Quick question about paying for school trips

[DickSwivellersTidyWife]

I (think I) know that if it is within school hours and for their education, it is supposed to be a voluntary contribution, yes?

Do the schools have to put this on the letter? With the usual proviso that if not enough people pay it may be cancelled etc?

Only the letters from our school stating the cost will be £X, occasionally it offers for you to pay in instalments, but that's it - no mentions of voluntary contributions on any of them - so my question is, is this 'allowed'?

TBH there are a lot of parents who are very skint - something like 50% FSM.

DD's school puts "voluntary" on every letter. DS's school sent out a blanket letter before he started at the school explaining the voluntary nature of payments and the process for following if you were unable/unwilling to pay.

I think the school also should have a charging policy?

It does have a policy, it uses the LAs standard policy, but there is never anything on the letters. I may mention it to them and suggest they put it on.

DS's school always put voluntary on the letters. The chase up letters go out (to everyone not the few) saying if not enough contributions future trips less likely.

This is a very difficult issue because schools are not allowed to ask parents for more than the pro-rata trip costs, nor are they allowed to use their main budget to sub those who don't pay. There isn't very much in the budget to use for trips, so if the majority don't pay, the only option is to stop running them or switch to a cheap alternative that doesn't include expensive things like a coach.

PS the no coach thing is a real possibility at the moment. Our finance officer told me that the costs have rocketed recently due to fuel prices and we made a thumping loss on the last trip. The bill made her eyes water when she paid it. Be careful what you wish for.

The word voluntary is always used on our letters - and not just for trips, but for any paid event that takes place in school as well.

Schools can ask for voluntary contributions only for non-residential trips.

Payment is required for residential trips IIRC; these trips are not subject to the same arrangements, although I believe that they can only charge parents for the cost of bed and board. Anything over and above that is a voluntary contribution.

Some info here

I understand the costs side is an issue for the school, I was just wondering about the letters, IYKWIM.

I wondered whether or not they had omitted to say it's a voluntary contribution on purpose, to ensure most paid, or whether it was left off by accident every time

Perhaps because the area is pretty deprived, we have not been asked for much money at all yet TBH - £10 for a day trip before Christmas, £1 for a school disco - no non-uniform days or fairs or anything.

Thanks Tethers that link really suggests they should be making it clear that it is a voluntary contribution on the letters, doesn't it?

Many schools deliberately don't mention it. I agree, they should; although this is likely to result in fewer contributions and more cancelled trips. They are technically not acting within the law, and could be pulled up on their wording.

Ah I better mention it then being a governor

we don't say voluntary we say the cost is and if enough don't pay trip cancelled, but we do send a letter at the start of the year explaining the system of trip payments and that it is voluntary but that we can't subsidise trips and if anyone doesn't want their child to go they can tell the teacher and the kid can stay in school with another class. we always give at least 3 weeks notice so money can be paid in over the weeks to help ease the payment.

Coach prices are astronomical at the minute I have recently booked an annual trip that our year 1 kids go on last year bus was £95 this year £150!!! same trip same company nothing different just the price, but then add this to the entrance cost and the cost to parents was £10 instead of last years £6 its madness, but if we don't do trips we get parents moaning they haven't been anywhere. We are in a very deprived area but it's very rare we get people not paying .

Here coaches are ridiculously expensive. If we manage to fit the trip in between school run hours ( effectively between 9.15 and 2.30) we are charged £300 for a 50 seater, so £6 per child before any entrance fees/activity charges etc. However if, because of the distance ( and because we are in a rural area, most places are at a considerable distance!) we overrun these times, the price rises to £450. If too many parents don't pay, we can't go, simple as that!

Ours always puts the 'voluntary contribution' bit on the letters and quite alot of parents don't pay anything because they know their child will go anyway. We haven't actually reached a situation yet where we have had to cancel because of lack of contributions but it is always the same parents who do pay