Paying for school trips.

arlybarly

OrkneyStar wrote: »

You contradict yourself though arlybarly, wanting EMA yet saying you will always pay for your children ? TBH I don't know much about EMA but there surely has to be a cut-off point somewhere, and as your income takes you above that point be thankful for that income.
I understand that it must be frustrating just missing out on something. Beleive me it is frustrating to see people on benefits who are better off than those who work their bums off (eg my DH). Thing is this board is not really for discussion/rants on benefit policy, simply for advice on the benefits systems as they currently stand. Any longer discussion/rant should be taken to discussion time in The Money Savers Arms.
Sorry OP if we seem to have gone way off topic!

Yes i do pay for my children BUT they should all be treated the same as other epoles whether they are on benefits or not this is my point and yes i agree this should be posted in DT as im sure its a highly provocative subject !!!!!

OrkneyStar

arlybarly wrote: »

Yes i do pay for my children BUT they should all be treated the same as other epoles whether they are on benefits or not this is my point and yes i agree this should be posted in DT as im sure its a highly provocative subject !!!!!

Well start a thread (if you are brave enough lol)!!!!!
I suppose in an ideal world all children would be treated the same (by the school etc I mean, not parents) but there is generally limited money, and so they have to make cut-off points somewhere!

DeeDee74

SUESMITH wrote: »

absolutly correct - its a voluntary donation, they usually say if enough parents dont pay the trip wont run but i have never known that in so they can't force payment or exclude your child. btw its usually the parents well able to afford it who quote the rules at you and refuse to pay, not us ordianary hard up folk

thay allways say voluntary donation on our school letter's but if the kids dont pay thay dont go simple...
dd's school has annoyed me this week. ive had 5 day trips in one week only had letter home monday nite about the 4 other trip's..:rolleyes:
why thay cant give more notice is beyond me.

SuziQ

I don't agree that a child from a very wealthy family should recieve ema the same as a child from a poorer family-we live in a system of means testing so why should ema be any different to HB,CTC ETC? I also feel the CB should be limited to poorer families AND that it be limited to the first 2 children (even though I have 3 and am on low income.)

Vicky123

I actually think there are way too many trips and activities, my own sons teacher is becoming more like a Red Coat every day.
I have complained about this not on the money issue but on the point of time, if we take out lunch, assemblies, play time, registration and then we are off out again how much actual formal lesson time is left.
I know the kids love it, I would have loved it too, but school trips were once in a blue moon thing in my day and that way no parents working or on benefits struggled to finance them.
Vicky

mandragora_2

woodbine wrote: »

I`m sorry but that sounds abit like the benefit police, it can be incredibly hard to find £x at very short notice when "surviving" on benefits.
Just to add from my experience of being a school governor that payment for these trips is on a voluntary footing,and usually a % is built into the costing to allow for those who cant/wont pay,if those able/willing to pay dont cover the total cost, then the "trip" will be cancelled

If your school is doing this, then they are in breach of the regulations (and, I think, the law) - the cost charged to parents should be the per capita cost per student - less any subsidy the school choose to fund/find - parents who DO pay should not be 'adding a little bit' to cover for those who can't/won't/don't. This clearly would be unfair. As I said in my earlier posting, trips are not supposed to make a profit (which I would see this as), nor should they make a loss.


If you are a governor, you need to check the schools procedures as a matter of urgency. They (and the gov body) could get into trouble for this practice.

mum2one

catenorfolk wrote: »

how about asking the childs other parent to help with trip??

Sometimes thats not always a practical solution for more than one reason x

GinnyT

"If you're on benefits you'll get quite a substantial amount of child tax credit which is intended to cover things like this."

Who says this is what Child Tax credit is for? The Child Tax credit replaced the married mans tax allowance.....THAT was not intended for use on school trips, you didn't even have to have kids to get it.....PLUS.....Those people who do not work, do not pay tax, yet get TAX CREDIT, its ridiculous, As a result of this, the more hard graft you put in, the worse off you are....When we had married persons tax allowances, it was equal, you paid the tax and everyone who qualified, got the appropriate allowance. If you didn't work, there was no need to give you the allowance cos you were not paying tax. So, there again, the hard grafters who are paying the tax are subsidising the lives/kids/school trips of those who do not work, yet get tax credit which is funded by the tax payers!!!

My kids go to state schools, they should be funded by the government, I should NOT have to put up with paying out for equipment, sponsorships, buses to take the kids 3 miles down the road at a rate of £3 a child, a climbing wall is the latest, with a voiluntary contribution of £1.50....WHY? Whats it for? WHat will the learn from it.....its just for fun and IMHO if the school wants to do things like that, they should use school funds, or funds from the 'friends of the school' My kids trips etc are paid for, we struggle to meet costs at times, but we somehow manage it, but I refuse to pay for non-educational trips. 2 weeks ago I was asked to pay £3 for my daughter to go swimming (paying for the bus, not the swimming) so the school could assess who to enter in a schools competition. Last week, when she went to the competition, the bus was provided by the school....how crazy is that?? It frustrates me so much, and even more so for the fact that I feel so guilty if I cannot pay for something (usually just the small amounts and very often only because the school gives you such short notice.

[Deleted User]

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Why is it like the benefit police to advise someone that they should spend public money on what it's intended for?

I`m starting to get annoyed with this thread but i`ll bite my tounge and say only this,I thought this board was here to help and advise people on benefits and NOT to lecture them on how to spend whatever they receive.
It really is threads like this and the condescending replies they attract that put people off seeking help on here.

[Deleted User]

mandragora wrote: »

If your school is doing this, then they are in breach of the regulations (and, I think, the law) - the cost charged to parents should be the per capita cost per student - less any subsidy the school choose to fund/find - parents who DO pay should not be 'adding a little bit' to cover for those who can't/won't/don't. This clearly would be unfair. As I said in my earlier posting, trips are not supposed to make a profit (which I would see this as), nor should they make a loss.


If you are a governor, you need to check the schools procedures as a matter of urgency. They (and the gov body) could get into trouble for this practice.

I did say "from my experience of being" and it was some years ago,the rules may have changed,although I doubt that in reallity the practice has altered much