to object to a voluntary contribution of £10 for a school trip to the zoo, when I am a single mum

[pirategirl]

and skinto.

Thats all the letter says, what does it mean ffs. That i can give what I like that anyone can give what they like.

Whats happened to all the money we keep shelling out for the PTA!!!

I f idont give my tenner I'll feel rotten, but i cannot understand how its gonna cost £400 for the school mini bus to take 4o kids (aged 5) to the zoo which is half an hour away.

I nkow there are group discounts, and the money doesnt even include food, we have to provide it.

This is the first school trip, so maybe I am overreacting. The zoo only costs £5 for kids normally, when u take them.

why dont you ask them why its £10 when its only £5 to get into the zoo?ive never been asked for more than £2 towards coach travel for any school trips mine have been on.

Maybe it's just a suggestion - stick in 50p and don't worry about it.

It costs £10 per person so that the ones who can't afford to pay don't have to.

You can't afford to pay.

Don't

If it's voluntary then don't pay it if you can't afford it.

if there are 40 kids they'll have to hire a coach. could easily be a fiver a head - we usually pay 5E a head here and petrol etc is much cheaper.

it is a voluntary contribuiton though. why not give a fiver?

Dont pay , I bet thers loads who can afford to pay and wont.

Its voluntary contribution so dont volunteer to contribute

Unfortunately coach company's charge more and more each year and the schools use the safest ones they can (well ours does) Coach trips are so expensive and we have never had a trip under a tenner!!!
This year its Kew gardens and its £12 and thats with some of it being paid by the pta. Without them it would be £15-18
I pay when I can afford it (I have 4 girls at school so bloody expensive!) But I certainly don't beat myself up over it if I can't afford it

oh so thats what it means, yes VOLUNTARY !!!

i am a bit thick , i guess!

i just feel awful not paying my/her way.

I think I'll give a fiver? how does that sound, or go and talk to the nice ladies in the office, the r v sweet, they might have a whip round for me pmsl!!!!

FYI

School are not allowed to overcharge for trips. So they cannot bung on an extra couple of quid to cover those who don't pay. Thye have to make up the difference. In fact most trips are subsidised by the school a bit anyway (or the PTA). But if you contribute what you can pay then that will be acceptable. It happens occasionally and teachers dopn't mind if you really can't afford it!

coaches re realy £££

It has been ten pounds for a couple of trips at our school recently.

The contributions are simply voluntary in that if you can't afford to pay you don't have to.They're not allowed to exclude children who can't pay

Most people pay if they can afford to.

We never paid for trips when I was little as my mum was a single parent.

I would just pop in the office and say it you can't pay it, or phone if you don't want to go in. There shouldn't be an issue at all.

How long is it before this trip takes place? The schools i worked for never charged more than needed and dont forget they have to pay for the parent helpers that come to look after little ones and dont get paid. If you can only afford £5 pay that but I know if it was me I would try very hard to pay the £10.
L

We have letters like these, and they are worded in a unusual guilt-inducing fashion - that its a voluntary contribution as they are not allowed to demand money, however if they dont raise £10 for each child, they are unable to continue with the trip. So give us £10!

There is an option to speak to the school office if the parent/guardian is in receipt of certain benefits in order to get a funded place, but although i claim both WFTC and CTC, i dont think i want the school knowing my financial position, whatever it was!

If it were me, i would query the rate though - seems very high.

I thought the rules changes some years ago so that parents could not be asked to pay for a school trip, and could not be excluded if they didn't pay. Thats when they started asking for voluntary donations. I could be wrong though.

Our school asks for a voluntary donation of £X towards the trip, and alsways asks anyone with difficulty meeting the costs (even for the trips which are £2.50) to talk to teacher or headmaster. I think that sometimes children who get free meals are singled out and told that they are not expected to pay (unless they feel able to). A clause is always put in about not being able to confirm the trip unles sufficient funds are raised.

Talk to your head/teacher. Especially if you are on any kind of benefits, which will work in your favour.

I am the same, we used to recieve benefits and I found it hard eneough accepting free school meals (no longer needed thank god!!)
It was really hard having more than 1 child in the same school and not being able to afford double or triple the amount. So I would scrape it up just so I didn't have to go to the office and explain my life to them

I think the schools are hard pressed to arrange trips out and just dont have the budget to fund them. If every parents didnt pay, they couldnt go
I think the school ask you to come to the office so they know if people are struggling they can help, but some just never pay!
I wouldnt find it offensive, but in all likely hood I would pay or borrow money from mum rather than having too go to office

would you prefer schools not to do trips, irishbird?

or should they just use their magic money, that the year 2s grow on the school allotment?

I would love my kids school trip to be £10.
DS1 has a school trip (5 days away) £280 and DS2s next school trip is £15. There seems to be a mufti day every sodding week as well. Then the high school he is going to in September have sent us a letter saying they are having a week away and would DS1 like to go..... another £290!!!!
Then there is the scouts, ohhhh don't get me started on that one, its a never ending stream of money

I think I am going to have to get a job just to keep my children social live going!!!

Easy for me to say, as I've never been in the position of having to go to the office, but if contributions aren't forthcoming few, if any, trips would take place.

Perhaps I'm just used to it, but when dh was made redundant a few years ago and we needed free school meals I didn't feel that bothered about telling them.

Can't remember if there was a trip during that period though.

There isn't any way round it, is there, you either say you can't pay or manage it somehow?