Does your STATE school ask for a regular donation?

[TeenTimesTwo]

Prompted by some of the feedback on the what are London state schools really like.

I am wondering how commonplace it is for schools to ask for regular donations, and how much this varies by school type, area, or whatever. Part of me thinks DD's school might be missing a trick, and part of me thinks it is nice that people aren't being pressured.

So, if anyone would care to answer the following I'd be interested. The bits in are my suggestions, feel free to add any categories I've forgotten:

Type of school:

Is school part of an academy:
Type of area:

Contribution:

Your views:

My DD's school is:

Comp, non faith
Single convertor academy
Prosperous small town
£0 contribution requested

I think they should consider asking for something like 'If you feel you can afford it we would like to ask for contributions from parents, perhaps £500 if you think you may be in the top 10% of wealth in our school, £200 if you are in the 10-20%, and £20 if you are in the 20-50%'

With 1000 parents that could nett (100x£500+100x£200+300x£20)=£76k. Wow that's a lot! Perhaps I'm pitching too high.

But isn’t the big problem with this approach that it will lead to more disparity within schools - the richer the parents, the more money the school has, so the better the resources, so the better the results, which leads to more competition and shenanigans to get in, pushing up house prices near the schools and creating more division and less diversity? And, conversely, creating worse schools in other areas where the poorer parents are forced even more.

I can understand schools which are asking for contributions in the current, horrendously stretched situation they are put in by the government. But I feel this is a stealth privatisation of schools which plays into the government’s hand, just like running the NHS into the ground so people who can will be accepting of paying a bit here and there. Then, before you know it, no state education or health service truly existing anymore.

The only fair way is to raise taxes and not vote for the promotion of austerity which has been proven not to work.

I’m a secondary school teacher, but my son’s primary has recently asked for money for an activity within school which used to be funded (albeit there is a hardship fund as there has always been for trips). It is a bit of a dilemma.

But some people already pay 40% of what they earn, others 45%. That's almost half of every pound you earn going to government. I am not sure if as a country the right thing to do is to more than half of what is earned to fund a system that will only require more funding. Parental contribution based on what you can afford makes sense. And not just in monetary terms but time and other resources too

Scipio Well yes I do kind of agree.

However, I would think that is what occurs up and down the country with PTAs. The PTAs in the more affluent areas can raise more, so give more extras etc.

It is the balance between what should happen (all schools properly funded) and reality. If the reality is that schools are under funded, is it so wrong that existing parents to be asked to donate if they can afford to?

At the moment I am waiting until my DDs finish school before making a donation, as I feel it might seem like trying to curry favour if we randomly sent in a cheque. Whereas if there were an organised scheme it would seem easier.

It's extremely common, my school did is back in th 70s (and there was fundraising in top of that).

I don't know why it receives more public attention when there is a Tory govt than when it happens under Labour....

Lots of schools do it now. My sons' grammar school asks for £60 per month per child and they still don't have enough money for text books.

Schools are desperately underfunded and I feel they should ask politely.

Teen you are right about the PTA - I hadn’t considered that in depth. And I totally agree about the should happen/is happening difference. However I can’t see Thai leading to anything but more inequality and unfairness.

newmummy I don’t really understand - income tax is based on what you can afford so seems a fairer way of determining what you should pay into services than what you then later decide you can afford and use that specifically to help only your own child’s school.

this leading anywhere

2 different grammar schools here. Affluent area but quite a high proportion of pupils come from neighbouring areas which are more mixed. So overall, kind of a range of incomes.

One school asks for a voluntary contribution of around £20 per month. No idea what the take up is.

Other school doesn't ask for voluntary contribution but does get extra money by demanding (compulsory) payments for things like photocopying (£25 a term).

PTA raise significant amounts at both schools which go on essentials - new books for science dept for instance or musical instruments.

Comp, semi rural, next to massively deprived area of neighbouring city, 25% of pupils come from there.
Rated inadequate, forced to convert to MAT.
No contributions requested.
We do have to pay for all trips/events transport etc,
Fundraising at parents evenings, cake, tea & coffee etc,
Does try to get sponsorship, so sports teams kit sponsored, local coach company provides reduced fees.
We live in one of worst funded LEA's and 100% of secondary's have budget shortfalls, leading to teacher redundancies. Not wealthly enough area to ask for parents to make up for woeful government underfunding, by successive governments, packed with ex private school attendees and present users
That's where problem lies, not asking parents to bloody pay for fundamental right in a 21st century developed country.
For Christ sakes, both our primary and secondary schools raise money to sponsor 3 girls through school in Africa, are you suggesting we should do same for our own kids?

Comprehensive academy (has formed it's own small MAT)
The school itself doesn't ask for a donation, but the PTA encourages parents to set up a standing order when they join in year 7 and sends out occasional reminders that this would be a jolly good idea.

There is no "recommended amount" (and they are alarmingly grateful to anyone that actually bothers, which makes me think not that many people do!)

