YR Residential Trip

[nobutyestbut]

Please help resolve a debate I'm having with another school parent

Our DS are going on the yr6 residential trip and we have to pay £290,

I believe this is a mandatory payment, she says it's voluntary as is part of the curriculum

Who's right?

All schools must have a Charges and Remissions Policy on their web sites. This should clearly explain the position.

Of course residential trips can be curriculum based. The geography example is a classic. However it’s illegal to charge for teaching the curriculum but not for the transport, accommodation and food. If DC don’t go on a curriculum based trip, they must cover the work in school. If it is a fun trip and bonding its still probably the PHSE curriculum! So the school cannot charge for this but they can charge for the items I have listed above. If it’s purely a holiday, with no curriculum input, they can charge for activities as well if delivered by off site experts.

My DDs school splits the cost of the residential trip into two parts, a "contribution" part and an "obligatory part".

£205 is the "contribution" (they leave off the word voluntary). This part covers the travel/activities/tuition/entrance fees etc, so the educational/curriculum part of the trip. This is the part they cannot make it compulsory for parents to pay for.

£245 is the "obligatory" part and everyone must pay. This covers the board and lodgings.

I believe the obligatory part of the payment is funded from the school if the child is entitled to receive pupil premium funding, however from the letters the contribution part is not. However, I am not sure if the school offers assistance to families to pay this if needed, without advertising this.

Of course, the school state that the trip can only go ahead if enough o the "contribution" and "obligatory" payments are received.

If parents don't pay the kids don't go I'd say for a residential
Maybe a day trip could be subsidies if enough do pay ..but not sure that how it works now as most schools can't afford to top up costs.

Obviously it's mandatory if you choose to send them on the trip, you can't have the trip for free! You don't have to send them though - hence 'voluntary'
It's the trip that's voluntary, not the payment

If you don't pay you don't go at our school. It's a voluntary payment as you don't have to send your children on the trip.

I take it your friend is trying to get out of paying for her child but still wanting them to go. Nice.

As it’s outside of school hours the charge is mandatory. If parents don’t want to pay then they just don’t book a place.

Is she on PP? If so the school might be paying.
The payment will probably be voluntary but if you don’t pay you don’t go.

Even on PP the parents do have to pay some monies towards the trip.

At my Ds's school the gcse history residential trip was fully paid for those on pupil premium. Ds is not on pp but the initial letter home mentioned that those parents did not need to pay at all. They should just tick the 'not paying' box on the online pay system to register their child for the trip.

Nope, they can't make you pay, but the residentials are too expensive to cover- ours is made quite clear that you don't have to go but if you do you pay!

Trip costs are always voluntary, they can’t force you to fork out £290. In my DC’s school a few parents couldn’t afford the residential so those pupils stayed behind.

In our school day trips are related to the curriculum and so payment is voluntary (but if not enough people pay then they won't happen). Residentials are optional jollies so if you want to go you have to pay although the school finds funds for children who want to go from families that genuinely can't afford it.

Work in a primary school and all 3 of my children gone through year 6. The residential is a voluntary trip, the child does not have to go on it, therefore the parents have to pay. There is no way a school should pay £290 for potentially a whole year group, in my case 4 classes.

Although in saying that, there may be certain exceptions for instance, a looked after child, pupil premium child or a twin. We have had all of these, looked after child gets all trips paid for out of funding, twins had half paid by school and pp, a percentage was pd out of pp funds if child had not used interventions, etc.

PP money should be individually targeted. It shouldn’t be a blanket decision to use it for trips. If depends on the needs of the child.