ds missing school trip to hindu temple coz im skint

[7up]

its £14! and what exactly is he going to learn i wonder. im sure he wont be the only one not going but i honestly cant afford it not at this time of year especially.

and from what ive gathered from ds hes more interested in going because his on/off girlfriend is but i do feel a bit guilty

someone tell me im not being a total cow

That's a lot for a day trip, isn't it? Is it far away?
I wouldn't feel guilty - he may well have got a lot out of it especially if he hasn't been to a place like that before, but you / he would be very welcome to visit a Hindhu temple under your own steam any tine you fancied it, ime Hindus are very relaxed about welcoming people to their temples - and perhaps an invitation home for a baked potato tea might solve his other reason for wanting to go?

Otherwse, does he have savings that he would like to put towards most of the cost? let him put his money where his mouth is?

no he doesnt have savings that he can get at so to speak.

im hoping the other kids will come back and say "god, that was boring"

is it not vouluntary contribution .

i threw the letter away wakeup,when i saw the price of it. school trips annoy me unless i think they would be beneficial in the long run, it really does pressurise me on already tight income.

il ask tomorow how many arent going and what they willdo for the day, think theyre normally put in another class

oh ive just twigged what you meant wakeup

not voluntary,it was compulsory

Schools cannot ask for a compulsary contribution. Have to ask for voluntary. If parents can't afford it they can usually come to an arrangement with the school. Some pay a part or some none at all.

I would talk to the school, 7up, I didn't think schools could make a contribution compulsory un;less the trip takes part wholly outside school time?

They can, of course, ask for a voluntary contribution in such a way that it looks compulsory -- as you've found...

it didnt mention voluntary on the form though, its a bit awkward cause i work at his school. its a secondary and i dont really want his teachers knowing my finances are bad if you see what i mean

Which temple is it, is it really far? Just a bit [shok] as unless it's miles and miles away, well we've never had to pay for anything bar our bus fayre to the temples we visited at Uni ( I'm doing an RE degree, my Prof specialises in Hinduism).

If the trip has an educational purpose then school must ask for a VOLUNTARY contribution. The wording normally says" no child will be excluded on the basis of non payment, but we reserve the right to cancel the trip if insufficient contributions are received"
So 7up- you should either talk to the school and offer a small contribution or explain your circumstances and ask if they can help out.
I would hope that he would find the trip informative and thought provoking. I think the more we can do to understand other people's values the better. I can understand the pressure the money situation creates but it seems a shame to say "what exactly is he going to learn i wonder"

just been on the phone to my friend and she said that quite a few kids arent going because of the cost,so thats a relief. thanks for letting me winge though

Coaches cost a fortune these days sadly.

'what exactly is he going to learn i wonder?' oh what an incredibly irritating thing to say and how excrutiatingly common place these days

How is it irritating? She was only asking what he was going to learn... Perhaps her ds doesn't have an interest in Hindu Temples?

The wording in the letters for DS's school trips (he's 6) go something like this (I paraphrase):
"We are prohibited by law for charging for this trip, so we would request a voluntary contribution of £13.20 towards the cost of the trip. We are unable to make alternative arrangements for children who do not come on the trip so, regrettably, if you don't all pay up, none of them can go."

So, basically, you pay whether you want to or not, and if you don't, then none of the class can go, and it's all your fault!

It should be a voluntary contribution if it's an educational trip. If your ds's school is anything like dd's then they tend to ask a highish contribution anyway, knowing that for example only 50% of parents can pay, which will cover the other 50% who can't afford to. does that make sense. The PTA at this school often contibutes part of the cost anyway.

Your ds should not be excluded due to you not being able to afford it.

However, we recently received a request to pay for a school trip with a little note at the end saying the trip may have to be cancelled if not everyone contributes . I have complained of course, no response as yet!

But 7up, your ds could learn a lot you know!

dizzy by name dizzy by nature eh!?

apparently theres a lot of kids not going ive found out tonight because "they dont want to go" so their parents arent paying out either.

and for the record im sticking with my comment about 'whats he going to learn'

Our letters from ds's primary and dd1's secondary school all follow wordsmith's school's formula. But they usually have a rider to the effect that if this will cause you particular difficulties, you should contact the xyz at the school office.

I know there are people at the primary school who never paid on principle, 'cos they knew the school would pick up the tab. Which does actually really p*ss me off, but it better than making individual children or whole groups miss a day out.

wordsworth, read all my messages and itl answer your bitchy comments.thanks very much[sarcastic swmile]

Don't feel guilty.
It is good for kids to not get everything they want and to realise money has to be used wisely and some things are not in the family budget.

I must be missing something here because I don't see anything offensive in Wordsworth's post.

that seems extortionate
How far away is it?
is it in India?

thanks jasper thats the sort of message i was waiting for

aweebitgross,horrible name! but you obviously are a nice person

sis, its thelast line of her message

morningpaper, its london, were in kent