School not a million miles from the OP's

Comp
Stand alone academy
no contributions

Grammar in suburban London
Suggests £50 a month but just a suggestion
Some subjects that are non-core like Mandarin, Japanese or Dance cost £200 a year and held at lunchtime and after school.

Parents and teachers come in and decorate / sand down benches etc twice a year with materials and skips donated by local businesses.

Also Parents can voluntarily over pay for trips to help pay for those who can’t afford it so School doesn’t have to dip into funds.

Funds have paid for toilet refurbishment, books, library system, computers etc. School spends 90% on salaries so budgets very tight.

Grants have been got for a wellness garden etc, so getting these sort of awards also key to a school.

Grammar in the SE, we're asked for a voluntary contribution of £250 per year.

We're also asked to buy a number of text books (for GCSE) ourselves, otherwise kids will get photocopy handouts rather than textbooks.

The PTA raises just over £10k a year which goes to "extras" that the school can no longer afford - smartboards, contribution towards classroom refurbishment for example.

Given chronic government underfunding, I find it's disappointing that more of our parents don't contribute to the voluntary ask - some parents are actively hostile to even being asked to contribute (HT is not pushy or aggressive in asking). Probably less than half of parents contribute, and whilst I don't know everyone's situation, the overwhelming parent body present themselves as fairly well to do (which matches the tiny FSM% of the school).

Yes

Primary, CofE, one firm entry.
Central London, mix of incredible wealth and poverty.
VA but linked to London Diocese.

They ask for £80 a term per child.

I don't like the way the money is asked for and I am wary about the way the school spend money.

They have made some short sighted financial decisions which have led to accredited income. They are too linked to a particular church; this church actually takes money from the school for certain things.

I don't like the emotional blackmail style of the letters or the individually named chase-up demands.

Certain areas of the curriculum have money thrown at them and it's a waste-Reading Recovery.

I don't think it's sensible to rely on a variable income streme for essentials.

The school is top-heavy with non teaching management.

DH and I have come to an impasse-if I don't tell the school what I think of their practices we won't pay. If I tell the school he will go with cheque book in hand.

Grammar in suburban London here for DC1
£35 per month was the amount requested as voluntary contribution although I suspect it might be higher for lower down the school cohorts now.
Very active PTA that makes lots of money for the school and much of it is used for equipment including mini buses, computers, IT equipment, DT equipment, cameras....You name it, the school PTA seems to have funded it at some point!
I don't know what % of the school budget goes on paying salaries but I have always suspected that they pay 'well over the odds' to attract good teachers (most of whom stay at the school long-term)
Can't recall too many school trips that haven't cost us anything (unless it's ones where just the travel is costed)

Comprehensive in suburban London here for DC2
The £25 voluntary donation is an annual thing
Not very active PTA and can't see that much money is made for the school (max 5% of what DC1's school make annually)
Not many if any trips organised from what we can tell

Some of children come from comfortably off backgrounds (even by London standards) so the school possibly should be asking for more in the way of voluntary contributions.

Comp semi rural, 2000 puplis

Voluntary contribution of £75 a year and lots of requests throughout the year eg £10 for technology materials, £10 art materials

Very high achieving Grammar in South East.
£150 per term with direct debit forms posted to parents detailing possible amounts going into low thousands per annum.
Asked for money at every opportunity/school meetings/parent eve etc. Many parents did not pay and said so, as there had been previous financial problems at the school which were not related to government cuts.
PTA raised an additional £30k per year.

Schools are extremely underfunded and I do not blame them for trying to raise funds in any legal way they can. However, I believe raising funds in this way presents state schools with an extra problem. If a parent (as some did at our school) gives low thousands in donations will there not be favouritism towards that family/their children? Will their child be the one asked to leave before year 13 if they achieve a C at end year 12? The idea of free state schooling is that all children are equal. I don't think this was the situation at our school after the extra (non-PTA) donations were encouraged.

As state school parents we are doing the government's job for them by making extra donations. The government alone should be funding schools correctly.

I'm quite shocked at the size of some of the regular donations being asked for. Also surprised that only 1 person so far has mentioned anything other than a single-sum suggested donation size.

What do the schools with very active PTAs do to raise funds?

At our school I feel that parents have PTA-fatigue after primary, and with pupils spread out over a large area, many using buses to get to school. It isn't clear to me how PTA activity could be built up from very little (refreshments and quiz nights) to something more substantial, without taking on a lot of risk.

My daughters c of e secondary school asks for £70 a term. I have never given anything as we are barely scraping by as it is so probably makes me a bad person. We do pay for books and class materials though.

Faith school
VA (not an academy)
London fringes, mostly comfortable/ wealthy intake but not all
One of the highest progress 8s in the country
£8.80 pcm per family - not compulsory but heavily encourage, I suspect most pay it.

I was asked at grammar and comp. Never paid as on minimum wage, 4 kids, single parent I haven’t the money to give. A letter detailing the top 10% then 10-20 then 50 and if you’re the lowest of the low we’d let you off is just horrible.

What do the schools with very active PTAs do to raise funds? 11+ Mocks raise most of the money here. Plus quiz nights.