why are schools always asking for money!

*Louise*

Please can someone enlighten me....



What's a 'mufti day' ?

oystercatcher

*Louise* wrote: »

Please can someone enlighten me....



What's a 'mufti day' ?

When the children pay to not go in uniform.

Watch out when they go to secondary school. I was discussing with a friend how I made my boys pay the £1 for mufti day from their own money. She thought that was very 'interesting' as her son always asked her for £2 for exactly the same day at the same school !

shelovestobuystuff

Janepig wrote: »

Surely you can ask for them back as it's obviously irked you? I would if it was me.

Most people on this thread sound like my MIL who is always whingeing that the school are asking for more money, and it's not even like she's got to pay it!!! Last year at the sports day, the PTA bought juice for all the children, which I thought was good considering there are 450+ children, but then the headmaster made an announcement to say to the parents that there were tubs of ice-cream for sale in the school afterwards. Ye gods you should have heard her moan about that. I felt like going and buying a box full just to annoy her further.

I've personally got no problem with paying the odd £1 here and there for school discos, pyjama/mufti days, and a couple of quid for the odd school trip. I think the christmas concert is £4 but that's only once a year and well worth it imo. We always get a list from the headteacher to say what they want money towards, usually interactive whiteboards, picnic tables so the children can eat their sandwiches in the yard in the summer, covered shelters for parents to wait in the dry to pick the children up, etc... All stuff the LEA doesn't cover on their budget. And I'm grateful to the PTA for organising the things they do, and they do it well.

Jxx

I did ask for them back the day after she came home without them and was told all the costumes have been put away under the stage until next year and they are too busy to look for it.I have to ask them to find it next year when they get the costumes out again.Well the leotards wont fit her by then anyway,its just lucky she had 2 ballet costumes in pink.

mandragora_2

bonty44 wrote: »

I am getting fed up with requests for money that my son doesn't seem to 'directly' benefit from; each family has to pay £30 in September for 'Buildings Fund' then we have just been told that we all need to raise at least £10 in sponsor money for the new building that's been built as they don't have the money for any furniture ...

There's no reason that I can think of why parents should be 'subbing' this - thats what the school get funding from the local authority for. As for the building fund, if it's a secondary school, ask where they are on the 'Building schools for the future' programme

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/bsf/

all secondary schools in the country are on a scheduled plan to be rebuilt at some point in the forseeable future.

The request for charitable donations is one that I think isn't appropriate. I don't think that schools should send children home with sponsor forms/collection envelopes or anything else related to charity fundraising. If families want to spend their money on things like this, I think that should be a private matter, not something that children should be doing in school time. It is very hard for some families to afford even the basics of uniform, shoes, kit, without needing to subsidise external charities (some of whom have millions sitting in investment accounts at the bank) into the bargain.

If I had my way, I would ban schools altogether from having things like 'charity committees', fundraising drives, sponsored silences etc etc. I've seen kids from hard-up families who should have been on the receiving end of 'Children in Need' funding, manouvered into donating to this and other 'worthy' causes because of an unstated expectation that everyone will want to and can afford to.

It is limited in the school that I work at - one week of fundraising, organised by the older students; the other students attend the events at lunchtimes in that week paying no more than 20p to go to the daily 'show'. Funds raised during the week are sent to the charity agreed by the students who have raised the money - all very educational and worthwhile, but, also, strictly limited to that one week. Outside of that week, there is nothing. This is far better than the school I used to work at, which had endless fundraising events, non-uniform days etc etc and it seemed to me that parents were always being asked to dip into their pockets for very little justification.



