Is it normal for schools to ask parents to buy reading books?

[MrsLTT]

My son’s primary school is asking parents to purchase reading books for comprehension, they will need a different book at the schools request every new term in which they will be highlighting text and making annotations. The school used to photocopy the books for each child but have decided to save money paper and ink and they will get parents to pay for the books.. does anyone do this at there schools? Am so shocked this can even be asked as comprehension is part of the curriculum!
what’s people’s thoughts?

If thier going to be writing in it then yes it's normal it's not like they can give it to another child

Hmmmm. Well, I come from the experience of growing up with having to buy ALL our school supplies, from primary onward, in American state schools. Each summer we would get a list of things including pens, pencils, markers, glue, folders, printer paper, even anti bac wipes and tissues, and happily bring them in on the first day of school. So forgive me if the request for one book a term seems perfectly reasonable to those families that can afford it. If it's for educational purposes, and school budgets are cut to the bone, why not?

I thought you meant novels in high school so was going to say you were unreasonable but then saw its primary. I have mixed views, I would rather my child has a proper book that photocopyies and I think it’s very normal in lots of other countries.

I will never understand the English system - everyone claims schools are significantly underfunded, but everyone still expects them to provide every single item children might need during their school life.

My view is shaped by my experience of education abroad and the cultural differences, but I don't mind buying whatever is needed. Schools are already providing such invaluable service and at that completely free, the least I can do is buy a few books for my children.

In my home country parents are responsible for providing everything for their children - textbooks and workbooks for all subjects, notebooks, every imaginable bit of stationary or craft supplies they might need - down to glue sticks and their own set of paper scissors. A list of all required items is just sent home at the beginning of every school year and then it's on the parents to buy everything and on the child to pack their backpack and bring everything necessary to school daily. Teachers simply don't have spares. Exception is only made for textbooks, where free ones are provided to families on low income, but they're still expected to provide all stationary.

Our primary school have a book club and they’re expected to have a copy of the chosen book for that and reading books and text books are generally provided but at secondary I’ve bought quite a few for my eldest.
school budgets are tight it wouldn’t surprise me if there wasn’t a book list issued before long for parents to buy!

Seems like a sensible idea. I think parents ought to be responsible for stationary too.

You could pay more taxes instead? The money for our public services has to come from somewhere.

Who has got time to do that? The admin lady who is barely above minimum wage? Would you ask your local GP practice to do that? Because I know what the answer would be

Of course it’s normal. Unless you are on PP.
Think about what you are saying and what you spend on other things. For the price of a take away coffee you can buy a second hand book on Amazon.
Is your child’s education not worth some investment?

Our primary school has been doing this for years, I thought it was normal. The books are usually less than £10 per term.

I’d be happy to pay for books for my DC, but I would hope that there’s a fund for the children on free school meals.

School uniform in the form of specific clothing, each pupil wearing the same school-identitying items, is not a requirement under any Act of Parliament, though (I attended primary schools in the '60s with no compulsory uniform and I understand that it is not unusual even now in schools in the London area).

Reasonable to word the request, If you wish your DC to have a personal copy of the book we are studying, which they can annotate, then please supply this or purchase from the school (the alternative being that a school loan copy is supplied and all notes are made on a separate sheet / notebook), not reasonable for a state school to say, Every book that we study for this part of the national curriculum will require a purchase by the parent.

Chargingforschool_activities.pdf share.google/rwyG5amfpXMmxMt4s

They are here in Australia you have to buy everything including a laptop and iPad

It’s a bit annoying having yet another outgoing foisted upon you. Agree they should teach in a way that isn’t costing working parents yet more money and I say that as a parent who spends plenty on books but would prefer to choose the books that suit my children.

My DCs did their A-Levels in 2020 and 2022. The oniy time In their whole school career that I was ever asked to buy text books was for their A-Level courses. It was not compulsory though. Luckily the DCs did the same A-Levels.

i’m shocked but not that surprised that you are being asked to buy primary text books. I used to be a governor. Finances are insanely tight.

Surely the received wisdom is that school reading books are books parents would want their child to own and read anyway? Part of the culture of the country they’re growing up in?

Children are supposed to own books …

As an aside, in those countries where parents provide stationery and supplies, do the children respect those resources more? When I was teaching (and supplementing classroom supplies out of my own pocket), it used to frustrate me how careless and at times down right destructive some children were with pencils, rulers, glue sticks etc.

@MarchingFrogs why do schools get away with sending children home because they are in the "wrong" uniform then?

I’m surprised parents don’t buy (or get from the library) reading books for their kids.

Not ideal but I know how bad school budgets are so they won’t have done this lightly. How much is the book?

Because if there is a uniform, there can be a policy that the rules must be adhered to. I suspect that even the non-uniform schools have certain rules around what is and isn't acceptable?

I can understand that with shrinking budgets schools have to resort to this (and its better to resort to this than expect teachers to pay for supplies out of their own money) but I don't think you can say its a free education any more when parents have to pay for required items for school. My country has an actual free state education which means schools cannot ask parents to pay for anything essential to school, so not books, not stationary, not lunch, not curriculum based school trips (fun class trips to places like amusement parks they can ask for parents to pay costs because those aren't essential) - in 9 years of having children in education I've paid for two fun class trips and nothing else, not even a pencil.

No rules about clothes in my children's non uniform schools, there's no sending home for anything except behaviour.