kids schools with begging bowls at the ready

pelirocco

I have been on some American forums , they even have to provide classroom essentials such as glue , and paper towels . I even saw someone complaining they had to each provide a $25 walmart card to cover costs of photography

Fly_Baby

flippin36 wrote: »

....we have "Book Day" too. The idea about getting kids excited about books is really good, but I can buy the books cheaper online or 3 for 2 at waterstones and when you have more than one child it can cost a fortune. I have said no we will go and buy them cheaper elsewhere but she always felt a bit left out when the kids took their books to school to show what they bought from Bookday, she seems to think it has to come from school to count. (So I've weakened lol)

Totally agree. But they do get very excited and it does encourage them to read so I just go with it regardless of price. Mind you, on the last Book Week Fair my son was more keen on 'books' such as Ben 10 Annual and Madagascar Activity Workbook than good quality reading so I am not sure that I got my noble mission accomplished.

bestpud

The thing with many of the expenses listed on here are more about charity fund raising than education, and as I see it the two are separate.

I know costs can mount up and sometimes they seem to have several trips/events all at once but I think anything education related is important and will always find the money. Do people really begrudge paying for their children to go on an educational trip?

If I didn't have the money to pay for a skiing trip then they wouldn't go, end of! If I had the money and paid it, I wouldn't then add it to the list of school expenses and moan about it, because it is extra, and voluntary.

All non-educational things I take or leave in fact, depending on my ability to pay and/or whether I feel it a worthy cause.

DD has just made up a shoe box and enjoyed doing so. I'll be honest, I struggled to buy the contents and find the donation, but I see it as worthwhile and wanted her to think of children with less than she has, so we did one.

I have refused to do thing like buy a piece of artwork in a cheap frame for something daft like £6 but I do provide money/items for wear what you like days because I see that as more reasonable.

Really though, most of the fund raising is not for charity and goes back to our children in the form of equipment or activities, so why do people get so annoyed about it?

Also, for those who think the school fund raising is excessive, or excludes some families, why not join the PTA and come up with better ideas? Or just approach the PTA with new ideas?

If you allow the same people to do all the organising and work, then you will get the same type of fund raising. Don't moan about it - get in there and change it!

Just to add as well that private schools still ask for money all the time and far more than state schools, going on the parents I know with children in private education! You certainly don't pay your fee and that's it!

Nomoneymummy_2

tandraig wrote: »

my daughter actually counted up how many requests for money her sons school made in one term - i cant remember the exact number but it came to over £70! times that by two as his sister was in same school too. oh and she excluded the school trips etc - this was just the odd couple of quid for charity events - dress down day - dress up day - pj day etc! can remember thinking when daughter and sons were all in same school that the head must think i got a money tree in back garden!

Same here,
This month school are "readying" for the xmas fair sooooo for the last 4 weeks every friday has been non~uniform with us bringing something in (selection box, wine, HM xmas jars, small wrapped present for boy/girl from "santa") thats so far.... next week is the fair and that day we have to bring in cakes aswell.....
I have the 2 in now and I've given up working things out....
School xmas trip is costing £18 pp and they need to come in victorian clothing and bring a packed lunch!!!

PrincessPlaty

As i side note, the letter that DD1 brought home about the school panto trip stated quite clearly that they were asking for a contribution and that by law they were not allowed to state that if you didnt pay anything then the child couldnt go.

Their suggested contribution was £12 which considering the ticket price alone is £17 without the travel costs, and the snack and drink they are being provided with at the interval i didnt think it was too bad.

However when i went into the office this morning to pay for it, there were parents there questioning how much the contribution should be

What i did object to was DD coming home yesterday with a book bag full of letters from the past month which have never come home with her before including the one about the trip and then receiving a phone call an hour later asking if she was going :eek:

DD is 4 btw and in reception class.

flippin36

Fly_Baby wrote: »

Totally agree. But they do get very excited and it does encourage them to read so I just go with it regardless of price. Mind you, on the last Book Week Fair my son was more keen on 'books' such as Ben 10 Annual and Madagascar Activity Workbook than good quality reading so I am not sure that I got my noble mission accomplished.

Yes I know what you mean. Last year my daughter came back with a Tracy beaker friendship braclet maker (not even a book) :rolleyes:.

Its the parents that are really struggling I feel sorry for. I know a family who's main earner has been made redundant and they are struggling to pay the bills. It must be hard for her to have to say "no", though I suppose I was said "no" to many times when my mum had to watch every penny. I didn't do me any harm , though it felt like the end of the world when I was 10 and my mum still has guilt trips..... :rolleyes:

dawn_rose

it seems a near weekly thing at this school, i spent the first 3 years emptying my purse at the chemists and now its emptied at the school instead. we pay snack money but the lea fund that solely we got told that the snack money we pay goes towards the xmas party. on friday got a letter saying we got pay for that as well now onm top of the snack money. total madness.

Janepig

Blimey, this is the second whinging thread on this topic in the last few days. When I was in school (not that long ago) my parents never had to pay for anything, but that's because we never went anywhere or did anything. I know what I'd prefer. I'm just happy that I'm getting my children educated for free so the bits and pieces on top matter not.

Whinging about school photos is pointless - don't buy them then and you can stop moaning!:rolleyes:

School trips - don't send your children on them then and you can stop moaning.:rolleyes:

Non uniform days - as someone has pointed out, if uniform is not compulsory, send them in with no money and tell them to tell the school to take a hike and then you can stop moaning.:rolleyes:

Oh but the little darlings mustn't be denied must they, we can't possibly tell them no :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:.

I mentioned this on the other whinging thread, but at the PTA meeting I went to last week, my friend asked two of the committee why they didn't have more non-uniform days for money raising, to be told that they come in for so much abuse from parents that it's not worth it. Earlier in the year we had a non-uniform, wear yellow, day for a £1 each, and the whole contribution from one class of 30 children was........... 73p!!! And this is from a school who probably have about 3 non-uniform days a year at most. But of course the whinging parents wouldn't possibly come along to PTA and suggest some alternative ways of funding stuff that the LEA won't - like the tea and biscuits for the staff room, because we all know that's where the money we raise really goes :rolleyes:.

God, it's like reading two pages of rants from my MIL - and she doesn't have to pay anything to the school!!!!

Jxx

Rachel021967

My younger daughter's school are quite reasonable. However, in the past Teachers have taken children to the Book Fair to choose a book to put behind the counter for parents to come along and buy. My middle daughter's year had an author visit who signed the book and then the parents were informed that the book had been signed and they had to pay for it. It's very much emotional blackmail and in the last case out of the parents hands.

Iheart2poundcoins

I think some of the things happeneing here are awful, like saying which kids parents didnt pay up - how to make kids stand out and could be bullied for it too !

I cant remember being asked for my parents to pay for anything, bar school photos and the very odd trip in senior school - certainly no charities or anything.

How can people with 3 or 4 children afford it?

I think school shoudl be school, and forget all this wanting money for everything.