Charging for Design Tech materials

[nomiddlename]

I'm so cross having just read a letter sent home from my dd's middle school (yr 5). The new DT teacher is asking that all parents 'contribute' £5.00 for the materials they buy for DT projects.

I'm really annoyed that for a curriculum subject, we have to pay (and yes, I can afford it but that's not the point). Can you imagine if the english dept. sent a letter home saying that we had to pay for books the kids have to read?

Then it says, that if you don't pay the fiver, after your child has made the thing, it will be dismantled so the bits can be recycled - how cruel is that?!!!

Surely for a standard curriculum subject, either the school could ask for the odd thing (ie, cardboard box/loo roll etc) and the school provides things such as clay/paint etc or the PTA raise money so that the cost of materials can be subsidised.

Do other schools charge for DT materials at primary age?

Well, I'm pissed off because I've just paid £25 for materials for my class, there's nothing in the budget and the lesson needed teaching.
Can't recycle, those materials have undergone an irreversible change.
Yes, it is standard practice to recycle materials to use again. If I've paid for sets of wooden wheels, then either I need to buy more or reuse the ones I've paid for.
There just isn't enough cash to go round, it's why teachers often spend a considerable amount each month on resources without a chance at recompense.

Downbytheriverside surely as a teacher, it is up to you to be assertive with the HT and not spend your own money on materials?

I just don't get why a dept. for a core subject cannot have enough of a budget to provide materials and if it doesn't, then the kids should be doing other projects that don't require such materials/less expensive materials.

The stock answer is that there is no money available, the DT budget for this year in my school of 400 was about 50p per child.
Never mind, they can do it all in IT and have a virtual model. So much less mess too, and fewer H & S issues.

I often spend my own money buying things for DT so the class can do some interesting DT projects e.g. foam, feathers etc. As a school we charged £1 for batteries (large flat battery) when pupils made moving vehicles. If pupils didn't pay they could take their car/ van but without the battery. In senior school I had to pay for cooking ingredients each time for my older kids when they cooked and buy fabric etc. TBH there is a place for kitchen roll inners and we use a local scrap type store, but sometimes you have to buy things to do more exciting projects.

Of course it's sad when the govt. don't provide ample budget but I can't believe that teachers actually then pay for the stuff themselves.

Don't schools complain? Surely schools could ask local companies to donate stuff like old stock?

Perhaps it's our school not managing their budgets very well then. For example, the afterschool cheer leading club is free but I woudln't mind paying for that but for a core subject.....I'm annoyed.

instead of whinging send in a tenner

pay for your own child and someone elses

the world doesn't work the way you or I would want it to

there is not enough money in education

if you can afford it do it - you'll probably spend that much at the school fair on crap you don't want and that goes to the school too

teachers always use their own stuff, as a child of a teacher my books/toys/games were often taken in to school for months at a time, and my mum often had to shop for bits and pieces that the class needed for displays or projects, she still does. because she cares and wants to teach to the best of her ability, and make learning fun for her kids.

i am suprised you didnt know this.
some schools do get scrap materials etc free.

when the teachers dont pay, and are assertive, then you are in the situation you are in now.

'but I can't believe that teachers actually then pay for the stuff themselves.'

Why?
Do you think I'm lying? It's one of the things that the majority of teachers do and have done for years. Did you just assume that the school paid for everything?

if it doesn't, then the kids should be doing other projects that don't require such materials/less expensive materials.

that's why I'm happy to pay the £10 voluntary contribution for DDs tech at secondary. I'd rather those who can afford it shell out a bit so they can all do something good.

things requiring batteries come home without one - I think that's fair as they cost a lot and you don't need to leave it in, just stick one in when you want to see what it does.

Do you not believe me then?
Sometimes I can get money back, but not always. Sometimes it is my choice to teach something in a more exciting way with different materials, particularly if it is for a big class display.I'm not a martyr about it and wouldn't spend loads, but it does all add up. I enjoy teaching DT !

The scrap/ junk store is a place where companies donate excess/ wrongly printed packaging which can be used by schools. Lots of schools don't teach DT properly due to cost of materials and health and safety concerns. I think £5 is a very small amount and good value TBH. I can see what you mean about charging for books next and so on, but books can be reused by many pupils whereas once electrical wire has been cut and wood has been glued, it is difficult to reuse.

You can't guarantee the materials if you use a scrapbank, it is truly pot luck.
There might be nothing there except 400 metres of rubber piping, or carpet samples or weird quadrilaterals cut from something odd and translucent.

Nearly all the teachers I work with end up subsidising lessons like DT.

At times in the past I have even paid for absolute basics like photocopying paper for my class.

The school aren't saying your child can't do the DT project of you don't contribute, just that he can't keep the finished product.

You don't think we pay for stuff out of our own money?!?!

That's just not the real world of teaching, I'm afraid.

Maybe you could participate in the PTA/PSA/Friends and organise a major fundraiser specifically for materials to be used in class?

We could start a protest, post on our class VLE a running total of how much cash we've spent on other people's children.
Do parents really not know? Perhaps we haven't been complaining enough about it.

fucking hell I pay for children to eat some days

activate- I have also bought some dinners in my time for kids!

Sorry, I should have put that in context, it sounded unpleasant and I didn't meant it that way. DDs school "fundraising group" last year turned down a cash offer from us because they said they "have plenty money" - honest. Then last week DDs teacher offered to pay me for some materials I'd bought to do an activity. All fine, assumed it would come from the "kitty" then looked at the cheque when I got home and discovered it was from her personal account. I was completely and also quite on her behalf that she'd felt it necessary to do that.

To get to the point, I think it happens more than most of us parents realise.

It's not that I didn't believe you chopper, it's that I couldn't believe that schools don't manage their budgets well enough to be able to provide all materials for core lessons.

I know I will pay the fiver but that's not the point.
However, I honestly had no idea that teachers paid for things themselves.

Our school prioritises TA support over DT materials and trips, and I agree with this approach most of the time. I enjoy doing DT as it can often allow a chance for some of the less academic children to shine. We had some great knitting, weaving and crochet from some of the most unlikely boys last year, it was a joy to watch them sit and concentrate and be so proud of their efforts. Not necessarily vital to the curriculum, but I didn't begrudge buying the wool and child sized needles, and of course I will use them again.

It's not about managing budgets well enough, it's that many schools do not have enough money to pay for more than the most basic resources (DT isn't a core subject btw, maths, english and science are and as a result usually get the most funding). Your dd's teacher probably wants to do something a bit more exciting with a wider range of materials (or allow all children to make something individually rather than in small groups) than their subject budget allows, but probably don't want to have to fork out £5 x 90 odd kids (or however many there are in her year).

Well I'm shocked that parents don't know this. Perhaps if they did, we wouldn't moan as much about contributing for things.

Or they'd get many more people joining the PTA to raise some more cash.

I remember making things at primary school more than anything else ( bread, cakes, looking after class pets) and this was many years ago. I know that when I see older pupils in the street many years later they remember and enjoyed most of all the gardening, knitting, cooking, model making and so on- much more than the reading and writing exercises.

Often teachers use these experiences to encourage writing such as instructional writing, so although they are not strictly curriculum objectives, they are great for inspiring children. I also give a small reward for the pupil of the week (rubber, fancy pencil and so on) and use colourful stickers when marking. This is my choice and my expense.

I do not know any teacher that has not spent money on books, resources, games and so on. This is not a 'woe is me' spending my own money, I just try and make things more interesting for myself (regarding DT) as well as the kids.