Voluntary contribution to school fund?

[EccentricaGallumbits]

used to subsidise trips and transport for trips (although the exorbitant cost of school trips confuses me if they are subsidised) also used for trips people cant afford to pay for.

all 'voluntary' but expected.

So how much per child or family would you pay?

Every school has to have a policy for charging.
I would suggest that before anybody pays any voluntary donation that they ask for the policy and see what it says.
All these schools asking for a voluntary (which it is anything but) donation every month are really just asking parents to subsidise "nice" things that the school can do and as a body of parents you should simply say no. By all means contribute to specific requests for trips etc where you know what the money is being spent on but not a general request.

totally agree cat64
that is why i am fine with the voluntary termly contribution (£5) as we are told where it goes- "ingredients for tasting on sensory topic" "materials for x,y,z" and these are definitely added unnecessary but nice extras that i wouldn't expect the govt to be funding

re school trips, the cost of the coach is exorbitant. 90 children = 2 coaches, £900 for a day trip to the theatre 9 miles away!!! They should try to use more public transport but many parents would be uneasy about that i guess, esp with FS and KS1 children.

The issue about transport costs is interesting. The problem is that most (I can't say all) companies that are 'approved' by LAs to provide services to schools do tend to inflate the price somewhat.

I arranged a trip this summer to a theme park 30 miles away and the coach cost us £205, yet I know that schools are paying more than £300 for the same arrangement.

Again though, this is something that should be challenged, not just paid for then expect someone else to pick up the tab.

I've been worrying about asking for a contribution of £6.00 for a trip (one off payment)

DfE guidance on asking for voluntary contributions, ie:

"Voluntary Contributions

Nothing in legislation prevents a school governing body or local authority from asking for voluntary contributions for the benefit of the school or any school activities. However, if the activity cannot be funded without voluntary contributions, the governing body or head teacher should make this clear to parents at the outset. The governing body or head teacher must also make it clear to parents that there is no obligation to make any contribution.

It is important to note that no child should be excluded from an activity simply because his or her parents are unwilling or unable to pay. If insufficient voluntary contributions are raised to fund a visit, then it must be cancelled. Schools must make sure that they make this clear to parents. If a parent is unwilling or unable to pay, their child must still be given an equal chance to go on the visit. Schools should make it clear to parents at the outset what their policy for allocating places on school visits will be.

When making requests for voluntary contributions to the school funds, parents must not be made to feel pressurised into paying as it is voluntary and not compulsory. Schools should avoid sending colour coded letters to parents as a reminder to make payments into the school or maintenance funds. Schools should also ensure that direct debit or standing order mandates are not sent to parents when requesting for contributions."

NB The bold is in the original