6th form compulsory charges- is it legal?

[AHippoNamedBooBooButt]

My dd has just began 6th form in her state secondary school (England if that is relevant) and I've received a letter asking for us to pay for her text books. It is a rather substantial amount as well, and I've looked and can buy the books cheaper on amazon so am reluctant to pay. I just wanted to know whether this is legal to make a compulsory charge, and also if other 6th forms are also charging and if so, would you say the amount is reasonable?

no they cannot do this

Education Act 1996 paragraph 454

(1)Neither the parent of a registered pupil at a maintained school nor the pupil himself shall be required to pay for or supply any materials, books, instruments or other equipment for use for the purposes of or in connection with—
(a)education provided for the pupil at the school in respect of which, by virtue of section 451, no charge may be made, or
(b)a syllabus for a prescribed public examination which is a syllabus for which the pupil has been prepared at the school.

if the books are needed they must be provided free of charge. if they are optional then you should be free to buy them from elsewhere if you choose but your child shouldn't be disadvantaged for not having them if you don't - so would need to be given a photocopy of the relevant pages when needed etc.

I have spent over £130 on text books for DS’s A level subjects after being told by the school that we have to get them. On top of that we have had to pay a ‘fee’ for 6th form. This is a state school.

We have also been asked to buy art equipment for my younger DC as they are no longer allowed to share the class stuff due to Covid.

I don't think a sixth form counts as a maintained school, so the passage quoted by PP is irrelevant.

We've had to pay for books and materials (also state school). There was no requirement to buy them through school though- have you tried asking if you can just buy them independently? Seems odd that the sixth form is quoting more than Amazon; I'd have thought they would get discount for buying en masse (which would be the reason for buying via sixth form).

Are they definitely asking you to buy? Lots of schools ask for a deposit which is refunded when the books are returned at the end of the course in good condition.

6th form isn’t compulsory, so yes, the school can charge for things.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn - A school cannot charge these fees for A-level. They can ask for voluntary contributions but they cannot insist. The law is absolutely clear on this. However, if your son is going to a sixth-form college the rules are a little different.

They shouldn't require you to provide your own art equipment for your younger child either, although in current circumstances I wouldn't complain about that. Given the requirements around shared equipment, schools may not have enough budget to meet their obligations.

I don't think a sixth form counts as a maintained school, so the passage quoted by PP is irrelevant

A sixth form college does not count as a maintained school. A school that has a sixth form is a maintained school. Section 454 of the Education Act 1996 is entirely relevant.

6th form isn’t compulsory, so yes, the school can charge for things

Wrong. School is not compulsory at any age. You can home educate. If your child attends a state-funded school they cannot charge for things. They can ask for voluntary contributions but that is all.

[quote prh47bridge]@JustHereWithMyPopcorn - A school cannot charge these fees for A-level. They can ask for voluntary contributions but they cannot insist. The law is absolutely clear on this. However, if your son is going to a sixth-form college the rules are a little different.

They shouldn't require you to provide your own art equipment for your younger child either, although in current circumstances I wouldn't complain about that. Given the requirements around shared equipment, schools may not have enough budget to meet their obligations.[/quote]
We had to pay the money, it wasn’t compulsory (except perhaps for FSM students?) but I think they justify it by saying it will be used to pay for things during the two years. It wasn’t a vast amount but enough.

I haven’t complained about this or the art stuff or the books, I just assumed it was all necessary and the school don’t have the funds to pay for these things.

Schools can charge for items including books which pupils get to keep. Hence schools can charge for a set of art materials that pupils will use at home for example. It’s not usually compulsory to buy the items through the school but it’s usually easier to do this & often cheaper.
In the 6th form it’s usual for pupils to have their own copies of textbooks, which they bring home and keep hence why schools ask them to buy their own copy. But it would not be compulsory to buy it through the school.

Schools can charge for items including books which pupils get to keep

Only if the parent has indicated that they or their child want to own the book. If there is no desire to keep the book after the course has finished the school cannot make the parents pay for it.,

I used to teach at a sixth form and we provided online access to the textbooks but recommended that students buy their own copies. We used to bulk buy them from the publisher so they were always much cheaper than Amazon!

I'm not sure what the legalities are but I do know schools don't have the cash for text books. Perhaps you can buy them 2nd hand from last year's y13?

Perhaps this should be flagged up if pupils are choosing 6th forms. When it’s sprung on parents it’s not fair. Schools have to find money for their legal obligations.

Where are schools meant to magically find the extra money from though. We haven't been given any extra money to cover COVID costs. Schools are woefully underfunded at present. Sixth formers buying texts is not a new thing. Our GCSE students have to as well. Although we do have a supply for those who don't buy, they are then unable to annotate them.

@GrammarTeacher in the early '70's when pta's became a thing in the UK my father refused to get involved or to contribute.

He said, quite rightly, that it would lead to the underfunding of schools.