To want to cry at all the school demands for money??

[BrieAndChilli]

Most of it doesn't have to be paid until September but still...

£220 for DS1 year 6 residential trip
£100 for DDs overnight trip
£18 x 3 for fruit snacks for next term
£55 for mincraft club that DS2 wants to do
£2 each for trip to ruins ( in our small village so we have been to a million times (no exaggeration!)
£1 each for the priviledge of leaving thier shoes at school on the last day and coming home barefoot!

Not unrelated but £10 for each classes teacher collections = £30

Oh and DS2 needs to dress as a big on Thursday!

Oh and for the first 2 weeks of the holidays they are going to holiday club for 1/2 days which is going to be £500

Oh plus need to buy new uniform/shoes too, even buying cheaply is a fortune (and DS2 shoes that we bought 2 months ago from deichman cheaply have already got holes in the soles)

Kids are going to have to play in the garden all summer and eat bread and water!!!

I wonder how many people who are entitled to FSM don't claim them? It is such a shame because the children miss out on so many other enrichment opportunities because the school won't receive the pupil premium that will fund them.

The school my younger two go to beg parents to claim fsm. They keep badgering me now I'm a single mum but as I work part time I'm not entitled. I earn 12000 a year so not exactly loaded. I really worry about how I'm going to afford school trips in the future.

LoniceraJaponica, yes the trips to Iceland and Skiing were optional. Problem is that pretty much the entire year goes and I didn't want my children to feel left out. We had enormous difficulties integrating No1 as she was a selective mute who self harmed due to bullying over her issues regarding her speech. We'd just about got her to start talking and not self harming and saw this as a way to further her integration. As No1 had gone on a school trip we felt that to be deemed fair parents we had to send No2 on his trip. He did enjoy it immensely and for him it really boasted his confidence enough to travel abroad on his own.
It is difficult when everyone goes in the class and not the very few that are left. I remember feeeling very left out myself and still remember how very upset I was. Especially when they came back full of stories and enthusiasm. Tricky one...

I wonder how many people who are entitled to FSM don't claim them? It is such a shame because the children miss out on so many other enrichment opportunities because the school won't receive the pupil premium that will fund them.

DD's primary school has around 8% of children claiming FSM. The primary school 200 yards away has 42%. The council won't tell our head what the entitlement is due to data protection, but something tells me it's more than 8%.

It will say it on the ofsted report which will be on the school's website.

Mine haven't gone on most school trips! They don't want to.
Mind you I pay about £30k+ a year for school fees for 2 so the sums quoted do not seem that much. It is all relative to your salary really.

It will say it on the ofsted report which will be on the school's website.

School doesn't have a website and in Wales we don't have ofsted.

I get this, I really do! Nothing wrong with a moan! However after the summer hols and forking out for childcare, you might be glad of school and its associated costs when September rolls round

It is hard to be a working parent of three - I am one too. But it is definitely about organisation (eg sending shoes on for them to wear home hahaha!).

Also a lot of that is not mandatory - my dd didn't go to any residential trip, loads didn't go, they had a ball those weeks They were taken out on day trips everyday - cost £40 for the week instead of £800. Money wasn't actually the reason, she has autism and the school were crap with her so her going wouldn't have worked.

I used to feel this way in my old job - it started to get like I couldn't afford to work - £20 plus a night out for colleagues birthdays, £20 a month lottery money (!!) etc, I ended up having to opt out of everything!

But surely the things that you have listed OP are not 'demands' are they?

They are trips/events being offered and if your children wish to go then you would pay, right?

They are just 'optional extras'. Your children don't have to do everything listed - you could say 'no'.

haha BrieandChillli, you're quite right, we all like a moan! I would also question the school directly for overcharging for fruit and the assumption that you should pay for your kids to walk home barefoot! It drives me crazy when other people volunteer something on someone's behalf. Schools often ask for a £1 to give to such and such to teach the children the value of community (how?). I would have no problem with them earning it somehow, having a sale or washing cars etc though but not getting it for nothing or putting people in a position when they can't afford it! Can make you feel a bit mean and uncharitable to not join in but I tend to just say 'thanks but I do my bit' and then force myself to not justify it further. If my son's shoes don't fit they are passed on to someone who can make use or given to charity but I don't pay a £1 to do that and I work in schools and think £10 for teacher donations is outrageous and you should refuse. I work in free education though and not sure if the same in private, different set of (unwritten) rules? It is expensive I agree.

This modern idea of donating for a special teacher's present is ridiculous. I was a primary teacher and loved the little things the children presented me with, some of them made themselves. I appreciated the parents who wrote me lovely little notes thanking me or came in to shake my hand. I was amazed when my grandchildren went to school and parents collected to buy a teacher a M&S token or some other expensive gift.

I'm not sure - as a parent who used to teach I can see how it is better for each parent to contribute a little for the teacher's gift and it can add up- £5 for 30 parents could mean £100 vouchers for the teacher and £50 for a TA. A nice gift and better than lots of rubbish! However i have found in the past parents reps want to get things like Space NK vouchers whereas I think the teachers might prefer something like M & S vouchers. There is no pressure to contribute, either.

That's 20p per piece of fruit, hardly daylight robbery!
No nut its a lot if money up front though!

I don't see why a teacher deserves a present for doing their job. If you feel they've gone above and beyond for your child by all means thank them personally but this extravagant gift giving is just stupid. I wouldn't participate and would be more than happy to explain to them my reasons.