*Rant over!

bonty44

Janepig, if the PTA were allowed to hold events to raise monies (but the Head has very set ideas) then that would be great; they only have 2 events a year, subsidise one pantomime for the children and we are constantly forking out money, here's a little summary:

£30 buildings fund
£7 x 2 school photos (I know, this is my choice, but DS1 should have some memories of his school days and classes)
£6 Mufti Days throughout the year
£4 Christmas panto (which is subbed by the PTA)
£4 Christmas Dinner
£10 (!) sponsor money
£14.50 school trip
£15 Fun Day (which is what I will probably end up forking out)

Okay, so that's about £100, which over the year is less than a tenner a month, but it all seems to come at the same time! I haven't included the ice-creams that we get hassled into buying because the PTA have set up a stand outside the classrooms; Book Fair; dress up days, etc.

The kids have nothing to play with in the playground. In fact, this is making me question my son's school full stop ...

I'm a teacher! I'm all for kids having extra learning opportunities and fun in schools but it is all SO expensive. If they could work out in advance what I was going to have to fork out and let me pay monthly by direct debit, then at least I could budget!!!

mandragora_2

bonty44 wrote: »

I haven't included the ice-creams that we get hassled into buying because the PTA have set up a stand outside the classrooms;

If they do this more than 'occasionally' (ie more than once or twice a year) and the ice creams are judged to contain 'confectionery' then they are in breach of the Food Standards......

Blackpool_Saver

Education is not free of course.
Schools need extra money because the government does not provide enough.
Teachers lives are hell due to inability to discipline.
We are all footing the extra bills.

Oldernotwiser

bonty44 wrote: »

Janepig, if the PTA were allowed to hold events to raise monies (but the Head has very set ideas) then that would be great; they only have 2 events a year, subsidise one pantomime for the children and we are constantly forking out money, here's a little summary:

£30 buildings fund
£7 x 2 school photos (I know, this is my choice, but DS1 should have some memories of his school days and classes)
£6 Mufti Days throughout the year
£4 Christmas panto (which is subbed by the PTA)
£4 Christmas Dinner
£10 (!) sponsor money
£14.50 school trip
£15 Fun Day (which is what I will probably end up forking out)

Okay, so that's about £100, which over the year is less than a tenner a month, but it all seems to come at the same time! I haven't included the ice-creams that we get hassled into buying because the PTA have set up a stand outside the classrooms; Book Fair; dress up days, etc.

The kids have nothing to play with in the playground. In fact, this is making me question my son's school full stop ...

I'm a teacher! I'm all for kids having extra learning opportunities and fun in schools but it is all SO expensive. If they could work out in advance what I was going to have to fork out and let me pay monthly by direct debit, then at least I could budget!!!

Although I totally understand the reason behing not having a regular "levy" for education, these figures show how much better it would be (and how much teachers' time would be saved) if parents were simply asked to pay a regular £2 per week per child to subsidise the school's budget.

mandragora_2

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Although I totally understand the reason behing not having a regular "levy" for education, these figures show how much better it would be (and how much teachers' time would be saved) if parents were simply asked to pay a regular £2 per week per child to subsidise the school's budget.

They are. Its called Taxes

the_other_mce

I agree - a set monthly payment (in addition to the building fund -£15 a term suggested donation) would be a better idea although £2 a week wouldn't cover it at our school - they would have to ask us to send in about £25 per child each month. I had to pay out over £75 one month! That isn't a few pounds here and there and it isn't unusual - often it's around the £50 pound mark. The last book fair cost me £25. I know I could refuse but I wouldn't want to disappoint /embarrass my children and I'm lucky that I can afford it. Don't get me wrong - I'm happy to fork out for things to benefit the kids (enhancements for lessons/hands on history type things/school trips) but this constant fund-raising using private companies who are clearly making a good profit out of it is taking the p*** to be honest - by this I mean the book fairs, christmas cards (£6 for 10), class photos, individual child photo's. And the ultra-competetive PTA who are determined to out-do last years PTA regardless of the stress they may be putting some people under. I have a friend who is a single mother with FOUR children under 11 at the same school. I will never know how she manages it all.... and I can honestly say it does get worse as your kids get older.