school 'demanding' voluntary contribution, income sub £16,000

smartie12

I'd use Child Benefit for such expenses;)

School expenses are expected.... some of the things I've had to pay for *sigh* Years ago I used my small amount of savings to help pay towards for him to go on a residential at primary school. I did enquire about help as I was a single parent... didn't get any but didn't moan. I asked to pay in installments. There was no way I wanted him to miss out.

DS is 14 and has a trip on Thurs... it never ends!!!:rotfl:

I never had to pay for swimming through school though.

kezlou

TubbyFunster wrote: »

Thats quite a bargin but what they going to do in seahouses for 5 days! There are only so many fish and chips shops you want to look at. On our school trip to seahouses the man in the paper shop refused to sell me cigs, quite right too, but it had never happened before and I remember being quite put out

That's the thing, the headteacher has worked her socks off to get loads of funding for everyone. For the instance the first bill was £75 but then she got some extra funding and dropped to £60 :T. She's been going to seahouses for years, so i think she gets a bit of a discount.
The group might be going to several castles, holy island, farne islands, so doing loads of stuff. I can see them doing lots of walks along the beaches, nature investigation etc

Free swimming, transport + coaching starts from Y2 and finishes half way through Y4, but thats only where we are.
I would ask to pay in instalments, the school my children attend allow you to, which is a godsend for me, especially with the seahouses trip.

ceebeeby

I've sold jewellery in the past to fund school trips / school expenses.

My kids - my responsibility!

I would rather eat beans on toast for a full week than have my child sit on the side of the pool whilst others are in the water.

Depends what your priorities are?

Equally though, I wouldn't want to eat Beans on Toast for a week to fund someone elses' child to go swimming (iyswim) so your child, your responsibility.

peachyprice

mrcow wrote: »

I'd don't get it.

Are you saying that you want your child to still be able to go swimming, but you don't want to pay for it?

If so, how exactly do you want this funded? Are you saying that you want other parents to club together to pay for your child?

Do you not think that we all have budgets to work to? £3 per week is not a massive amount to find. Budget. And offer to pay weekly - then the problem is solved.

I understand what you are saying, but surely it's the principal that the school are acting illegally.

Firstly they are demanding a voluntary contribution, which legally they cannot do.

Secondly they are threatening to exclude a child who's parent do not pay the so-called voluntary contribution, which again legally they cannot do.

£3.40 a week isn't alot, but where does the school draw the line. If it were £10 a week would is till be OK for them to be acting illegally?

gonzo127

mrcow wrote: »

I've got three children with a mortgage and bills to pay. We all have to budget.

I bet I can chop £3 per week off the OP's budget. If the OP really wants their daughter to go swimming but is worried about the cost, then post up your SOA - we'll find the £3 between us. Don't worry.

but it isnt just £3 a week (at the moment) the school have asked for £34 by next tuesday! which when on a very tight budget is a hell of a lot of money to find,

myself i could not find £34 by next tuesday for my family of 5 that is over half a weeks groceries

i do agree that the OP should contact the school and see about installments for it however it does get my back up somethign rotten when schools demand these compulsory 'voluntary' contributions as there is never anything voluntary about them as its either pay up or your child gets left out!

got my step daughters school one day with this since when something like this happened to me and they said they could not accept installments and that my child would have to sit on the side, i removed my permission for her to be taken along and told the school that they now must fullfill there duty to provide her with a fully planned and supervised lesson in school - which meant they would have to hire a supply teacher for that one lesson costing the school a lot more than it would do to either let her go on the trip free, or let me pay in installments not suprisingly the school then decided installments would be acceptable

Spendless

peachyprice wrote: »

I understand what you are saying, but surely it's the principal that the school are acting illegally.

Firstly they are demanding a voluntary contribution, which legally they cannot do.

Secondly they are threatening to exclude a child who's parent do not pay the so-called voluntary contribution, which again legally they cannot do.

£3.40 a week isn't alot, but where does the school draw the line. If it were £10 a week would is till be OK for them to be acting illegally?

That's my view on it too, which is why I asked what is the 'norm' for swimming lessons in that area. If the school is giving over and above what is 'the norm' then fair enough apply a charge -in that case we'll come with suggestions on budgeting for the OP. If it is just the swimming lessons that every other child is entitled to have then yes I'd be questioning the school why they are applying a charge.

Gingham_Ribbon

I'm sure the OP CAN find the money if she really has to, but I don't think this thread is about finding ways to pay. It's about challenging whether the school should be forcing parents to pay extra for day to day education for their children.

jackieglasgow

My goodness, what a judgemental lot! You know, for some peope £3 a week can be the difference between giving your child a meal, and not. I know that child benefit etc., are meant to help with the additional costs of aising children, but you're all very lucky to be sitting in judgement of the OP when you haven't walked her shoes. Does it not occur to any of you that she might really be on her uppers here, and humiliated at not being able to scrape together the cash, and all she's getting is smart comments about eating beans on toast, selling jewellery or using CB? At the end of the day, if swimming is part of the curriculum, the school should be funding it, this is a state school, not a private one. How they find the money from within their budget is not the OP or any other parent's problem, and if the other parents can afford to pay, and are happy to do so, doesn't mean the OP isn't right to refuse.

OP, I would write to the headteacher explaining that you are unable to ay the voluntary contribution as a result of your financial situation, but do not feel it is appropriate in your case to ask for help to pay what is in essence, a voluntary donation, and that you will be taking it up with the LEA if your daughter is deprived of these CLASSES, which are part of the compulsory curriculum, as a result of the school failing to take account of your personal circumstances.

mrcow

jackieglasgow wrote: »

How they find the money from within their budget is not the OP or any other parent's problem, and if the other parents can afford to pay, and are happy to do so, doesn't mean the OP isn't right to refuse.

So you're saying it's acceptable for the school to be forced to make cuts to find the money for the OPs child to go swimming, but not for the OP to make cuts for their own child to go swimming?


Mmmmm......

jackieglasgow

No what I am saying is that the LEA gives the school a budget to work from, and it's up to the HT to figure out how to fit the curriculum into that budget. How much paper do they waste? How often are lights left on? IT shouldn't be about always finding the money from parents, not just in the OP's case. Our own school have suffered a huge cut in budget this year, and have done a good job in cutting lots of waste, and actually, we had to pay for the swimming lessons, I think it was £12 for the session, but I don't mind, as I have the money, and know how tight finances at the school are. But if it had been last year, when I was only eating once a day for several months because we had barely a penny, then I would have been unable to pay a thing. Sometimes, for some people, it really is that bad.