What will happen if I'm behind on paying for the trip?

[UndertheCedartree]

Really worrying about this. I have spoken to school about it but not been given a response. So just wanted to see what is usual procedure.

In December I signed my DD up for the Y6 residential trip. In January we found out the cost - £350 😮 A payment plan was set up for those who couldn't afford to pay it outright. £50 in Jan, £100 in Feb, £100 in March, £50 in April and £50 in May. Trip is end of June.

I'm on a low income and I'm struggling with the payments. I've paid the £50 for Jan and I've saved up £30 so far for the February payment.

Will my DD not be allowed to go if I haven't paid it all by May or even June? It would crush her. I wouldn't not pay but I wish it could have been spread out longer to pay. £100 out of a month's budget is so much! It's my DC's birthdays in March and April and I had a large unexpected expense in January too 😥

I messaged one of the pastoral care teachers on Monday. Followed up on Thursday. She did say she will see what she can find out. I've just been worrying. But will hopefully hear something next week.

I've looked at the website and seems the school are right. It says PP should be spent on:

high-quality teaching, such as staff professional development
targeted academic support, such as tutoring
wider strategies to address non-academic barriers to success in schools, such as attendance, behaviour, and social and emotional support

Ah, OP, I'm so sorry you have to worry about this.

Things that come up feel like the most important things in our child's world at the time, don't they, and we so want to make sure they get them. It's really hard.

You are being brilliantly proactive. I imagine there are many people who would out their head in the sand until the last minute (which can also be understandable).

You are doing the best you can and paying what you can.

A PP had a good idea to write to the Head, formally and in confidence, asking for a reduced rate or a longer payment plan.

You are taking positive action and that's the best thing you can do x,

Luckily, it sounds as if that isn't the case in very many schools, so hopefully will be the case for DD.

I'm sorry your DD missed out. But that's so kind of your DH.

You reminded me I have been having a big sort out of books that I'm planning to sell on Ziffit - comes to about £30. My DD is just constantly growing at the moment. She has just increased her shoe size for the second time since September. I'm planning to sell her shoes as almost brand new - but tbh, I'll need that money for food.

My DD actually loves making bracelets! She got a kit for Christmas! Wonder if they'd let her sell them at school?

No idea if it happens at your DDs school but its worth asking the SENCO at the school.
I had told my DS that I am sorry but he would not be able to go on the school journey as I just could not pay He was fine about it as it goes
Anyway, I was asked to see the SENCO one afternoon after school and she said the School had decided that funds would pay for my Son to go as he was a Loner and they felt it would do him good and he should go.
I was very grateful and , in the end, he did have a good time.
Best of Luck

Yes, I want everything for my DC. I never want them to have to miss out, I never want them to feel different from their friends and excluded 😥

Thanks for being so kind. It's actually made me cry. I am doing my best and I'm so grateful for all the advice on this thread. I feel I have a clearer action plan in my head and much closer to being able to make the payments.

Thank you, all.

Speak to the school. Also read this - PP funding can be used for extra-curricular activities including trips. However it's worth being aware that PP isn't an individual grant for a specified child, parents don't have the right to demand that the funding their child attracts is spent only on them.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1066915/Using_pupil_premium_guidance_for_school_leaders.pdf

Oh, that's brilliant and I'm glad he ended up having a good time ☺️

My DD is actually under the SENCO, so I could have a word with her.

Your school probably has a Family Liaison Officer, who would be a good first point of contact.

Apparently, the government now says PP has to be used for academics. This is absolutely not true. Is your school in a high deprivation area? Our school gets approx. £500,000 year PP funding, but it may be that your school receives much less and so the spending may have been used to cover TA costs. You will be able to see on the school website a breakdown of how the school spent their PP funding last year.

Hope your get the support you need from school.

Oh, I see it actually says trips. The wider areas that money could be spent on didn't sound like it included trips. Thank you for that, I'll see what school say. But as you say it isn't a personal budget and they may have just decided to spend it on different things now, rather than trips.

At my school all students who qualify for PP automatically only have to pay half for trips. And in particular cases the school will pay more than that. I would keep asking the school and if they don’t give a clear answer maybe contact the governors?

Ty. Missed this . Sorry. As others have said see if you can extend this

Nope. It suggests that the PP is most effective when targeted at those interventions. You can 100% challenge the school on this. While they have no obligation to spend it on subsidising your DC's trip, it's extremely worrying that they are inaccurately interpreting guidance.

