Is it normal for primary schools to expect so many payments?

[ThisRealFawn]

I have twins in Yr 5 in Primary School and recently (in the past 2 years) there are just so many things to pay for. I appreciate that the school are taking the children out to do things but it’s all at a cost to the parents that we just cannot afford easily in these pricy times. This is a state school. Not private btw.

last term we paid for:

music lessons x2 = £130
forest school x2 = £40 (plus £100 ish worth of weather appropriate clothing)
residential x2 = £300 (plus all the stuff they needed)
costumes for school play = £40 ish

so like £700 ish

this upcoming term already we have paid

music lessons x2 = £130
weekly ice skating x2 = £130
Sherwood forest trip x2 = £60

so another £300+ already before the term has even started

Is this normal? How are people affording this. Like I said - I’m glad for the children they get to do this stuff but I don’t like the assumption that everybody will just happily keep paying for whatever the school decide to arrange.

if you’re entitled to school meals I think you get it all paid for but we don’t qualify even though we aren’t high earners.

we haven’t done anything really over the Easter hols because I literally have had £100 left to last me 2 weeks. Could have done with that £300 I’ve just had to pay really 😂

Is this normal now for primary schools or is our school unusual for this?

My older 2 are already at high schools and fortunately all of the trips fall in the school holidays so they’ve never wanted to go! 😂

There are £1 contribution days and you do pay something towards swimming lessons - I think it was about £4 per lesson.

Blame the government.

does your school not have a PTA? At our school the PTA subsides every trip and most extra ciciculars.

twins certainty makes costs more extreme. Talk to the head if you cannot afford things even if your not PP - they’ll understand and I’m sure discreetly help if they can.

I have 2 in high school already and I spend far less on them than my year 5 daughter.

I live in Scotland and the whole council area is free.

We can make an optional donation to the music program and we do as she loves it so much.

My children's primary didnt do many school trips because the payment has to be voluntary and I think only half of the parents ever paid and always the same parents according to a friend who worked at the school.
They only did residential for yr 6 leavers and payment was spread out over the year.

You did have to pay for after school clubs but most were quite cheap. I think music lessons were expensive because they had to bring in a music teacher.

My kids are in high school now and most clubs are free but music lessons are really expensive.

It sounds expensive when you write down your costs but you are obviously paying double. The prices actually seem pretty reasonable to me for one child.

It does seem a lot to pay for. Our primary runs 1 or 2 terms of music in the class at some point in the primary school, for free. For example yr4 just did violin and yr6 did clarinet. On top of that mine have 1:1 lessons which we pay for, they cost less than you paying for the group sessions! Doesn't sound good value to me! They run lots of free clubs like drama, costumes provided by school. Table tennis, football, choir etc which are free for 1 hour after school. They have free things in school like a touring opera last week. Residential we pay. Day trips we might pay depending what it is. Visit to chapel, pay transport. Visit to science museum, pay ticket and transport.

If you want your kids to do stuff, as parents surely you should expect to pay for it? Who else is going to?

I burst out laughing at the £6000 three week trip to Africa with some robbing holiday company. Especially as the14/15 year old kids were being encouraged (blackmailed) and told they could ‘fundraise most of it’ by the teachers involved.

I made my feelings very clear on that pile of pish to the Headteacher.

Or looking at it another way, if you refused to pay and therefore they didn't get offered these opportunities and you still wanted them to have them, if you were to pay outside the school setting it would cost you more.

I agree entirely and if you can, you should.

it’s the people who can’t, their kids lose out.

The 'voluntary' payments annoy me. I pay them when my DC benefit as I can afford to. But voluntary should mean that families that cannot afford to can opt out. My DC had a baking voluntary payment added to the account when she used the pre school. Parents of DC that did not attend on the baking day of the week were advised by the pre school teacher to ignore. I have recieved reminder emails about this payment and it is still showing on the account now that DD is half way through reception so presumably parents that cannot afford 'volutary' payments are left with a long list of outstanding balances on their account.

You’re primarily complaining about optional charges you don’t have to pay for? Yes you have twins but you don’t have to send them ice skating. They wouldn’t be the only ones missing it.

Outdoor kit can be used again and waterproof trousers etc are cheap.

I haven't had to buy any text books or laptops for my high school kids.
My year10 dd has been on one school day trip and my yr8 son hasn't had any.

The school do a lot of lunchtime and after school clubs but music is the only one you have to pay for.

this is how it was in the 70s and early 80s when I was at school. This is why in community orchestras and bands you find a lot of people from different backgrounds in the 55+ age range and the younger people are largely from similar backgrounds. It stinks. Music tuition should be free. It’s something we are really good at in the U.K. and it brings loads into the economy as well as the advantages for individuals in terms of focus, team work etc

It varies so much from school to school.

There are two schools in our village. Strict catchments, no differences in parental income.

One goes out of its way to make things affordable. They only have one residental, in Yr6, that is 3 days.

The other charges for everything and does residentals in Yrs4, 5&6.

(The Secondary school only does two "whole year" trips... Yr 7 is a 3 day residental, for £30. Yr9 is a day trip for £15)

Class music lessons as part of the school curriculum are free at our school (obviously instrumental private lessons are paid for). We also don’t pay for forest school (though you do have to supply wellies and waterproof trousers). Occasionally we have to send in a pound for cookery but that is the only lesson on the curriculum that incurs any extra cost.

Costumes for plays we are asked to sort out for our own child from what we already have or can borrow from other families, so no cost unless you choose to buy new.

Residential is expensive but only for years 5 and 6.

So I don’t think it is normal to be asking for all these extra contributions.

A trip somewhere of around £15-£20 per term is normal.
Ice skating lessons for the whole class at a high cost is very unusual!
The residential is normal but most schools just do one in Year 6.

Costumes - if the school want something specific or expensive I would expect them to provide to be honest.

I wouldn't count music lessons as that's an extracurricular.

We got the residential for half price, not free whilst on FSM. Music lessons and one club per term is free. School play costume we paid for / made.

If they weren't free then we wouldn't do them, it's optional.

So should schools not offer anything then? There will always be parents who can't/won't pay.

Ice skating aside, which seems excessive.

That often happens where they haven't been able to recruit a Music Specialist teacher for the school - they'll engage the local Music Service to come in so that they can meet the curriculum requirement of teaching music, as it's cheaper than trying to employ another teacher on a part time contract. It's still not cheap, but when the alternative is a salary and/or failing to provide required education, it's the next best thing.

I object to music being made elitist as I said above, and I really think Forest School should be free too! Ice skating is an odd one. I guess they can’t do it without charging but it’s an odd choice. There are other things that could be done for a change in PE without it being that costly.

i thought the ice skating was unusual.

again happy to pay for music lessons but when added to the other costs it’s just a lot!

we got a specific list for forest school. It was in January and February so they needed thermal base layers, waterproof trousers and coats hats, waterproof gloves and snow boots. I got it all on Vinted. It would have cost loads more new!

the costumes they needed camouflage army gear and soldier helmets - again- Vinted but still adds up!

It's mainly stuff that you are deciding to pay for. Stop if you don't like it. Mine never did weekly ice skating or music lessons.

i would pay for residentials because I think they are a great experience but what stuff do you have to buy for them? They pretty much just take clothes. And they already have clothes.