schools constantly asking parents for money

[saslou]

AIBU to resent being constantly asked for money by my childrens school. This week we have World book day, so I am just off out to get costumes as I am not very good at making things. They also have the book fair this week and an author coming into school who will also be giving children the "opportunity" to purchase her books while she is there. I am very happy to buy books but don't think that school is the right place to sell children things.
In addition my childrens school wants parents to pay the insurance and travel costs of compulsory school activities (they don't even ask nicely, just tell you that these are the costs). Recently I got billed for a lost library book that my child hadn't even brought home.
I feel mean because I know they have financial pressures but also feel I am being treated like their own personal cashpiont. It doesn't occur to them that not all parents have lomitless amounts of money.
Anyway, sorry for long rant...

dc school just assumed all the parents would be happy to buy a nativitiy play costume for their child and books since its WBD and to contribute to xmas, summer fayres , sponsor events held by various charities close to the teachers' hearts. "Donate" money annually to the school fund for essential works, "contribute" to all school outings & give £3-£5 pounds spending money, "contribute" to the snacks fund weekly. We live in quite a deprived area and most parents are low income earners. So having to do this for 2-3 children becomes noticeable expense

what I can't understand is why field trips have to be in New York or Paris! at £1000 a pop. We went to Filey and Swanage respectively for our Biology and Geography field trips and stayed in the local YHA for £50 per week full board (late 80's)

Riven that's wrong and they are acting outside the law. If you can't afford to send your child on a curricular trip then the school has to pay as otherwise it is unlawful (there may be something to pay, I can't quite remember but it would only be cost of actual board and lodging and no more) I can find you a link to the relevant legislation if you need me to. Let me know.

prehaps they should let our parents liaison support worker go and redirect the money to things that will actually benefit the kids

I'm on the PTA of DS's school, and used to be on PTA of DC's primary school.

As far as the requests for donations etc for Xmas/Summer fairs go - these are truly voluntary. It is also obvious that it is generally the same people who donate things & offer to help each time, and they are by no means the most well-off parents!

As regards school trips, DS's school tends not to go in for foreign trips (apart from an activity week in Yr 9). One of the things the PTA fundraising provides is a fund to sub school trips for parents who would otherwise have financial difficulties.

DD2's school, on the other hand, run all sorts of foreign trips of dubious educational value. DD2 went on an 'Art' trip to New York last year (she really wnated to visit the US), but I turned down the offer of her going on a 'politics' trip to Washington this year. It's OK if they don't go, as only about 1/4 - 1/3rd of the class go on the expensive foreign trips.

I agfee that it's a good idea for schools to list known trips etc at the start of the year, so parents are prepared. I found the start of secondary school worst, as there seemed to be a demand for money every day for the first few weeks!

Agree this is all a bit crazy, it's not so much that I mind the odd pound or two here and there (school keeps trips v. cheap and head seems pretty uniform obsessed so no own clothes days!!) but the idea that a netball trip to Australia or Geography trip to New York is necessary or even desirable if dcs came home with a letter about one of those I would just laugh!
Totally wrong in the majority of cases for the teachers to even organise them IMHO

Swimming isn't compulsory my ds wa excused coz I wouldn't let him swim in the leisure centre pool. I used to teach there and money got tight and pool water quality suffered with leptospyridium found in the water. Pool was closed for 1 week but looked green on re-opening so I bought pool testing strips as I did not trust the coucil's clean up and contamination levels were high. As I was concerned for my clients (elderley ladies mostly )I stopped the class. The filters were always clogged too. Pools are time consuming and high maintenance anyway I would not let ds swim there with the school
and I did not think I was being over protective a few other mums followed suit as the changing rooms were arctic and the children were hating it. Most could swim anyway. Pool closed permanently 6 months later as cryptospriridium was discovered. School did not give me a hard time about withdrawing ds. (OMG I have totally made this thread tangential must go to bed. I am AIBU junkie)

ds has kidney disease so Idid not want to risk the dirty pool.

I'm still not sure what people on this thread want to happen.

