Do any parents give money to the school regularly

[OrangeSprout]

Hi
i wondered if anyone gives sums of money to their children’s state school, to help out with kit/facilities/trips for the class?
I ask just because we have pulled out children out of private school, for obvious reasons, and found a great state school.
id like to add value to the school (with my time as well helping out) but also we have a little more money to spare now and I could give some to the school to enhance the class experience for all the kids…completely anonymously. just wondered if anyone else did that and what the money went towards?
thank you

ps. Sanctimonious keyboard warriors won’t be responded to.

Sometimes parents or grandparents donate to their own children’s classes allowing the teacher to buy whatever they need.

Our child is at a free school. They ask for £125 a month. Obviously they can't enforce it and they recognise that not every parent can afford to give anything but the expectation is made clear

Given the state of education funding, the school will be most grateful!

DS's school have a Amazon wishlist of books they would like for the library.

We also get asked for stuff a few times a year (spare lego/games/plastic figures for inside playtime box was the last one). Usually just send bits if I'm having a clear out at the right time but if feeling flush I sometimes buy stuff to donate.

This year they have asked for time/resources to create a nature pond, there's usually a project of some kind on the go.

Regularly asked for donations for raffles or summer fair, then to buy/win those donations back.

I don't know of anyone giving actual money (other then a few £ here and there), but some are able to be quite generous with time or resources for things like this.

I give more than the £1 coin donation when doing school fundraising. I give money for the classroom at the end of the school year for teachers to buy new supplies for the following year. When we do school trips I usually pay for my own child's place plus a few others (eg they went to a concert a few months ago which was only £7 per child. I gave the school £28 to cover my own child plus 3 others. My thinking was that £28 is less than we'd spend on going to something in the West End anyway!)

Our school has set up a wish list to allow parents to buy things like books and other supplies directly which seems to be working well- maybe something you could suggest to the Head if you’re having a chat.

Yes, our school has a fund you can pay into, they raise quite a lot from it I think. We pay in £20 a month.

When this starts becoming more common, the differences in schools will be huge. The schools in deprived areas will remain underfunded and unable to provide enrichment activities.
The schools in more affluent areas will be well funded and have many trips and enrichment opportunities.

I donate my time, my car when needed for ad hoc transport, and I overpay on school trips.

Our school doesn’t have an Amazon wishlist - though I wish it did.

We used to - lots of parents did. We paid towards a part time music teacher and various resources. We also gave a lot of our time. Reading, help with trips , running free after school clubs - for all the kids.

Whenever school asks for contributions for trips or special events I usually pay for between one and five extra places (depending on the cost). The school snapped my hand off when I offered!

How did you approach paying for trips etc? I’ve often thought I’d be happy to pay for an extra space than risk a trip not going ahead but didn’t want to come across as arrogant offering.