Do your school ask for money, voluntary or otherwise

[Hervana]

Just canvassing opinions.

Our school never ask us for money and I'm kind of wondering why? Schools across the borough ask for money from parents and of course have a lot more resources as a result! I've been asked for £6 since September for a class activity.

I do realise I should be grateful, especially in these hard times, but sometimes I just wonder if the school is missing a trick

Yes I understand not all parents can afford to make voluntary donations but some can and would.

What are your thoughts on voluntary donations? And do you donate to your school/are you asked to donate to your school?

yes I think a mix in a school is v v healthy and something we may (sadly) see less of in years to come - something to celebrate
Good luck with it, enthusiasm and proactivity ? will go a long way imo towards making things happen, even more so than fab resourcing and smart facilities
I think music and art are fab ways to enhance the curriculum. I looked round a school recently in a deprived area (was being interviewed, didn't get the job, sadly) and it had classical music in foyer and load of really imaginative art around the place
My dc's school is c of e, predominantly affluent area with a few exceptions - the ones that get hounded per my earlier post - always asking for money and then you find it's gone on church banners that are bigger than the other local schools' or a skipping workshop and your heart sinks, really
What we want to do is inspire our children, and that doesn't have to cost as much as we think

It was so funny as the college I attended seven years ago sent me a letter adding me for voluntary contributions. Obviously they are hoping there students by now are all in good jobs with spare cash!

Secondary school here with 1800 pupils asks for £20 a TERM. Primary expects everyone in years 3-6 inclusive to pay £75 a year for swimming, and not-so-gentle reminders are sent out if you haven't paid. School trips, 2-3 per class per year, ranging from £6 to £75 (for DS1 this year, they are going on sailing/windsurfing lessons for 5 weeks AND we have to do the transport (sticky as I can't drive and am going to have to pay petrol money to a friend on top). Whole year group going.

Also they ask for £10 per child per term.

THEN you have the additional music / story / dance workshops that cost anything from £1.50 to £5. And they do a LOT of those. When you're paying it twice over, for two dc, at very short notice (sometimes only 2/3 days), it can be really difficult to cover when you are on benefits like me.

I'm ALSO paying £6 a week from Easter this year until March next year to pay for his Y6 residential trip. OK that is technically optional, but if I don't pay for it, then he will spend the week sat with the year below. And I've got to do the same thing only two years later for DS2.

I should add that this is a plain old community primary school, not VA, run by the LEA. Very wealthy general intake though, only 3% on FSM. which, out of 415 pupils, means just 12 pupils on FSM's. And two of those are my DC!

Oh, and no help with trips for us 'poor' people, either, if we don't pay, our dc sit with the year below. I do get quite about it sometimes, especially as this school wasn't my first, second, OR third choice, it was where the LEA put my DC, and it is only my fourth closest school, and due to my disabilities and my DS2's disabilities, I am paying £48 a week on bus fares to GET my two DS's to the chuffing school. Out of my benefits. And then I have to find all this extra on top.

Is it any wonder I'm in debt?

And, to top it off, they are converting to a proxy Academy ('outstanding' converter) in September, and changing the entire uniform (at the same time as DD's Secondary is doing the same thing, and she will be in Y10, uniform would have done till she left). Which means a whole new set of logo'd uniform for BOTH DS's. God alone knows where I'm getting the money for 3 sets of uniform...

I have 3 dc - 1 junior and 2 secondary. It was a sep. Infant school and in previous house, eldest started at a different primary.

All have always asked for money to cover all trips.
Primaries sometimes have asked for donations to cover 'experiences' brought into school, but they get a lot more than we are asked to pay for.
The Infant and Junior schools are Church schools and have to fund (I think it's) 10% of their maintenance costs. We get a letter each year suggesting we donate £10 or £15 per family if you have 2 or more children.
Secondary sometimes asks for money to put towrads fuel for the minibuses if they are going out somewhere, but only a tiny fraction of the number of times they actually use it.

Some out of school clubs are provided by out of school providers and sometimes we have to pay for them, and sometimes we don't - but that tends to be £2.50 a session, much less than childcare!

Before Yr7 we were asked to donate' £10 to my ds's school, but we've never been asked since - don't know why, as I'm sure a % of parents would give, after all, it's only about 30p a week !

My dd2's Junior school do a massive charity project each Lent, and the raise thousands for charity, so I suppose that does involve dipping into the pocket, but it's all done with 20p games and cake sales etc., so no-one need be excluded in terms of costs.

Sorry . Bit long!

Our school is always asking for money for things including this year-£400 for a 5 day residential which I keep getting hounded about because we are not sending my dc. In the current climate I feel it is unfair to ask families to find that sort of money. Schools should be looking for less expensive activities. I have 2dc at the school, and get asked for money almost every week. were getting a new head in sept so hopefully things will change.

Yep.

This year we have had request for sponsorship for;
NSPCC
Comic relief
Twinning association event/challenge
Olympic/sport event

Just had a letter asking for tombola prizes and a sign up sheet to provide food for the jubilee party too.

Group school photos done last week (I dont buy them though)

For Y5's it was PGL last week too.

Its relentless tbh.

O gosh . It feels like we are always being asked for money. Never is there any mention of the word voluntary. We used to pay for milk/snacks when it could have been free as part of a scheme. School trips equal £15 to £20 per child. Activity days in school £7 to £10 mark. The odd £1 here and there for things like K-nex challenge. naff £15 poetry books/competition scams. £7 to purchase each childs artwork. Plus usual Sport Relief/sponsorship etc. We also have to pay for all afterschool clubs.
Sometime feel more like a cash machine especially when you have 3 dc.