School trips are expensive but they don't make a profit for the school - they can't be any cheaper. Are people saying that the school should not organize and offer them because some people can't afford to go on them?

the same goes for all the non-uniform days and dress up days and so on - some people do not have time to make a costume, or money to buy one - should the "days" not happen then? (Mind you I do find it hard to believe that anyone doesn't have the time or money to get a charity shop T shirt and draw spots on it in felt pen for a "spotty" day, or that anyone doesn't have a few dressing up clothes that can be used for a book character - Oliver is an easy one!

Nobody keeps a tally of who pays and who doesn't - at our school it is an unspoken agreement that if you can, you put in a bit extra and that covers the people who can't (our school is in a very disadvantaged area)

The Book Fairs are a very good way of boosting the school's library. If you don't want to buy a book, then don't. You don't buy you child everything they ask for in shops, do you?

So, what do people want schools to do?

My dd1 is going on a religious retreat next week, £100 cost. I have 5 children, and am on mat leave so money is tight. Christmas and birthdays have been given a set amount etc etc. Like lots of people.
So I haven't paid. School rang last week to say if I was having difficulty school will pay because they have a fund for 'this type of activity' and other parents that couldn't afford the full amount just sent a contribution of ?? I did ask that it would not be discussed with dd infront of anyone and they assured me it wouldn't, they just told her it was sorted out.

I too am led to believe that if school takes a child out during school hours they have to pay for it and can only ask for a contribution. After school activities are obviously optional. So I don't send anything. My 7yr olds teacher kept asking her for the £5 donation for the trip otherwise she would'nt be able to go, so I rang the school and asked them to stop upsetting her and I wouldn't be paying.

I am not completely tight, dc3 has after school art class £22 for 10 sessions. and dc4 has swimming £20, and with uniforms dinners (even supplying a packed lunch) all adds up. I am sick of the pta asking for discos, cinema evenings etc and I don't let them go very often.

I cant wait until I'll have two of them at secondary school and they're are asking to go on school trips to JAPAN at £1500, I kid you not. Ridiculous

Sounds like my school as well.

Last term I ended up having to borrrow money from aprents becuase they couldn't manage to stop SN (ASD) ds1 from losing provided dinner money during the day and I had to pay twice for a large number of weeks until LEA forced school to allow him to hand it in as he arrived.

Apaprently it gets worse at comp though so praying DH back earning at a decent level by then.

Basically my carers allowance goes each week on school things, some optional but I don't want my boys to lose out hecuase DH and I fucked up a bit beleiving his last FT e,mployers promise his job was secure.

And whilst you dont have to pay here, your child will get put in a different class and miss out if you don't pay. The school says theya re too broke to help. I think what they mean is eek yucky poor people go awaaaaaaay

(am not joking, former but recent Head of lower school told parents she wouldn't consider wrapa round provision as she didn't want those parents at the school )

Mind you I do find it hard to believe that anyone doesn't have the time or money to get a charity shop T shirt and draw spots on it in felt pen for a "spotty" day, or that anyone doesn't have a few dressing up clothes that can be used for a book character - Oliver is an easy one!

Hard as you find it to believe, after feeding a baby every four hours, keeping on top of the house, washing and ironing clothes for 7 people, I sometimes don't find the time to get dressed never mind run up an outfit, and most children won't be happy with a charity shop outfit they unfortunately want to be like everyone else.

As for schools not keeping tally, I've worked in schools and it is still smirked about/discussed in the staff room.

My DC's school foots the bill for most school trips aside from residentials! It's a small school, I don't know if that makes a difference.

There is also the Give It A Go Fund.

It's been piloted in my area (not sure where else it's available) and is available to all children entitled to free school meals. It covers all educational activities curricular and extra curricular. After school clubs, drama classes, music lessons and school trips!

It's worth asking the school and if they aren't aware of it, asking them to look into it.

ds1 started junior school in september so there was the new uniform to buy. Then there were several trips to pay for, linked to what they were doing in class, then school photos... I'm not sure if someone complained, but we all got a letter from the head apologising for the amount of money they had asked for all at once, and that in the future they would consider the amount they were asking parents for.

