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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

School disco

80 replies

emzaroo · 07/02/2018 22:23

I have 2 children in the primary school.
We had a good ofsted and to celebrate the Psa are putting on a disco at a cost of £5 per child. The disco is 45 minutes long and the children get a drink of squash and a small packet of haribo.
Both dd are going to want to go, and righty so but the question is....
AIBU to resent paying £10 for this?
I am happy to pay but truly feel £5 each is ridiculous! What do other schools do?

I appreciate Psa do a good job at raising money but I no longer enjoy going to any school things due to the sheer cost.

Thanks

OP posts:

Julie8008 · 08/02/2018 01:10

Get involved in organising it. If you think its unreasonable then do something about it. PTAs do a really hard job with little reward and all they get from parents are complaints.

mmgirish · 08/02/2018 04:16

What!! Our school disco costs the equivalent of one pound and they get a drink and 2 snacks.

KC225 · 08/02/2018 06:08

I refused to face paint at the school summer fair when they were charging £3 and I was turning little ones away. It was awful, grabbt and not in the spirit of a school fair. I was using my own kit, brushes, paints and glitters. I said I thought it was too expensive and I was told it was the going rate and it was fundraising.

Champagneandthestars · 08/02/2018 06:08

Jesus, there's some tight fuckers on here! You did know having 2 children would mean double any costs, didn't you? It's £5 each! Schools need funds - I bet you're the type that moan about the cost of school trips too.

BikeRunSki · 08/02/2018 06:15

Our school disco is £5/family. It’s 1hr 30, but you have to buy your own snacks and glow sticks.

Honkyzeke · 08/02/2018 06:57

At my DDs old school it was £2 then £1 each for any siblings that was for a couple of hours and they would be allowed to take money to buy snacks.
When I was part of PTA at infant school we would do the same with an added raffle as these events were to help raise money for school trips and swimming etc. £5 each is rather steep though, we found if we tried to charge too much it just put parents off & turn out would be poor.

gamerwidow · 08/02/2018 07:01

We charge £4 the disco is 1h15 mins for infants and 1h30 minutes for seniors. The job of the PTA is to raise money for the school not to put on cheap events. If it gets to a tipping point where people no longer go because it’s too expensive then it’s too much otherwise it’s right to charge as much as people will pay.

Oriunda · 08/02/2018 07:03

Ours is £5 for 1hr 15. We run two consecutively. Includes pizza, crisps, chocolate, squash and glo stick. Once we’ve paid for DJ and pizza, we’re unlikely to make a profit, just cover the costs. It’s a treat for the kids, not a fundraiser per se.

I won’t be charging for the 4 hours of my time running it.

MimsyBorogroves · 08/02/2018 07:13

We have to pay £3 for an hour. No drinks etc included, they have a tuck shop. First one I gave DS £1 for the tuck shop. Turns out, they charge £1 for a (small!) bottle of water. It's ridiculously hot, so sensibly he bought one, but was still thirsty when he came out, and couldn't buy any sweets to share with his friends. I now give him £1 for the drink (with an order to refill at the water fountain!) and he can take £1 of his pocket money for the sweets.

It's a rip off.

Shedmicehugh · 08/02/2018 07:18

What happens for the children who really cannot afford it?

Fundraising is great, but I often wonder can families on a very low income pay less or not at all?

IggyAce · 08/02/2018 07:19

Sorry that’s a rip off, disco at our school is £2.50 for an hour 15mins they get a treat bag too. Usually offer the option of a hot dog for an additional 50p.

metalmum15 · 08/02/2018 07:22

£3 for an hour and a half, doesn't include drinks or sweets. We have 6 discos a year....

Commuterface · 08/02/2018 07:23

Sorry but your PTA are taking the piss! DD1 has a disco on Friday is is an hour and a half and they get a buffet. Also the DJ does loads of games with them and they all get pockets full of sweets as prizes. Ours costs £6.

MistyMeadow · 08/02/2018 07:27

£3 for an hour here, includes unlimited juice and a treat at the end which was a bag of chocolate coins at Christmas

WhirlwindHugs · 08/02/2018 07:29

Yeah, that's too much.

I don't think charging loads but including lots of extras is any better, at least if you charge £2.50 then it's extra for food and glo sticks then most parents will probably end up spending more and parents who can't afford £5 for an hours entertainment (which is a lot!) can just pay the £2.50 and say no to too many extras.

It's socially devisive to charge so much and bad practice on any pta not to start from the basis that they want as many children as possible to be able to attend.

BurnTheBlackSuit · 08/02/2018 07:40

It does seem a bit expensive compared to discos at other schools, however I challenge you to find any other activity you can leave you children at for 45 mins for less than £5. Even ones you don't leave you child at cost more (soft play). I don't understand why people happily pay more for a private money making company, but object to paying a charity that is there to benefit their children.

AppleKatie · 08/02/2018 07:42

Rainbows/Brownies/Guides/Scouts/Cubs/beavers

WhirlwindHugs · 08/02/2018 07:49

Relax kids is less too.

More to the point, I know plenty of kids who don't do any, or only do 1 afterschool activities because their parents can't afford the commitment. We live in a very average area.

hesterton · 08/02/2018 07:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Believeitornot · 08/02/2018 07:52

£5!

Have they hired a disco?

The key to school fundraising isn’t to make prices so high and badge it “for a good cause”. You need to price it for the masses, otherwise you create resentment. Not everyone can afford it.

SeraphinaDombegh · 08/02/2018 07:52

Ours charges £3.50 per child but it's 1.5 hours long and includes a hot dog, sweets and a drink. I think £5 is steep, especially for families with more than one child at school.

RedSkyAtNight · 08/02/2018 07:53

Guessing school in affluent area where most parents won't bat an eyelid?

DC's primary school disco for £1.50 for 1.5 hours - although you did have to pay for snacks on top they were mostly 10p or 20p.

Their school also offered many after school activities for £1 or £2. I think the only activities we paid as much or more than £5 for were specialist things like music.

Doobedoobedoobedoobedoobe · 08/02/2018 07:55

Ours is £2.50 for infants (45 mins) £3 for juniors (1 hr) they also get drinks and crisps I think it is. £5 is very steep!

WhirlwindHugs · 08/02/2018 07:58

Even in an affluent area there will always be some families struggling financially. They're not likely to advertise that to the pta though.

Trampire · 08/02/2018 08:10

£5!!!!??

Bloody hell. Our was a £1 for an hour. No way. That's taking the puss.

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