To think school shouldn’t be charging for this?

[Indella]

Our school has a habit of expecting parental contributions for everything possible but the latest 2 things we’ve had letters about I don’t think falls under what a school can charge for.

The first one is my child has now started the compulsory school swimming lessons. These are part of the curriculum and so can’t be charged for. However parents have to pay £3 per child, per week for the transport to the swimming lessons. Is this not the school’s responsibility to fund as the swimming lessons are compulsory?

The second one is an “art and crafts day”. Letter says children will be spending the day, still in school, doing Christmas themed arts and crafts. They have asked for £12 per child for the materials. This is being held at school, in school hours and is instead of the normal lessons. I legally have to send my child to school so it’s compulsory. Letter doesn’t say voluntary contribution so I assume again we have no choice but to pay but surely the school can do arts and crafts with the children that don’t cost so much. 28 children in the class so £336 of art supplies! Sounds like they are using parents to re-stock supplies for the year.

I know they are not huge amounts but add that to the fact we paid £3 each entry to the school Christmas fair (including having to pay for the accompanying parent) and £10 each for tickets to watch the Christmas performance. Plus the never ending non-uniform days it’s really starting to add up and it feels like the school are simply using parental contributions to fund what should be covered by the school.

AIBU to think these things shouldn’t be charged for?

When my first son had swimming lessons with the school we had to pay, even though they walked to the pool!

That is why you need to avoid voting Conservative on Thursday so you get a properly funded education system!

I wouldn’t vote conservative if they were the only party, I’m NHS staff and know the damage they have caused. But if anyone thinks labour is going to start funding schools to have more classes then they actually need that’s deluded. The school have made a choice to have more classes then they need and now parents are having to fund that. Regardless of the election result that won’t change. The only solution is to accept they can’t fill 7 classes.

YABU if you vote Tory it’s as a result of government cuts that’s school need assistance financially from parents. YANBU if you vote any other way.

Schools are underfunded so they are trying, in whichever way possible, to make up the shortfall.

This underfunding is due to 9 years of cuts by the current government. Not to mention them allowing huge MATs (multi academy trusts) to be set up who pay management far more than Heads and award contracts to family and friends ... effectively taking even more money out of education.

If you don't want to continue paying for "extras" or even basics then you know what to do on Thursday.

Teachers often funded their own resources anyway, regardless of finding cuts.

In the Blair years my school was woefully underfunded. My photocopying budged was for one piece of paper for every 6 children I taught per week. We had no mechanism for being reimbursed for money we spent on creating teaching resources. Similarly, when I was expecting my first child we didn't know whether our local hospital would be open by the time we reached my due date, because it was earmarked for closure. It wasn't all a bed of roses back then and, with a new Labour government focused on nationalising utility companies, I don't see them finding extra money for schools either. I don't think any of the major political parties will deliver the funding that education really needs. It is all rather depressing.

Back to your point though, I think charging you for transport is fine, but charging you £10 per person to watch your kids perform their Christmas play is outrageous.

YANBU

However school should have said they are voluntary (its illegal not to) but if they don't have enough money then the arts day will be cancelled which is a shame. Either that or you will sacrifice teaching assistants there is NO BUDGET left particularly in smaller primary schools its scary.

We have to decide between a hole in the roof or reading books at our well funded primary its only well funded because we are 2 form entry and have 30% pupil premium children

You should know if your child is a pupil premium child you can ask that school use this money for your trips as its there to ensure what the government call 'disadvantaged' children are able to access the whole curriculum

However you are not wrong its terrible (and Boris isn't going to make it any better)

I am chair of governors

My DC village primary school also charged for transport to swimming lessons , even though it was in the school minibus that parents had fund raised for and most parents were members of a lottery club that helped fund the running costs. For Christmas decoration day we didn't have to contribute financially towards the crafts but there were a lot of other in school activities that we did like author visits. I think it is classed as a "voluntary contribution" not a charge,however if you can afford it I would pay. School finding has been drastically cut in recent years and some of the TAs in our village primary were made redundant last year. I think the charges are due to lack of government funding and not because of greed on the part of the school

