Primary school asking for voluntary donation

[HoppingKangaroo]

My dc just started in reception class. Got a letter about a voluntary donation for reception class fund for £1 a week to be sent in with child weekly or termly. How common is this? Do most parents pay? And will there be more things to pay for on top of this - non uniform days, raffle tickets, trips or school christmas play etc? Just wondering how much everything could cost overall for the year.

DD has been at two primaries. The first was a two form entry primary in v middle class area. We had a constant stream of requests for £1 or £2 for various charity things, non-uniform days, PTA etc. That happened most weeks. It was always for a charity or something similar though, not a donation to the school. The one school trip that year was £10 for the coach. We were asked to donate sellotape and craft materials for Reception.

Second primary - 1.5 form entry in a much more deprived area. No donation requested for school. Very occasional charity donation asked for (twice in a year). A couple of non-uniform days. Donation of £4 for a Christmas outing was asked for and the summer trip was £10 for the coach.

Oh and at middle class school the donations were all meant to go in in labelled envelopes (had to go and buy some for this purpose as we ran out!) presumably so they knew who had donated. It also meant having to have a large quantity of £1 and £2 coins available for the constant requests.

School in not middle-class area has a donation bucket by the door and you just chuck money in with no one checking who has paid and who hasn't. We usually put in double as feel like we can afford it whereas others won't be able to.

Not allowed
Baking is core curriculum

I think this is quite regional. When we lived in South West London most schools asked for a donation. Primary school, at the time, was £30 per year. At a local secondary grammar the suggested donation was £50 per student per month 😳, but lots were in a position to pay. Now we live in the Midlands, even in a fairly affluent area, it isn't the done thing and no local schools ask for donations.

Our school doesn’t ask for this but I wouldn’t mind if it went towards materials for the school and was voluntary.

The PTA does make a lot of money for the school and covers a lot of things for the classroom as well as a few big projects like outdoor learning classrooms.

We've been asked for £20 for the year and there's adhoc requests for everything from printer paper to sellotape / kitchen rolls etc. Summer trip was £20

My daughters are grown up now but yes had it even 20 years ago. It was dressed up as a lottery though, pay £1 a week throughout the school and a prize of £50 per week. School obviously kept the funds minus the prize. Seemed to be fairly popular - I never won anything though!

I taught reception for 7 years. These donations will enable the teachers to buy consumables such as baking ingredients, flour and salt for play dough, cornflour for messy play etc.

There often isn't money in school budget for this and it's also difficult to order and buy from school suppliers. The teacher/TA will be giving up their weekend time to go shopping for it and it will massively enhance learning.

As long as it's voluntary then I don't see a problem with it.

As an ex early years teacher, I spent hundreds of pounds of my own money on things like this until we started asking for voluntary donations.

Don’t know how it works for schools. Could those paying once a term gift aid or would it not count as charity?

@BrokenMatress some baking may be but if you want to do it regularly then there just isn't the money 🙄

If there is no money in school (this year in particular budgets are not enough), what do you think the solution should be?

Children don't do it?
Parents pay?
Teacher pays?

Not really - the DT curriculum which it comes under specifies cooking should mainly be healthy, savory foods. Cooking once or twice a year covers the DT curriculum; baking weekly is very much a nice-to-do.

Ha, I buy all the ingredients myself when my class does food tech. Supposed to be an allowance of £20 per class per year but reclaiming the money through a MAT centralised expenses system is such hassle that I usually don't get round to it. They pay it back to you in your salary and you get taxed on it.

Surely you don't get taxed on it? My work expenses were paid along with salary each month in my previous job so they appear on payslip but aren't taxed?

Current job they're paid within a few days of claim so not on payslip.

Reading this, would it be helpful for parents who want to give teachers gifts at xmas or end of year to therefore gift stuff like a stationery or crafts supplies hamper? Seems to me so many are spending their own salaries on supplies and that a hamper like that or a gift cert would be much better than chocs, a mug, wine, smellies or some random artwork/picture/whatever bought from a collection

School funds have been a thing for at least 39 years (when my mother refused to contribute to it).

However, it can get to the point at primary where every letter gets you thinking 'how much this time?' before you've even read it.

Gifts are lovely, but mainly from a 'feeling appreciated' perspective, so this would be lovely.

Another thing parents can do is see if school can use things when they are having a clear out - books, board games for wet break, fancy dress costumes for early years - sometimes even things like old landline phones for using in the home corner.

I'm 35 and when I was at primary school we had school fund which was to be given in weekly. The amount was never set and it was just up to you, I remember my dad sometimes giving me 20p and sometimes a £1.

My kids primary school don't do this instead it's a £1 for dress down days, world book day, for macmillan and they intend ask at short notice which is annoying as I don't tend to have cash in the house.

Never heard of this but not surprised

I always feel torn about donations to school. I want to help but always feel like as long as parents are plugging a gap in educational budgets the government will let it continue. I pay for individual trips and happy to give more so other children don't miss out but regular donations are just a sticking plaster.

I’ve also received a letter today asking for a donation towards the school repairs. We get asked every year. The only way they can access the fund is if they pay 10% , and that’s why they ask students to cover that 10%

Yes common we usually pay per term.

Yes, £1.50 a week here

When I was a child I can remember taking in 20p a week for school fund I am very old.

An unacceptable slippery slope. We pay for state schools via taxation. End of.