O yes learning to play a musical instrument. Dd wanted to learn but at £80 a term we couldn't afford it.

We pay for

• cooking £1 per term
• tennis, they do it for all children but ask if the parents could contribute
• cake and fair raffle items
• manual help in Easter holiday for the allotment
• trips away

I don't count the Charity ones for Yellow Day, Breast Cancer, Jeans for Genes or whatever else they support. There it depends a lot on my personal view of the charity how much money I donate. They have a bucket in the playground and nobody really notice how much everyone drops in.

I am asked for money constantly. I am thinking of having my wages top-sliced and sent directly to the Heads.

No. S London community primary with quite high FSM.

There is a v active PTA who raise money to pay for coaches for trips and to subsidise the Yr 6 residential trip. The PTA is very generously supported by the people who can afford it, while everyone can attend the events such as the School Fair and spend as much or as little as they like. I think this is less divisive and pressurising.

I know some faith primaries that ask for a contribution to the school fund, but no community schools.

We pay £10 for milk for the year. We're also asked for money for school trips.

We're asked almost every week for "fun food friday" stuff - but it's a case of bring in an item of food from a list and there's far more parents than items so you don't have to contribute everytime.

Other money is mainly for things like out of uniform day, raffle tickets, tombola, cake stalls which we also provide prizes/cakes etc for. They also did tea towels printed with pictures from everyone in your child's year group and they had a 'art gallery' thing where you could buy a print of your child's paint splodges art for an extorionate amount £10

Lately the school has started asking for scrap metal they can sell.

Thanks so much for all your replies it's really helped me think through the issue. I will no doubt be cursing this thread the day my DC start secondary I'm sure!

More than one child per family is obviously a big issue and one that could be helped by a 'per family' donation.

The accountability issue for non voluntary aided schools (like mine) is also an issue that will need to be looked into as not I'm entirely sure how that works

I'm not counting any residential trips or extra curriculum funding as I think these are still optional

I guess I'm just talking about parents who are more than willing to divert their charity donations to the school but who don't because they're just not asked. Also parents like myself who have been asked for £6 at the start of term for a class activity but would be willing to pay more but have never been asked. The obvious answer is to just donate more and this is what I did. But this wasn't before we told cooking would stop due to finds running out

Another good point is the PTA funding which is a good way for willing parents to freely donate to the school as they can afford. But I still think this is slightly different as those donations are usually for a specific fund such as sun shades in the playground etc. the sort of donation I'm thinking of would directly fund your child's class

Have still taken a lot of good ideas from this thread though such as ninah's after school club ideas and also am completely sympathetic to cardymow (and others) situation

Linerunner's idea sounds good! JOKING!

Surely you pay council tax, that's your contribution!

I'm sure lots can't afford to give, schools should sort there own budget out. Our head earns 50 K for managing less than 100 pupils ( ask her)

I get a bit fed up with preschool and the can you donate xyz then buy back xyz then work at the fair etc etc.

Carey, I think it is illegal to leave your dec out of you haven't paid the "voluntary " contribution( residential may be excepted) also there should be lea funds to support children on fsm for trips etc. Have you got a mouthy friend who could "ask" the schools policies on such things? Or pm me and I'll ring them!

Sorry, cardy not Carey.

Yes I do understand that point about council tax but the truth is the school is on its knees with regard to funding. Can we not be asked for a
Voluntary donation? That is completely voluntary?

Don't think the head's wages has anything to do with the issue-pay peanuts get monkeys and all that

Unsure what the biscuit was for mrz?

Have reread your situation cardymow and so tough for you. £48 a week on bus fares alone, for your fourth choice school-sheesh. Are you in London by any chance?

But will say again, the request for money I am talking about is a voluntary contribution for non-specific class activities

Or class related stuff whatever that may be

DS's small primary school asks for money for various things all the time. People coming in, trips out, sponsorship for activities... Plus the "voluntary" £10 per term per child that they request to be placed in an envelope with the child's name on so they know who's paid... I am a rebel and pay up but use a blank envelope :o

Then there's the PTA stuff which is bring in cakes to buy back, summer fair, winter fair, quiz night, end of term party, start of term party....

I can't really complain because without the funds the children would miss out on some lovely activities, but it is one of the real downsides, IME, of a small school, as there are limited numbers of parents to cough up for stuff.

Hervana - I think trick would be to make sure that contributions really really were voluntary

The heads wage is important if you are discussing a budget. The head is expected to manage a budget. She is paid to make it work. In any business someone earning 50k should be able to balance the books. Its accountability.

I think the issue with asking for a contribution is that the school becomes reliant on the cash. People will always feel the pressure to pay.

Schools in my area received a negative budget increase this year (that's political jargon for a budget cut) which means there is money for essentials not all those little extras which rely on the goodwill of staff to spend their own money.

The head of my local village school used her credit card to buy computers for the school much to the horror of her husband when he saw the statement.

My tiny school earns 7k ipa from pta activities, they use it for computers. Admittedly affluent area, but i am dead set against parents being asked to pay a v contribution. The school now budgets for the pta to raise this every year.

Education is paid for in your taxes.

Parents may not be able to afford it and that is wrong! go read the you know your skint thread ( cry) and imagine these people making a choice between food and a nice school trip.

I'm sure a teacher can do cheap activites and save some cash whilst times are hard.

What would you class as a cheap activity?