Schooling asking for money

[The90sKid]

Maybe I am being unreasonable but I would love to hear other people’s view.

My child is in reception in a government funded academy. School organised an event during school hours on school premises. It was run by a business (for profit) which brought bugs into the school for the children to see, touch etc.

School then sent out a letter saying said activity took place and parents should now pay £3 something.

If relevant, my child enjoyed looking at the bugs and school did work around it. They wrote about the bugs etc.

It’s not a question of money but I feel that education should be free. If school partner with businesses, surely they need to secure the funding.

AIBU?

Still in reception? Oh my, you're in for a shock when they move up then! The demands for money for this, that and the other are never-ending.

If it’s an academy you can be sure the managers at the top have very generous salaries and benefits.

They should give proper notice of treats and trips so that people can choose to opt out.

Thank you for the comments.

I can pay £3 and I will pay. However I was never asked beforehand, I just presented with a bill. I don’t agree with the way it was done.

Who chooses who gets the contracts etc?

What forinborin said. This term I"'ve had requests for £1 here, £2.50 there, about £6 in total for various things. I wish they'd just say how much they want up front for the term and that's me sorted.

@The90sKid

Thank you for the comments.

I can pay £3 and I will pay. However I was never asked beforehand, I just presented with a bill. I don’t agree with the way it was done.

Who chooses who gets the contracts etc?

This will have been either chosen by the Science lead teacher or by the class teacher and approved by senior leadership. It will be a company they've used before or one who's been contacting local schools in the hope of getting some work.

@DogsSausages

Schools are desperate for money, our locals have been finding ways to raise money for years with activities, tea parties, sales, bonfire nights. Who do you think should pay, where do you think schools get their funding from.

I think government should tax big business properly and pay for state education. I believe that asking poor parents to pay is disgusting, and I think the moment any parent who can afford it pays they are putting pressure on the poorer parents to pay too.

I'd ignore the request. Harder to ignore if the money is demanded up front and the kid will miss out if you don't pay.

@The90sKid

Thank you for the comments.

I can pay £3 and I will pay. However I was never asked beforehand, I just presented with a bill. I don’t agree with the way it was done.

Who chooses who gets the contracts etc?

Contracts?!?

Clearly you've never been a teacher trying to book a trip or workshop. Top of your priority is availability, then reputation/reviews/forming a judgment on the content of the trip or workshop, then the cost. If all those come together and it's not far too expensive per head, you book it. If something doesn't work out, you don't book.

Who chooses who gets the contracts etc?

Usually it's the head of year, or head of key stages, and approved by the head teacher. Sometimes they use the same 'providers' year on year.

Seriously OP, if you are starting with being picky like this from Reception, you'll have your work cut out.

I have found that most schools will expect some parents not to pay or not to be able to pay and would cover the remainder themselves. I've never experienced it where a school has made a child miss out because there was no payment.

I think PARENTS should pay for supplies and be a bit more involved.

It's infuriating how parents resent anything concerning their own children! and expect anything and everything for free.

It IS free! No contribution for salaries, for the school, for anything. Instead of being grateful, they moan about a few £ to improve their kids experience.

It's wrong on so many levels.

@The90sKid

Thank you for the comments.

I can pay £3 and I will pay. However I was never asked beforehand, I just presented with a bill. I don’t agree with the way it was done.

Who chooses who gets the contracts etc?

By all means pass the message on that you had no forewarning of this cost although I've never worked in or known a school who don't ask before the event.

The class teacher or SLT team will have most likely chosen the contract an fits likely to have been a business they have used previously as they will know that they deliver what is needed.

I’m a little unsure what you might be implying OP.

I was a community governor (I think the title may have changed now ) of a local school and served on the finance and staffing committee. The abysmal funding situation made running the school safely, almost impossible and hugely stressful for the staff. Fund raising by the PTA helped immeasurably to ensure the children had ‘extras’ that were once considered essential.

The staff would have chosen this provider of a bug experience because they probably have worked together before and the company’s staff had advanced dbs certification.

All accounts at schools are audited so it is transparent where money is spent.

OP if you are so concerned, why not speak to the head/chair of governors or attend the next meeting? Perhaps you will more fully appreciate what is being done behind the scenes to educate your DC.

