State school charging for basics.

[Purplegarland]

Another email from primary school today saying that they are not unable to subsidise school trips at all and will be fundraising/passing costs onto parents. This means that I am required to give even more money.
This month alone they have asked for almost £100 for various things. Including costs for transport, stationary, being a member of school sport teams (kit, transport, pitch/pool fees, and lunch) some of which happen in school time, and a themed day. Of course, I know that trips are optional but I don't see how I could have my child sitting out of a themed day where visitors come in to give a special talk tied into the curriculum. Add in the various charity days and requests for money for wearing blue or whatever and I am paying an absolute fortune on top of any extra curriculars my DC want to do.
Am I being unreasonable that a state school should not be passing so many costs onto parents? Think £40 for a coach on top of day trip fees.

On a serious note- not me personally as most certainly am capable of assisting my DC with their educational needs, where needed but surely you understand that is not the case for all parents of state school educated children, I’m sure it isn’t for many privately educated children but as I have pointed out - money solves that issue like it does with many things in life.

That’s true. But in terms of the poster saying

The only people who can change don’t care because their little cherubs will go to Eton or some other private establishment for the elite.

What can those parents do that others can’t?

Probably using the pupil premium to go towards having food (because the private catering companies put their prices up over and above the FSM amount), funding pastoral care (as PP kids are statistically more likely to have ACEs or SEND meaning they need more support, which comes at a cost, but the support funded by it can be used to benefit other vulnerable kids of all incomes as well - no 'you can't use learning support/access counselling because your mum isn't on benefits') and generally keeping the place barely on tickover. Oh, and if they do a trip, the money to pay for cover can't be funded by parents or PP, that has to come out of the budget that's already in deficit.

PP's not a huge amount (£1500) and if there are a relatively low percentage of kids in receipt of FSM - and eligibility has changed so that new applicants have to have a far, far lower income in order to qualify, so fewer do - that money's not going to go far.

The trouble is that parents as a group will see the requests/costs for a child - but in the school, they will see that they can't afford to replace five teachers for September and another's just been signed off for three months. There's no guarantee that some schools will even be open in September.

Well we've a new head, the deputy headteacher got the job. She is lovely, highly qualified, but gawd we've some deadwood teaching staff. One keeps going off sick for the last two years, ongoing health condition, one lazy mare who if she's crossed goes off with stress.

A fresh pair of eyes might have found it easier to shake up a few teachers who've been there a couple of decades.

We've had new teachers, bright eyed and bushy tailed who have moved on because of bullying by the stalwarts who are treading water now.

Who'd be in education

School Business Managers do manage their accounts like businesses, and are scrutinised by auditors to make sure all is as it should be. Our school is doing one school trip per year group due to extortionate coach costs (not travelling far) and is struggling to meet the costs for ever increasing electricity bills plus day to day stuff like glue sticks and work books!!!
our teachers more often than not buy their class stationary to keep going until the end of the year.

Theoretically they’ve taken their kids out of the system. So those kids aren’t having to be funded through the local schools and tax payer.

Im not sure there’s much they, as parents, can do.

I have no idea what you are on about.

With this government having plunged public services in the depths of financial crisis, the money has got to come from somewhere unfortunately. I'm a teacher and regularly buy 30 glue sticks sets and whiteboard pens as I know the school won't be able to order them.
My children's school have started to ask for voluntary contributions for the general upkeep of a classroom ( supplies mostly). I taught in Russia for a while a long time ago and parents used to pool together to buy reams of paper. Hopefully we're not there yet.

We shouldn't do it but we do because it's harrowing to see little kids coming to class knowing they haven't slept enough and haven't been given any sort of nutritious food to keep them going, let alone learning!
It is a scandal and should make headlines but school staff deal with numerous heartbreaking issues a day, and they are trying to help there and then.

This is a direct quote from your 08.03am post

The only people who can change don’t care because their little cherubs will go to Eton or some other private establishment for the elite

what do you think parents of Etonian’s can do that you can’t?

Afford to send their children to Eton in the first place? I still have no idea what your question is getting at. My point was our current PM and his pals will never have to use a state school. They send their children to lucrative private schools. They therefore will never know what it is really like nor do they care.

Fuck me! You did manage an answer.

You were talking about government not parents.

I didn’t realise you weren’t meant to pay for these things I thought it was usual

No thanks. I don’t tend to do that with strangers on the internet. Have a lovely day :)

Who do you think should pay then?

This is what it was like in state schools in Nz in 1980s and 1990s - pay for your own stationery (including books) and in my school it was simple ; no sports teams or day trips. If there’s no money in the budget there’s no money.

Agree school budgets are dire but £100 in a month is ridiculous. We pay towards trips but not sports day. We are lucky to live in a city so the kids now get public transport to museums instead of hiring a coach.

We don’t live in a city but are in the SEast and ours would get the train ( not primary kids ) into central London and walk to museums.
They also took the train to other cities with a fairly direct link.
I only remember a large coach being ordered twice, once to a historic seaside location- Hastings and the other to a Wildlife park that wasn’t on a train route.

We did, however, also have lots of minibuses.

For those schools with no train station near by it must be difficult though.

Ours have to hire a coach to go anywhere. They are very expensive.

Where did I bash private schools?