a demand for payment

I think it's just a sign of changing times.

Traditionally, most fundraising committees were run by SAHMs with a bit of time to spare.

Now, with rising rents etc there are a lot more WOHMs, which I imagine leads to less volunteers.

It's the middle class schools which don't have many free school meal pupils which need to do this.

Each FSM pupil brings in an extra £1300 a year. Very low FSM means very low budget.

I think this will become more and now common. If it replaces the endless £1 & £2 requests here and there, all the cake stalls, summer & Christmas fair stuff, play tickets, concert tickets etc then fine, but I'd bet it's on top.

As a family we could possibly spare £10 a month total on this if replaced all of the above.

Our primary school doesn't but ds2's school does. It's only £19 a year though.

Ours asked for about £3 a month. Their suggested contribution is probably based on the income of the area. Our headmaster used to approach parents that he suspected could afford private and ask if they would be wiling to donate some of the money they saved by living in the catchment of an outstanding school. Cheeky but it worked and the school had far more money than it's neighbours.

we can't afford it tbh. I will be cutting my hours at work so I am able to take her and pick her up.

It wasn't a demand of course but I wonder how many parents actually contribute?

I have never heard of this in any schools around here.

I think you right that it may be geographical as most of my friends/family live in London and have not had this request.

As for enriching her education, that's my job right?

I think asking for £3 a month (but not £15!) might be more honest than asking for a pound or two every week or two tbh. Which reminds me that I've temporarily lost the raffle tickets...

Our preschool (and iirc reception) ask for £2 per half term to buy ingredients for cooking with. I bung £10 at some point in the year when I have some spare cash. Only once tho.

When they did fruit tasting, it was pineapple, blueberries, pomegranate etc, not cheaper apples, oranges and bananas.

You might prefer to donate your time, but some parents will prefer to donate money. Unfortunately, this is becoming more common as schools lose so much funding. If you can't afford it, just forget about it.

Sugar, they probably used more expensive stuff for fruit tasting because for some children it will be the only way they ever try the more exotic and expensive fruits. Your hope they know what the cheaper varieties are like from home, because it's got to be cheaper to donate two pounds than to buy a whole range of expensive fruit for your child to taste them all.

Can I ask those of you with schools where this happens (albeit at a lower amount) does you still get regular guilt trips for the odd £1 or 2 every fortnight or so for some kind of fundraising activity or does this formal approach replace it?