It is the equivelent of a school trip but at school, would you expect a school trip to be free?

They should have charged you BEFORE the event though, that's a bit odd!

They should have asked in advance but assuming a two form entry you want an enquiry into the £180 spent?

Mind-boggling! School funding has been cut and cut and cut. You’re in for a shock if you think you won’t pay for anything at school over the next 14 years.

@fashionablefennel

I think PARENTS should pay for supplies and be a bit more involved.

It's infuriating how parents resent anything concerning their own children! and expect anything and everything for free.

It IS free! No contribution for salaries, for the school, for anything. Instead of being grateful, they moan about a few £ to improve their kids experience.

It's wrong on so many levels.

The problem with school paying for supplies is what do you do about the kids who parents won't buy them pencils and pens and writing books, or send them in with their old sisters one turned back to front, some old sheets of paper stapled together, who can't afford to buy a new reading book every week or paint and paper?

To my mind, the error the school made was in asking for money AFTER the event. Asking beforehand is fine, as it gives you the option to say no.

The problem with school paying for supplies is what do you do about the kids who parents won't buy them pencils and pens and writing books, or send them in with their old sisters one turned back to front, some old sheets of paper stapled together, who can't afford to buy a new reading book every week or paint and paper?

What do you think happens? The school pays for it. But they can’t afford to pay for every child and when many of the parents can pay they should do.

In a similar way certain trips will be subsidised for children whose parents don’t have enough money. Schools know who these children are. They don’t tend to be the children whose parents worry about ‘how the contract was awarded’.

@SleepingStandingUp I think the idea would be that parents would pay a termly/annual donation towards resources rather than actually providing the resources themselves.

My daughter is in reception and we pay £2 per child per half term towards snack (all the children in EYFS) minimal cost and means I don't have to think about preparing her a snack to take in, and costs a lot less than providing our own too.

OP c'mon over to Ireland where we pay;€80 per child at the start of the year for photocopying.
We buy ALL of the books and workbooks
We provide all of the stationery for our children...everything!

...it's 3 quid!

@fashionablefennel

I think PARENTS should pay for supplies and be a bit more involved.

It's infuriating how parents resent anything concerning their own children! and expect anything and everything for free.

It IS free! No contribution for salaries, for the school, for anything. Instead of being grateful, they moan about a few £ to improve their kids experience.

It's wrong on so many levels.

Ah, but it ISN'T free. It's paid for by us through taxes, not some magic government money tree!

I think it’s generally really unreasonable to ask for the money after the event.
I’d pay it, but would be annoyed on principle that it wasn’t requested beforehand.

Schools are very underfunded so I do understand the need to charge for "extras", however...
It should have been made clear beforehand that this event was taking place
It should have been made clear that there was a charge

DCs school ask for voluntary contributions for such things, before they take place and do say that without a certain amount of input financially they may not be able to run them.

The problem with school paying for supplies is what do you do about the kids who parents won't buy them pencils and pens and writing books, or send them in with their old sisters one turned back to front, some old sheets of paper stapled together, who can't afford to buy a new reading book every week or paint and paper?

Instead of physical supplies - like other countries request - you could impose a mandatory payment, taken at the source if needed.

It's not right to expect teachers to pay for the kids, it's up to the parents. Teachers really don't earn that much.

I have chosen to have kids, it's my responsibility to care for them isn't it? I still have access to free education for them.

It's a real worry that funding will get even worst, the bill for Covid and the pandemic will be a disaster for everybody. Parents need to step up (reasonably, we are talking about supplies, not a private school fee).

[quote Heckythump1]@SleepingStandingUp I think the idea would be that parents would pay a termly/annual donation towards resources rather than actually providing the resources themselves.

My daughter is in reception and we pay £2 per child per half term towards snack (all the children in EYFS) minimal cost and means I don't have to think about preparing her a snack to take in, and costs a lot less than providing our own too.[/quote]
I have no issue with that kind of financing, we have out of uniform last Friday of every month / termwhich is 50p so in theory they make £100 a month. I just thinking going round the class on the first day working out which kids need a school notebook and pencil would be like making the free lunch kids wear a Feed Me badge aka recipe for bullying