School constantly asking for money

[abitofpeace]

Just wondering how it is in other people’s primary schools. Ours is constantly asking for money. Usually raffle tickets, etc but more recently some of the parents are selling stuff through the school and giving the profits to the school. It feels like everyday they ask for something!

There is also a monthly (optional) direct debit if parents want to pay regular. Are finances so bad that thee government need such a large boost?

The current Government has chosen to underfund education since David Cameron was first elected to power.

The only schools who aren't underfunded are those in highly deprived areas who receive a lot of pupil premium money as a result of having a high percentage of child in receipt of income-based free school meals.

There is a genuine expectation, from Government, that parents in leafy lane schools will prop up the budget (as well as teachers themselves buying resources, etc). This is what allows the Government to keep underfunding the sector. However, if it stopped, the children would be the ones who suffer.

Schools are also charged with the duty of identifying and utilising additional revenue streams such as hiring out the school hall/field to other groups, adding consultancy roles onto teachers for school-to-school support, etc. Many of these have had to stop due to Covid-19 and so schools are facing significant deficits in their budgets.

I have 3 children in primary school and its always December they want us to donate constantly. I had to pay £2 each for them to be included in a colouring competition!

I generally don't mind but in December I have haven't got over £100 laying about to pay for the constant parent mails that come through asking for money. One day at work I was joking with a colleague about the amount of emails I was getting she couldn't believe it, I had 6 in 4 hours asking for in total over £50!

I'm happy to donate throughout the year but December is tight and I do t want my children to be left out of activities because I didn't donate.

the school is poorly funded if they don't have a good SENCO etc. to be able to communicate need of funds to their respective fields.

And no I'm not saying schools are well funded, but the money is there to meet basic need its whether they know how to access it.

To be honest I think after the days of nursery fees school is a bloody bargain! (Yes I know it’s funded through taxes). I work as a secondary teacher and can confirm we have no money, when we do use textbooks they’re from a few specifications ago that are older than our kids!

@Mally2020

And no I'm not saying schools are well funded, but the money is there to meet basic need its whether they know how to access it.

This is simply not true.

My parent is a head teacher and I work in education so yes it is very much true.

I’m a School Business Manager. One of my single form entry schools is down £10600 this term due to excess costs relating to COVID. We worked hard to present a balanced budget, this has blown it out of the water. So no, we can’t afford the basics. That said, schools should be sensitive to the frequency and timing of pleas. We let PTAs do a lot of the heavy lifting on that front!

I was a school governor until 2014. I have not had contact with primary education since then. Finances were bad enough then, and the annual fetes and other events were not buying luxuries but some things I consider important parts of education, such as library books.

My understanding is that things have got worse since then.

My daughter's Primary was like having a second mortgage. It was a Catholic school and parents were also "encouraged" to donate a certain sum every year towards the upkeep of the attached church as well. I couldn't wait for her to leave!

In your case OP it sounds like the school does it because it works - wealthy cohort, lots of donations etc. So they carry on. In your shoes I'd give what you can but leave it to others who can and want to give more, to do so.

@Mally2020 if by basic need you mean a watertight building with running water and some heating, then I agree with you. If you mean staffing for catch up and stretch groups, specialist subject resources, craft materials, inspiring class libraries, ample paper towels, glue sticks for everyone, then I really don’t.

I never list my background because I could be lying, so find it pointless, but it is not true that schools have enough funding.

[quote Mally2020]@HelenaJustina then you clearly aren't very good at your job if that is the case.[/quote]
Not sure a headteacher parent would be very proud of this display of bad manners!

To put in perspective, I have no pens in my classroom, I last bought some 2 years ago because I am very careful with equipment (I keep a note who has borrowed them so I can get them back and ring parents if I don’t, one complained about this being petty). I have zero left now as they’ve broken/run out. I can’t order any until Feb. That’s how desperate some schools are for cash!

[quote Mally2020]@HelenaJustina then you clearly aren't very good at your job if that is the case.[/quote]
You don’t sound like you’d be very good at yours either, although we note that you’ve avoided being specific about what it is that you do “in education”. So you’ll understand if people don’t take your outlandish statements on school funding very seriously.

To be fair, I wouldn’t welcome a call about a borrowed pen either can’t you get them back in class time?

What would happen if scholls ran out of money?

Well, initially I think all the nice to have resources would go. Printed work sheets, consumables for science/DT/art. Glues and scissors would not be replaced. Your child's time at school would be more boring, but they probably wouldn't suffer tooo much educationally.

But that's really only a tiny part of the school's budget. Most of it goes on staffing. So, chances are, supply teachers would be used less, staff asked to cover on PPA, TAs and non teaching staff asked to do cover etc. It wouldn't be ideal and there would probably be times when the school has to partially close because they can't make it work.

And then they look at long term costs - TAs being cut, larger class sizes (especially for lower sets), less pastoral staff, less support staff. Which is when children's education really begins to suffer. But this has all been happening for years and years anyway.

A lot of school budgets have nowhere to flex, but we are having to pay for sanitiser and cleaning products and masks plus lots of supply.

So next year, it's highly likely we will lose science lessons from the timetable, as it's an expensive subject to run. And that (in my opinion) really does hurt the kids.

@upsidedownwavylegs

To be fair, I wouldn’t welcome a call about a borrowed pen either can’t you get them back in class time?

I would buy a box of pens if I got this call.

@Mally2020

And no I'm not saying schools are well funded, but the money is there to meet basic need its whether they know how to access it.

It's not the fucking Krypton Factor. They shouldn't have to 'know how to access' money to keep their school going - it should just be made available. I'm now imagining SBMs scratching their heads and muttering "My first is in 'clock' but not in 'watch' . . . " while a timer counts down on their monitor screen. WTF do you do in education, anyway? I hope it's nothing to do with punctuation.

@upsidedownwavylegs

To be fair, I wouldn’t welcome a call about a borrowed pen either can’t you get them back in class time?

Some kids will refuse to return them or claim to have lost it by the end of the lesson. Some will deliberately break borrowed equipment.

Personally, I'd be embarrassed to send my child to school without a pen and then be told they hadn't respected school property either.

My youngest DC old school were pulled up for the constant money grab, charging £5 for a 1 hour disco increasing it £3 over the year, the head of the PTA constantly asking for money, her kids left years ago but she was still there and in a huff when parents started asking where all the money was going as it was not being spent on the kids!

@DJattheendoftheworld

Ours expect a direct debit of £120 a month. I just can't afford it. It's a state school!

What?

@Mally2020 - why do you assume that the experiences of all the posters on here are false or because they are not very good at their jobs? You sound utterly obnoxious with your 'my mum's a headteacher' bollocks. You work 'in education', doing what, though? Just because the school your parent runs might not be in financial ruin it doesn't mean that many others aren't. It's nothing to do with business managers being good or poor at their jobs or SENCos shouting loudly enough. In many (most) cases, the money is not there. You cannot get blood from a stone.
As for @loutypips suggesting that the teachers used school money to refurbish their toilets, pah! It's most likely the teachers brought in those nice 'fixtures and fittings' themselves to cheer up an utterly drab and neglected space. Believe me, cheerful staff toilets would be very low on the list of spending priorities for a school. Also, do you truly believe that the school would spend thousands on play equipment that the children aren't allowed to use, just 'for show'? Really?
What do you mean the staff mainly use the minibus? How do you know this if it happens during their personal time? Even if they are using it, do you think it would be for free? Staff would have to pay to hire/drive the bus for personal use, therefore making money for the school. It sounds like you've seen some things going on at the school and drawn your own conclusions, which are probably quite different from the truth.