Trips like this are wider strategies and benefit pupils social, emotional, wellbeing and mental health. Pupils from economically disadvantaged households should have the same access to exciting and inspirational experiences in school as every other pupil.
Budgets are stretched but I would take it up with the school as she shouldn't miss out. You won't be the only parent in this situation.

This is really terribly planned by the school and such short notice for so much money each money.

My son's residential is in April. We were given the info back in August and the payment plan was handed out just giving dates when each part was to be paid. I think it was £100 by October, £100 by January and £100 by March.

We had loads of notice and the cost was spread out.

Your school screwed this up. Sorry to hear they've put you in this position.

I’m sorry you’re in this position OP and that the school haven’t foreseen this will be an issue for people and got measures in places already to deal with it, which are made clear to people, so the anxiety you’re feeling can be avoided.

It’s such a difficult one. School budgets are struggling and schools often get burned when running trips with not enough income. It makes them very cautious with organising these as they can’t afford to run them without sufficient parental contributions. You will pay, even if afterwards, but some families will say they will pay afterwards …..and then won’t. And the tight school budgets can’t cope with that. And it’s so difficult with telling everyone that financial help is available, when funds are very tight, and people could pay might apply for it and there then won’t be enough parental payments. In a sense, schools can’t win. They want to help people, but by advertising help too widely, it can mean so many ask it’s not viable. But then, by not advertising any help, those who really need it can miss out on accessing it.

However, even though they’ve out in place a payment plan, as you say, it’s not over a long enough period for people at the moment. It’s sometimes difficult for schools to book far enough in advance and get info out to parents to allow for a bigger window, but it’s something they need to work on.

I think you’ll find that having contacted the school, they will be sympathetic to you and do what they can to help….and really won’t want your DC not to go. Please rest assured that your DC will be on the trip. They might be able to offer you some financial help with the trip (have you asked for it? - no shame in asking. They will be honest about if they have money for that or not) or at least adjust the payments to help you.

I’d bet money on the fact your DC will be on this trip and the school will be prepared to do stuff to make that happen. Please try not to worry…although I know that’s easy to say.

On the letter it should have said voluntary contribution, when I organised a trip I wasn’t allowed to send out my letter with it phrased as “the cost of the trip is….” Because as my headteacher explained to me as a school we cannot discriminate based on a parents earnings, we sometimes might put if we don’t get enough contributions then it won’t go ahead but that means if 40% of parents don’t pay we won’t be able to afford it! I would work out what you can afford, without too much of a struggle and offer that as your contribution. Before you offer it though budget for anything you might need to buy your child for the trip so you can still afford that. You won’t be the only parent I promise. I took 30 students on a trip and about half paid, some contacted to say they couldn’t afford it and some signed the consent form but then just didn’t pay.

I hate this kind of fund raising at schools

baiscally there is a sub set of parent who organise it, the same set donate prizes, and then the same set buy the raffle tickets. It’s just moving stuff from one house to another or one person bank account to another, while that recipient is doing the reverse

save everyone the work in orgnasaing it and just ask for donations.

alternatively, stop being so blinkered with fund raising concepts and go outside the school community .we had a very enterprising school that put on the local fire work display. It grew and grey until it was attended by people for. Villages in a 5-6 miles radius. They used a local hall that donated their parkland as the site they used, couldn’t normally go in so that alone would draw a crowd. They put on hog roasts , and other food and drink, and they’d raise £1000s per year. It was their only fund raising event and the majority of money they made came from families and people outside of their school catchment .including us 🤣

stop with the circulating money “fundraisers “ pleas. It’s a waste of effort, time and frankly the parents who are contributing get fed up becuase the others don’t/can’t/won’t

Could you ask your parents for some of it and pay them back instead over longer period?

I’m rather shocked it’s so little warning. My first school I worked at started the Y6 residential payments at the start of Year 4 to ensure everyone has the greatest chance to go, plus an annual non uniform day to raise money for the PTA which the PTA then put in the residential pot to help those in need of financial help.

People are assuming that the school won't help, but Op hasn't contacted them yet.

Re contacting the governors - that would be follow the school complaints procedure, the first stage of which will be to formally make a complaint to the HT. Governors get involved at a later formal stage if needed.