If you had the money...

[DitheringDaisy]

To send your children to private school but your beliefs/ politics was against them would you give large sums of money to your child's state school?

We are currently applying for our eldest DC's primary place. He currently attends a private school nursery and can continue there if we choose to. We are in London and so catchments are small and the private school is viewed (by me) as a back up in case we get none of our choices and are allocated a place miles away. My DH is much more keen on private education than me.
We have a favourite state school that we will accept if offered a place. To me, the only differences are the facilities offered and staff to pupil ratio. I know we can't do much about the latter - but the former?
Private education would cost £13k per year and rising. Plus we have 2 DC....

So, I would be happy to give the school termly lump sums if it improved facilities. Does anyone else do that? Would we be seen as idiots?

Wow! Personally I'd see you as angels not idiots, what a lovely thought process, but I have no idea how school funding works so would your contribution go where you wanted it to go and not on something tedious but necessary like the gutters?

I work in a state school where the boys toilets were recently refurbished. They used to be smelly and had trough urinals which some on the younger children found scary. I was shocked to discover the PSA had funded this, as there is no money in the budget for broken windows, let alone refurbished toilets. I should have known better.

If I won the lottery I would give a large amount to my DCs school and their old primary school for "nice" things such as new toilets.

The school I work in is in desperate need of new windows. If I was going to donate a large sum of money to the school I'd want a say in what it was spent on, and with the state of school finding as it is, it would sadly probably be new windows rather than extending the waterplay and sand facilities in early years.

As someone who works in a school, I'd say the last two posts highlight the problem. I think the school would be very nervous about accepting money in the way you're suggesting, as they would assume you would want a say in how it was spent. And even if you think you don't now - what happens when you give all this money and then the school makes a financial decision you're really unhappy with? These things can very easily turn sour. The school would be worried that you would be changing the nature of your relationship with them. It's one thing if loads of parents make a regular donation (though even this can be problematic), but potentially much more difficult if it's just you.

My experience is healthcare, where gifted money was usually pooled and allocated based on the ceo (rarely local). Even equipment like MRI machines that were gifted were moved to other sites (long term staffing cited as the reason). So I expect schools would be the same.
Wouldn’t this form of gifting lead to inequality based on wealthy hot spots?

If I was going to donate a large sum of money to the school I'd want a say in what it was spent on,

This highlights the main problem with such gifting, it comes with strings attached. Would you expect it to be spent on something your child directly benefitted from?

It's a lovely idea in theory and I'm sure the school would gladly make use of the money, but it could cause tension.

Thanks - I think you are right, although I would love to say I would leave it to the school to decide how the money is spent I guess if I felt it was being unwisely spent I would feel peeved.

I guess if the school said they needed £xx for y we could contribute then and also make regular donations to the PTA. Tbh in my area schools are quite diverse but I can see the problem where "richer" schools end up with more money.

Something to think about.

If you want to help the school out, perhaps consider getting involved in the governance? Being a governor is becoming more and more time-consuming and demanding. Schools are required to have parent governors, but to be brutally honest the ones who stand quite often lack the necessary skills or are standing because they have a personal axe to grind. Professional types who acan be objective and confidential, and who are willing to give up a considerable amount of time, are worth their weight in gold.

That is a good idea kestrel one of the benefits of choosing state schooling will be less pressure on me to return to work FT when both children are at school. I am a solicitor and so I would hope I could be useful.

It's a really interesting idea though I understand the difficulties.

You could certainly enthusiastically support any fundraising initiatives. There may also be scope to "sponsor" something, eg make an annual contribution towards mundane stuff like glue sticks (these feature a lot in our primary), dry wipe pens, pencil cases and pencils, tissues. Or give a donation to the library or book corners every year.

I've helped out at my kids' schools for years and I see my role as freeing up the most precious resource of all - the teacher's and TAs' time - to focus on the children. I try to do the crappy jobs - changing the noticeboards, photocopying, laminating, sticking work in books - so that they have a bit more direct contact time with the children, or even just more prep time. By the same token, maybe if you support the mundane, unglamorous bits at your children's school financially, that will free up a bit of budget for something more enriching elsewhere.

If you do donate, think about doing it through charitable giving if your PTA is registered as a charity. My work do an employee charitable giving scheme for example, I donate £50 a month which the school receives, but it only costs me £30 because it’s tax efficient and I’m a higher rate tax payer.

I only donate a small amount but would never direct the school in how to spend it, in this day and age I would hope that they spend the money wisely.

It bugs me that they’ve never thanked me, but my reasons for doing it are to help the children even if it’s only £600 a year, if their manners leave a bit to be desired then I can live with that.