£5 donation for head teacher to sign passport applications etc...

[NameChangeNotNewbie]

Thoughts on this?

The money goes to the school fund. It says a donation, not a voluntary donation.

Does this seem reasonable or unreasonable?

£5 is a bargain. Out of interest, legal people, can notaries no longer do this if they don't particularly know the person they're signing for except on a casual basis?

£5 is cheaper than the fee the doctor charges. It is time consuming and at certain times of the year requests come thick and fast. Our doctor doesn't guarantee to do it on the day you request, either, I think they say it can take up to a week.
I think a nominal charge, especially if it goes to the school, is a good idea.

My profession is not specifically mentioned on the list, but as a Fellow of my professional body, and an associate member of another, then I am considered appropriate. This will be true for many professions not listed specifically.

I am happy to countersign passports for genuine friends and their children, as long as I have known them for 2 years. I made an enemy at the dc's school by refusing to countersign for a child in DD's Reception class who I have only known by sight since September!

Even though I don't need a licence to practice, my professional membership and chartership were hard won and are important to me. It's my professional credibility on the line. The passport office have rung me in the past to ask some "verifying" questions about someone and their child. Fortunately I could answer these easily but it would have been very awkward otherwise, and I suspect that the repercussions would have been significant.

My best friend gets a lot of requests to sign passport photos (he's a teacher and lives next door to a pub) and he's been called up by the passport office a few times, it does get quite time consuming. His school is in a deprived area and he asks for donations towards an activity he runs at lunchtimes, although doesn't specify an amount, it's an extra tutoring type activity but fun and makes an amazing amount of difference, I think it's a genius idea! I'd be a bit iffy if he was asking for money for himself but I've happily paid him to sign photos for me and DC.

Most schools need a bit of extra money, even ones in nice middle class areas, so if they are prepared to sign forms and can get a bit of extra money for school i think its a good idea.

The post office charged me £10 to certify a copy of a passport. They presumably aren't risking dealing with any phone calls about it.

I think the school should charge at least £10.

I would pay it, it helps the school and helps me plus saves me at least £20 than if I were to ask my GP!

I totally agree, that is good, at the Dr, you would expect to pay £20+

£5 is a bargain! I'd make it compulsory. The whole countersigning thing is fucking ridiculous, though, IMO.

I think people will think they already give school enough money without this!

I think it's fine but then I'm a sw so I sign passport forms for friends all the time! For free obviously

I'd ask for £10 given the likelihood of being phoned nowadays, and how long it takes to countersign photos and fill in the boxes.

(civil servant with PhD so have done at least 20 in the last decade for friends and some of their children).

That is a point Not. My friend signed DS's last week and her and her OH told me they always get phoned for children.

Reading this thread I think the only unreasonable thing is the low price she has put on it. Especially if she is doing it in the working day when she should be working in her official capacity.

I think people will think they already give school enough money without this!
This isn't really the same thing though.

My worry in doing this is that it will backfire and encourage more people to ask than would normally. I feel quite awkward asking friends to sign for me, if I could pay a donation to get it signed instead I might take that option instead.

£5 seems more than fair, for something that isn't part of a busy Head Teacher's job. My GP charges £40 to tick a few boxes on a form confirming to the Benefits Agency that I still have the lifelong illness I had three years ago!

I'm able to sign passport applications and such. I sign a friend's shotgun licence application - which gave me very slight pause when I read that I was certifying that he's a fit and proper person to own and operate a gun, cos which of us can really say that about someone else?

@fumbluff1 well those people can of course ask someone other than school to sign their form.

I personally wouldn't dream of taking up HT time with a passport form!
But if I had no other option I'd happily donate a fiver to school funds. Compared to the cost of a holiday and passport it's nothing

I personally wouldn't dream of taking up HT time with a passport form!

That's an odd way to view it. This was a service advertised in the school newsletter.

Whose time would you deem acceptable to commandeer, and would you pay them for the privilege?

Good idea. Think I might suggest to DH that he introduces a charge. He works for a charity and is always being asked by service users to sign Passport applications. He then texts me to ask me to look up his passport number. I got so fed up of repeated requests I told him to photocopy the bloody thing and keep a copy at work. He did but couldn't find it next time someone asked him, so texted me again! A £5 charge would be a good way to boost the charity's funds.

I bet people are happy to pay the £9.95 check and send fee at the Post Office (something which is totally unecessary - unlike the countersignatory which is compulsory).

Great idea. We had to ask one of DS's old teachers to do DS's (we hardly know anyone to ask). Took 3 tries b/c he kept signing outside the box. But £15 charge would still have been unreasonable.

Can a doctor sign the passport form if they have never laid eyes on the person (even if person is on the surgery list)? Seems odd that's allowed.

oops... meant to say £15 would have been reasonable. Sigh, no edit facility.

@namechangenotnewbie was it advertising a service, or was it saying that if you want the Ht to sign the form then it would be £5. The former is encouraging people to do this, the latter isn't.
I would ask a friend to sign the form, probably a friend whose form I'd signed previously. No money would thange hands.

The wording was:

headteacher is happy to complete any passport or driving licence application forms for current and past pupils/parents and caters. We only ask for a £5.00 donation per form.

That could be either tongue in cheek to put people off, or a good fundraising opportunity! (Why head though? surely any teacher could do it?)

Carefree, it says at the end not to ask class teachers. I don't understand it at all.

It surprised me to have such a random advert on the newsletter, for something I would do for free.