What are the hidden costs of a state education?

[belledechocolatefluffybunny]

Ds's first school:
Trips times 2
chairs
fundraising-plants, books, charity (red nose/book day/children in need)
school uniform
lunch
reading books for ds as the school did not have any that were appropriate for him.

Last half term only:
Dinner money

Set of greetings cards 6 for £11.99 DS designed.

Photographs.

Trip to Museum.

Grow a Sunflower sponsored.

Cake sale

Book Sale

Costume for history off the page day

Costume for Egyption Day

Fees for non-uniform day

Costume for play

Bounce day sponsored

Food for Fete

Inflateable fun day

Summer Fete

Gymnastics club

Games club

All of these things are optional but no one wants their DS to be the only one. Friend has four DSs must be so expensive.

It is an excellent school and I don't really mind but it does seem that the school is funded in part by parents and for some that is a problem.

SuzieHomemaker if only the museums would inform me a year in advance about all the special exhibitions they are planning and how much they will be charging I could plan for the costs of school visits.

Having said that a mum said how pleased she was that I'd organised a visit last week as her son was desperate to go and if she'd had to take the family in the holidays it would have cost £100+ instead of the £6 we charged for a subsidised trip.

The amount that teachers subsidise their classrooms.

Now that is true Daisymiller...

The thing with this whingy thread is that none of what you're describing is actually a "hidden cost" of "education". Not wearing a costume for Book Day does not harm anyone's education. IMO, a "hidden cost of eduction" would be being told that you have to pay towards tuition of GCSEs or that your DC will not be allowed to receive their A Level results until you've paid a fee.

Stop moaning. The crux of it is - you don't want your children to miss out. That's your decision. This thread should be re-titled "The hidden costs of Keeping Up With The Joneses".

mrz - that's true. DS's recent visit to Dicken's World was an expensive £16. However, 2 adults and 2 over 5's would have been £50, plus petrol, food (more than DS's packed lunch) and a day out of our weekend.

Having just been to the ATM to withdraw money to pay for a butterfly pavilion and 6 pond dipping nets for my class I agree that is a hidden cost that parents aren't often aware of...

Our school sells second hand uniform for 50p and item. If you want your DCs to read extra books that are not available though the school you can order them through your local library.

Similarly schools trips tend to be reasonably priced and are often subsidised. +School dinners are cheap (and heck, your children do have to eat) but you can send them in with a packed lunch.

Any fund-raising is not compulsory.

FWIW private school will cost £100k+ for 13 years. Currently I know 3 chefs and 2 waiters that have been to private school. I think their parents should ask for a refund.

Cost absolutely minimal here - I would say:

Uniform - mostly what I would send dd to school in anyway (ie polo shirt + trousers), so no extra cost in buying the right colours. School jumper approx one a year at £7 (but then if she didn't have it she'd need more other jumpers).

Collection plate/silly socks day & the like - maybe one a term at most, usually £1 a time

Fundraising - minimal, maybe one sponsored event a year, and mincepies, concert ticket etc at christmas. Say £20 tops.

School lunch - don't count this as a 'hidden cost', dd has them as its convenient for me, but plenty of children have a packed lunch, so she could take one if the price were an issue.

No charge for trips as yet.

After school activities - perhaps £30 a year for the ones dd has taken part in.

Can't imagine it is more than £100 a year even if you pay up generously for everything and your dc goes to some after school activities. Wouldn't multiply if you had more than one child as you can only go to the school play & eat mincepies once and they're likely to pass on the jumpers!

Don't you have to pay for those if you go private? IIRC my parents had to buy my private school uniform and it didn't come from George at Asda

Blimey! Try a supermarket for trousers, PE kit and white shirts.

lol at reading book
op oyu are barking

? Well most private schools have school uniform too.

And in fact as others say yr DC need to wear something - I find school uniform cheaper than most of my DCs' clothes. Lunch is needed usually as well (we still eat at the weekend!) - if cost is an issue, go for cheap as chips packed lunch (one round of white bread sarnies and an apple). I really don't get why so many people think lunch is a hidden cost of school?

Otherwise, hidden costs don't amount to much. If you don't want to give to school fund-raisers, give your time instead - there is sure to be something you can do and then no-one can object if you don't buy £5 of raffle tix.

Agree that trips etc can mount up. But you don't have to go on them y'know. There are always children who don't go and AFAIK no-one throws stones at them.

Most schools wil have reading books for a child - fluffy, yr DS was an unusually able reader. The most able readers at the school now (some of whom could also read before they started) are well catered for by the books in school AFAIK.

Agree child care is totally irrelevant - it's hardly a vital part of school is it?

I can see where you're coming from OP, I spent a bloody fortune topping up and filling in the gaps that state school left when compared to privately educated children.
I'm sure mine would have survived without me doing so but nothing pisses me off more than the thought that somebody else's child has an advantage that mine doesn't.
In the end it was cheaper to go private where Judo, cookery, French, swimming, art classes, speech and drama along with an annual trip to the panto and termly trips are all included in the fees.

yy to those who talk about hidden costs for teachers.

chairs and fundraising and reading books?

You is nutz

Does your child's school not fundraise pointy? We were indeed asked for money for chairs, the reading books were limited, it's unfair for an able child to have to read ORT stage 1 when they are way past this stage because there's nothing else for them to read.

my mum spent her time as an one to one intervenor (working with a partially signted/hearing child) buying supplies for him from her wages, using her printer, ink etc and her time outside working hours, to make things for him so yy to the teachers who find themselves buying things themselves. We (as in everyone) is very lucky that teachers and tas are prepared to do it.

dd's (private school) blazer alone (she's 5)cost £85 so think if you're comparing uniform costs then private is lots more as have to buy through school shop/suppliers, can't get cheaper from m&s/asda etc.

mama - think you are just lucky. Just googled our local primary prep:

Extra Curricular:
Horse Riding* £35 per lesson (boarders only)
Ballet £88 per term
Drama £88 per term
Tennis coaching £31.50 per term
Fencing £90 per term
Judo £60 per term
Swimming Coaching** See below (may be charged)

Learning Support:
Literacy support £33 per 45 minute lesson
English as a Second Language £33 per 45 minute lesson
Music Music Lessons* See below (charged by teachers)

I think a lot of those "costs" ) from all the listes posted so fare actually are not compulsary. I can actually not think of anything appart from school uniforms and apparently they are not always compulsary either.

OP, why "chairs"?

My DCs have had a number of "dress up days" in school that have not costed anything because they have made their own. Looks a bit amateurish compared to the others whose parents buy the complete costume of XYZ but they are getting a lot of fun out of it.

There are at least one club after every school day (football, craft, cooking, multiskills, netball, lacrosse, board games...) All free, done by teachers volunteering to lead them.

well like I say fluffy, the school has clearly wised up since then and now offers ORT beyond stage 1 and other books too. Amazing!

My DS2 is still there and he was reading Roald Dahl last week.

They decided they wanted new chairs, parents would get a sticker on the back to say they had donated them IIRC.

All of the extra curricular things are part of the fees at ds's secondary, as are books, exam fees, stationary oh, and a calculator.

Or to choose a state school mamatomany where swimming, martial arts, gymnastics, art classes, French, Spanish, cookery, drama, debate, chess, computer animation etc are free leaving lots of spare cash for ant educational visits

That's great Clary. There's a new head now isn't there?