My son's school has always charged parents for swimming lessons.
1st time i was requested to pay i asked same question - as it's part of the curiculum why am i effectively forced to pay? Turns out as the school doesnt have its own pool, the government funding only covers the tuition fee of the swimming teacher but not the hire of the pool. Luckily we are near enough to pool the kids can walk.
We also have to donate £10 per year per pupil to cover cooking ingredients and a further £10 a year for 'school fund' which covers random stuff i think the school falls short on funding for.
Id be requesting an explanation for the craft afternoon. You are quite entitled to know why you are required to pay this and the school should have full transparency.

Well considering TAs and Teachers are paying out of their own pockets (on a pants salary anyway) to get kids pens and other supplies for their learning I there has to come a point where they have to ask for money. Sounds like they are trying to get some Christmas craft bits to make it more fun for the kids, there is no way their budget would allow this sort of thing. I think the schools are trying so hard against all odds to give a basic education to all and they just don’t have the pennies they need. It’s a sad state of affairs

To OP, I was not replying to you but another poster who used the expression ‘rip off.’ Anyway, I appreciate that your school is asking for a bit of money. You don’t have to pay it. I agree-schools should not be in the awkward position of having to do this. I trust you will vote bearing this in mind. A pp explained very well the options open to schools- none of them are good.

I am a bit shocked by the crafts day and not just by the price. That amount of materials does not sound at all environmental. I think it sounds like potential landfill.

Well i hope you won’t be voting Tory then.

Our school asks for donations and voluntary contributions constantly, I once paid what I could afford towards swimming and was pulled up on it!! It was mortifying

Assuming you don't work in education. If you did you'd know just how bad things have got

The School will have a plan re the PP money and they do not have to spend it on school trips or even involve parents.

They may do and they may not, they may make a reduction but parents needs to know they have no control over the spending before going to ask the Head to do so. I wouldn't want any parent to be embarrassed if they find it is planned for somewhere else.

We pay for transport to swimming I can’t see that’s unreasonable.
We pay £2 for school play which goes for costumes
We pay for termly ‘ days ‘ this term was Viking around £10 .
I think we also pay for school trip once a year and a couple of art days which are about £2 .

They are all things the school adds to the curriculum and the kids get so much out of it . We get a letter at the start of the year so we know what is coming and they are ‘optional ‘

It's crazy. You pay to go to the nativity? Wow.

I thought my kids’ schools were bad: this is crazy!

I am appalled. No school should be asking for contributions to any lessons or events that are part of the curriculum. It discriminates against children from poor families.

Or is this some private outfit or chummy school in a rich borough where there aren't any poor kids because the sharp elbowed middle classes have nabbed all the places?

In which case it's karma.

"Back to your point though, I think charging you for transport is fine, but charging you £10 per person to watch your kids perform their Christmas play is outrageous."

It's interesting how many people seem to think it's fine for schools to charge for things that there is no way to avoid while still having the child in the school receiving the same education as their peers (and which are legally the responsibility of the school), but find the charge for parent attendance at an event that the school is not obliged to hold unreasonable.

Is it better for children not to learn to swim so long as parents get to see their child dressed up as a shepherd?

It is hard, especially if you are hard up. Maybe you could speak to the school about that confidentially.

If however, it's a moralistic thing, you must know that schools are very hard up and this is really a way for them to enrich the curriculum. Without this sort of thing they would have to stop doing these and other activities.

Unless we all are prepared to pay more tax then schools continue to not have enough budget to cover even the basics. In nearly all schools staff are giving many free hours and even funding things themselves.

Now my children have left primary, I miss all those things that seemed a little stressful and days and extra things.

Peachypips78

Sophe- “I am appalled” yes, you are right to be appalled that in one of the richest countries in the world, the government doesn’t fund schools adequately enough so that they are forced to ask parents for cash or sack TAs or only employ inexperienced, cheaper teachers.