Non Uniform days raising school funds

Raksha

#2 & 3 DS begged for £3 (£1.50 each) to 'pay' for non uniform day - to go to CIN.

No cash in the house, so I sent a cheque. #2 son was nearly in tears at the thought of not taking part and being bullied (he has a history of being bullied at this school which ended with him being externally excluded because he thumped one of them........)

When I went to the school website, the £1.50 is being split between CIN and 'in house projects'.

I object to being blackmailed into paying towards joint funds like this - there are 6 other 'activities' during the day in addition to mufti day, all costing 50p each. Surely they would be enough, without putting the children under the peer pressure/bullying oportunity of 'non uniform day'?

cariadtrist

I'm afraid, this is standard practice now. When I was in sixth form, just over a decade ago, I arranged a 'Jeans for Genes' day. It cost £1, everyone wore jeans, went towards genetic disorder charity. The head announced in assembly the day before that the money would be split between the charity and ...wait for it...the boys rugby tour to New Zealand! I must have been braver back then. I got a meeting with the head and politely objected that half the funds raised wouldn't go to the charity at all. So he sent an announcement around that the price had been increased to £1.50. £1 to JfG and 50p for the rugby tour. I was speechless. Why should I pay for, mostly, the rich boys of the school to holiday in New Zealand? My family still had never had enough money to holiday abroad yet!
Anyway, rant over. I apologise. And sympathise. x

Marcheline

One time I forgot to mention I'd need some cash for own clothes day, so my mum didn't have any on her. She just sent me in in my own clothes with a note saying the money would be coming when she picked me up in the evening.

I personally don't mind paying out to things like this though. If I objected strongly to paying, I'd just send my kids in in their uniform and that would be that.

Alikay

DS2 has gone off to school in civvies today clutching £5 for the non-uniform fee plus the various Pudsey-related fund-raising activities. I don't mind the money..I think its nice for the whole school to come together and plan stuff to raise a bit of cash for charity.

I do think it's a shame though, for the kids who can't afford fashionable clothes, or the terminally uncool who simply don't know or care about style. It just seems a normal thing to do these days and does it really result in any more teasing or bullying than the fiercely competitive Sports Days of my youth?

jack*tigger

My kid's school had a "Silly Head Day". They had to wear uniform but could paint their faces, have silly hair, wear a wig or a hat. Then they arranged stalls etc to raise more funds. The kids arrange it all themselves and run the stalls etc. All proceeds to CinN.

gingin_2

£5 Alikay? £5 :eek:. I have a friend with 4 children and she certainly can't just splash out on £20, regardless of CIN being a worthwhile cause. I do believe these things should be a anonymous donation in an envelope rather than a set sum, along with a lesson or assembly for the kids on the reasons behind charity and giving .

It's the sponsorship events that bug me with a prize for the highest amount of money raised, but I guess that should have it's own thread.

My children's school are doing zilch for Children in Need.

purplegirluk1

The school I worked in a few years ago that stopped non-uniform day, it is not fair on the children. Like others have mentioned it is a pressure on children who do not have Nike trainers, clothes from topshop etc. Also some children would come to school in highly inaproppriate clothing, the school was on a farm so pretty high heels were just plain dangerous but that didn't bother the 14 years old girls! Instead we organised afternoon acitivities like cakes sale, lots of hand made items, dance shows etc. It made a great community feeling and the children could spen what they wanted to or could afford. I would say if these things affect you think about joining the PTA and you can voice your concers, or write to the PTA/Governors with your suggestions.

tiamai_d

DS2's nursery had a teddy bears picnic and spotty day for £1. He took Teddy along (but don't worry, Teddy had went to nursery during the week so he wouldn't be scared today)and the nursery painted his face with spots.

DS1's school were having a PJ day for £1, so we went and got him a new pair of Pj's because he generally sleeps in shorts. Then he ends up ill today so I wasted cash on new Pj's.

I would object if the money was split though. The school does enough during the year for their own coffers without scrounging from CiN.

Lunar_Eclipse

Raksha wrote: »

#2 & 3 DS begged for £3 (£1.50 each) to 'pay' for non uniform day - to go to CIN.

No cash in the house, so I sent a cheque. #2 son was nearly in tears at the thought of not taking part and being bullied (he has a history of being bullied at this school which ended with him being externally excluded because he thumped one of them........)

When I went to the school website, the £1.50 is being split between CIN and 'in house projects'.

I object to being blackmailed into paying towards joint funds like this - there are 6 other 'activities' during the day in addition to mufti day, all costing 50p each. Surely they would be enough, without putting the children under the peer pressure/bullying oportunity of 'non uniform day'?

I can see both sides of this 'argument', but personally I don't waste a second getting worked up by it. Fund raising for charity sends a positive message to children and sadly schools need to raise additional funding to provide an excellent education for our children. It's a side effect of how they receive their Govt funding.

For those families that genuinely cannot afford to participate, I am sure the school would be fine without a financial contribution. If I were in this unfortunate position, I would send them in mufti clothes with an explanatory note which they could use if they wished.

Schools will not discriminate based on financial differences, however the sad reality is many parents object just because. But we have to remember that this is all part and parcel of children going to school; we have to accept the good and the bad. As parents, we can't expect to agree with everything schools do; it's impossible.

The good news is that children normally have great fun on these special days. I would love my children to enjoy going to school and having fun every single day. Education does not need to be boring in the slightest, it is about igniting a fire for life.

I'm thankful for all the unique and interesting activities our school does. Interestingly the Head disagrees with mufti days so we don't have them at this current school, but they make up for it with lots of (expensive) day/residential trips and people visiting the school. On Monday, my eldest had a mobile planetarium visit the school; she was fascinated and wonderfully animated when recalling all the information she had learnt about the galaxy etc. Whilst I would love it to be provided for free, these are the things that she will probably remember fondly about school.

WestonDave

One point on this - the splitting of donations if not done clearly is very dodgy. There is a clear principle in Charity law that if a donation is given for a specific purpose, you cannot divert it off for something else - so a Children in Need non uniform day that quietly diverts money to school funds is not within that! If they are open and up front about it, then fine, but they cannot do it on the quiet so that people think they are giving for one thing only to discover that part of it is going to something else entirely.

skiTTish

OOOOppps !!!!

Youngest came back from the bus stop today ,in a right fluster !!
everyone was in civvies ,so it must be a non uniform day ,even though no one had told him ?!?
Quickly got him changed and sent back out for the bus .......
He didnt take any money ......:eek:

I hope he doesnt give them his lunch money