To think it’s wrong of the school to do this?

[Sunflowersunshinebreeze]

My child’s school has paid for a theatre company to come in and perform a show.

They are asking for a ‘voluntary contribution’ of £4 to enable your child to watch. (I am fine with that and have paid).

The office have said only those that have paid will be allowed to go and watch it and those that haven’t will have to stay in the classroom.

I am shocked that they are going to be excluding children who don’t pay (for whatever reason). E.g. they cannot afford to pay/parents didn’t see the notification in time/forgot etc.

Is this the same in other schools? Maybe I’m behind the times and this is the norm these days, but it just feels so wrong to me!

They would 100% not do that in the school I work in.

Could it be crossed wires? The office have said so nothing in writing. I’d email and clarify. The theatre visit is probably a cheaper option than taking them to the theatre (ticket/coach/staffing) my friend is at a school where they had a pool brought on car park as it was cheaper than coach/local leisure centre.

Always worth asking - after I asked our school office worked out how to allow additional payments with the app they use.

In London that is all free. DD’s secondary had them go on the tube and had free standing tickets to see a West End Show. Even parents could go as well. (We had to pay £5)

Are they allowed to do it if there are different activity options on offer and some are free? So it’s £4 to watch the theatre company and free to stay in the classroom for story time and you can choose which one?

Up north no free transport for school children. How did the theatre get paid if it was free to pupils?
I was surprised at the pool as there’s a council leisure centre a couple of miles away but coach/pool hire was apparently more than pop up pool hire. I know coach costs are really high.

I don't think it's fair, but imagine school feel some parents can afford it but refuse to pay. Personally, I'd rather school sent out an "extra funds request" if the amount received doesn't cover the costs, I would happily contribute a bit extra so that all the kids can do an activity.

In my children's primary school we are often asked for voluntary contributions. If the school doesn't receive enough money, the event is cancelled and the parents that paid are refunded. Children are not excluded. Although, once a teacher stood at the front at pickup and called out all the parents names who hadn't paid and asked them to pay. I though that was bloody terrible.

I think that's outrageous and if there is any sort of class WhatsApp group I'd be encouraging everyone to complain.

In my daughters school (secondary) if they don’t get enough “voluntary” contributions then the event gets cancelled

That's awful. Why couldn't a class rep be asked to say "Class are £25 short of being able to do the activity" and let everyone decide whether to step up based on that?

Perhaps take a look at their Educational Visits policy (it’ll be called something like that). See what that says about this kind of thing during the school day, and their policy around contributions. Then send an email to the Head asking to discuss your concerns. I’d suggest trying to be as constructive and pleasant as possible whilst highlighting your concerns around inclusivity etc. I’d also ask if the session is linked to the curriculum and whether the school really considers it appropriate to separate out the payers and non-payers like this. Are those children who attract pupil premium funding subsidised?

Are you in England/Wales or another part of the UK? In Scotland these sorts of activities, and trips, are not seen as a core part of the curriculum and schools absolutely can (and do) ask for payment. No payment, no trip.

Usually our school asks parents pay and state that if enough parents don’t pay then the activity won’t be able to go ahead.
It makes no sense if the theatre company are coming in regardless of how many pay, to exclude children whose parents haven’t paid.
Our school also for voluntary contributions allow people to pay more then the cost if they want to, so that all children can take part, usually if something costs £3-£4 those that can transfer slightly more.
Ive never heard of an activity taking place and children who haven’t paid not able to go within school hours.

Whenever british people praise school uniforms and say that its to stop bullying etc i call out nonsense, what the school is doing is literally discriminating and whoever is left in the class will be bullied,if they are not already this will make it worse. I dont understand how british schools need to constantly scam or encourage people to gamble or any other random sneaky way to fund basic activities that should be covered by LA. A smal village school in my homeland is modern attractive with its own ice skating rink,pool,indoor basketball courts,shooting range etc- yet here in the UK all nearby schools are run down, built in 1970s? And barely seen a renovation since, asking for donations for toys school equipment ,running lotteries aka encouraging children to gamble etc

You wish your daughter's school asked for "voluntary contributions" then excluded those who can't pay?

There's no class rep or WhatsApp group.

Please please put in a complaint and get other parents to do so. Maybe write a local paper. This is so so shocking and exclusive. Imagine knowing you can't participate because you are poor?

Also it's a voluntary contribution?? They can't insist on it!

Thats how it works at our school too.They would cancel rather than leave kids out.

Its mandatory not voluntary if you miss out for lack of payment and I would be pointing this out.

Parents who can afford it should boycott it in solidarity with those who can’t. As others have said I thought it was a voluntary payment in any case?

Bloody hell! As if there wasn't enough discrimination in the country the school pull a stunt like that!

That’s really nasty and unfair on the kids who can’t afford it.

Yes - My child’s school did exactly that, which tbh, I find shocking. It’s not the child’s fault, and they will certainly know they’ve been left out. I would have like the option to contribute (along with others) to make sure no-one in the class missed out.

Equally- The school have to set a rule as no-one would pay anything if they knew their child would be included in activities regardless of payment.

My son’s school does this but then harass the life out of you to pay even though it’s voluntary. They don’t miss anyone out tho… just the payment

In our school it is sort of similar, as in they ask first voluntary contributions and then say if you can’t pay then you can discreetly get in touch and they will ensure that no child is left out just bcoz they can’t pay. They use this method to also get consent regarding what they are showing, so when we pay we have to tick to the consent box too.