I'm on the PTA at my other dc's school and was shocked to learn that to even have the coach turn up at school worked out at £5 per child, and that was before you'd gone anywhere.

Preachy that is awful, our school hasn't sunk to that level yet.

And before the 'why did you had so many kids then' start, no we don't have a TV because we had to sell it to pay for all the school trips

I have a bit of an issue with the cost of trips away, particularly overnight trips.

A three day trip to Brecon Beacons costs £180. Yet when I run these sort of trips for Scouts etc. we do it for £50. We include Climbing, Abseiling, Mountain Biking, Food, Accomodation and Transport, so the kids don't need anything extra, we even provide kit if they need it. So why does a School charge so much more?

Do the teachers get paid extra for these trips?

Does the School get some of the money?

If not then the centres running these sort of things are coining it in. Although the centre we use for Scouts is also used by Schools so i doubt that they are, but the extra money must be going somewhere?

'Mind you I do find it hard to believe that anyone doesn't have the time or money to get a charity shop T shirt and draw spots on it in felt pen for a "spotty" day, or that anyone doesn't have a few dressing up clothes that can be used for a book character - Oliver is an easy one!
'

I'm changing Dh's old work shirt into a scientist costume for ds1 and ds2 is going as Moses out of what we have, but generally we have to buy at least the constituents as we just don't have dresisng up clothes much (just not soemthing boys ever interested in) and whilst I could normally budget for it, this week is a nono as bank account empty in part due to unexpected onslaught of replacement PE kits lost at school, and Natwest not bothering to cancel a DD as reqested.

seeker, I think what people want schools to do is as follows:

• Consider truly whether trips are of sufficient educational/cultural value and truly represent value for money

• Consider that some families aren't being difficult, but truly find it difficult to stump up the costs of trips/costumes etc. This is as true in affluent areas as in disadvantaged ones. Some parents find it toe-curlingly embarrassing to have to admit they can't fund these additional expenses.

• Reduce the requests for purchases that mainly benefit private companies with the school only receiving a small commission: photos, tea towels, pudding etc etc

No-one here wants schools to offer no trips and no additional activities but what people do want is for schools to be more thoughtful about what they are requesting and how often.

The FSM thing is also a problem: we ould get funding if we had them but as DH earns a massive £50 pw self employed for 50+ hours (it's going up all the time, and is better than not trying- plus Dh will ahve his electricians regs in a few weeks so should be able to add that in) then we can't get FSM as you have to be not receiving any working tax credits at all to get them.

They are only for the unemployed, not the low income slogging their guts out.

On this subject, dd2 brought home a note saying that someone was coming in to talk about the physics of electric guitar strings. Apparently it has some bearing on GCSE physics. Fine.

They want a contribution from each pupil (is only tiny, £1.50) but I am just wondering why? Surely if someone comes in to give a talk like this it is voluntary, or am I naive here? It will be two year groups of 150 kids each, so that adds up to quite a bit for a half hour chat to a hall full of bored girls.

Please don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less about £1.50 (though its a bore writing out umpteen cheques for these sorts of things) I was just wondering why it was needed.

Dd did not want to go, but then found out it was 'compulsory'.

PPRAL, I knew FSM's were means tested but did not realise they weren't available to anyone on WTC! That does seem ridiculous and means it isn't a true means based test?

You've hit the nail on the head Fayrazzled - well put!

Our old school (Hampshire) was like this, always asking for money
£2.00 for this (x 2 ) £5.00 for that (x2)

All the letters came with teh words "voluntary contribution",a nd "the trip could be cancelled if not enough parents contribute"

I also had a friend who was on the friends of... and he told us that the school had a high percentage of children from "poorer" backgrounds - single parents, both parents out of work, living on benefits etc
He then went on to say "but it's ok because all their trips are subsidised by the military families, because they can all afford to pay full price for the trips"