Cruel School?

janninew

trickytrolleys wrote: »

it's petty and nasty for the sake of it, the show had already been paid for as they were at the school performing - to deny toddlers the chance to watch it, I just cannot get over how shocking that is, I think I would have stood up and asked for contributions and stated very loudly that the little ones weren't being allowed to watch - hopefully it would have shamed the teachers into not doing that kind of thing again.

It takes a special kind of adult to lead those little ones out and deprive them - a cruel streak :mad:

When I worked in a secondary school, we often had outside companies come in to do productions, and these were never paid for in advance, an invoice was always sent after, giving 30 days to pay. If these parents hadn't paid, the school wouldn't have enough money to pay the invoice. Still not a reason to treat children cruely, but the show probably wasnt paid for at this point.

cheepskate_2

trickytrolleys wrote: »

i

It takes a special kind of adult to lead those little ones out and deprive them - a cruel streak :mad:

Like the parents .....who decided that they were not that bothered whether their own children went or not , but banked on others paying .
Poor children, but the buck stops with the parent , if they could not afford it then they could ask for arrangements to pay beforehand in installments..

(quote) I think I would have stood up and asked for contributions and stated very loudly that the little ones weren't being allowed to watch - hopefully it would have shamed the teachers into not doing that kind of thing again.

And would you have been so brave to go to the parents concerned and view your opinion of them, to them as well.

DaisyFlower

cheepskate wrote: »

Like the parents .....who decided that they were not that bothered whether their own children went or not , but banked on others paying .
Poor children, but the buck stops with the parent , if they could not afford it then they could ask for arrangements to pay beforehand in installments..

(quote) I think I would have stood up and asked for contributions and stated very loudly that the little ones weren't being allowed to watch - hopefully it would have shamed the teachers into not doing that kind of thing again.

And would you have been so brave to go to the parents concerned and view your opinion of them, to them as well.

I totally agree - this was not the nurseries fault but the parents. If they don't want their children to miss nice treats or to be singled out then they should have paid (assuming this is the real reason they were taken out).

Schools have a very tight budget as it is and cannot afford to subsidise parents that wont pay. If they truly couldnt pay that week then they could have agreed to pay a small amount with the rest to follow the second week. Not paying the contribution yet expecting the trip/visit anyway is unacceptable given the amount of money the state/tax payers already give to families to help with the childs costs.

Our PTA does not fund those that dont pay, its used to purchase the extras for the school. They do pay for treats at the pantomine though sometimes. I dont think the PTA should be responsible for paying for trips otherwise x amount of parents end up doing the fund raising and contributing whilst others just enjoy the freebies. Each parent paying for their own child is the fairest way.

ariarnia

vaio wrote: »

You must live in a pretty enlightened part of the country, does it begin with a "W"? Does everybody get free prescriptions too?

Wales doesn't get 'free' fruit as it has to be subsidised by the local governement and EU (half and half) and Wales said they couldn't afford it.

Some placements in wales provide free fruit/subsidised breakfast club but it's not funded by WAG

GracieP

cheepskate wrote: »

if they could not afford it then they could ask for arrangements to pay beforehand in installments..

Is it really so hard to understand that people who do not have a penny to spare literally do not have a penny to spare! That means they can't afford it no matter what breakdown, no matter what time period given to pay it.

How do you think someone with a budget of £15 to feed a family of 4 for a week will be able to pay £5 for a nursery play? The lack of empathy is sickening.

Fang_3

GracieP wrote: »

Is it really so hard to understand that people who do not have a penny to spare literally do not have a penny to spare! That means they can't afford it no matter what breakdown, no matter what time period given to pay it.

How do you think someone with a budget of £15 to feed a family of 4 for a week will be able to pay £5 for a nursery play? The lack of empathy is sickening.

I think that someone who truly couldn't pay wouldn't be shouting about refusing to pay in front of children, parents and teachers alike.

janninew

GracieP wrote: »

Is it really so hard to understand that people who do not have a penny to spare literally do not have a penny to spare! That means they can't afford it no matter what breakdown, no matter what time period given to pay it.

How do you think someone with a budget of £15 to feed a family of 4 for a week will be able to pay £5 for a nursery play? The lack of empathy is sickening.

I'm afraid in this day and age, I do find it hard to understand. If there is a family of 4, 2 children and mum and dad and they only had 15.00 per week for food (to use your example) what is the child benefit being spent on? If they are a low (or not that low really!) income family, they have their income topped up with CTC or WTC. Its not like the "olden days" anymore,there is a lot of help from the government when you have children and are in no/low income household. If a family are claiming everthing they are entitled to I find it hard to believe - sorry. Obviously there will be the odd exception, maybe some families have alot of debt/high mortgages, but that is the parents responsibilty a the end of the day.

Since having my baby, I've met lots of new mums. Single parents and married ones alike, and none are living on the breadline. The single mums with the IS, free rent/CT and maintenance on top have a perfectly good lifestyle and good easily manage to pay for their children to partake in these sorts of activities.

Just my opinion - sorry if it offends.

galvanizersbaby

janninew wrote: »

I'm afraid in this day and age, I do find it hard to understand. If there is a family of 4, 2 children and mum and dad and they only had 15.00 per week for food (to use your example) what is the child benefit being spent on? If they are a low (or not that low really!) income family, they have their income topped up with CTC or WTC. Its not like the "olden days" anymore,there is a lot of help from the government when you have children and are in no/low income household. If a family are claiming everthing they are entitled to I find it hard to believe - sorry. Obviously there will be the odd exception, maybe some families have alot of debt/high mortgages, but that is the parents responsibilty a the end of the day.

Since having my baby, I've met lots of new mums. Single parents and married ones alike, and none are living on the breadline. The single mums with the IS, free rent/CT and maintenance on top have a perfectly good lifestyle and good easily manage to pay for their children to partake in these sorts of activities.

Just my opinion - sorry if it offends.

I would have to agree with this post - GracieP where were you getting your figure of 15 pounds per week?

Rainey_LB

GracieP wrote: »

Is it really so hard to understand that people who do not have a penny to spare literally do not have a penny to spare! That means they can't afford it no matter what breakdown, no matter what time period given to pay it.

How do you think someone with a budget of £15 to feed a family of 4 for a week will be able to pay £5 for a nursery play? The lack of empathy is sickening.

All schools have a hardship fund, if you speak to the Head teacher and explain that on this occasion you truly can't afford the fee they maybe able to help you, with either agreeing to fund the cost for you on this occasion, a reduced fee or installments.

They don't normally advertise it and if half the class turn up or people who can pay are just refusing then obviously they can't help, there are limited funds.

This is not just for people on benefits, it could be that 1 parent has lost of a job or its just a really bad month. As long as it is a genuine reason.

If you don't inform the school they can't help and just think you are another parent refusing to pay.

GracieP

There was already a poster on this thread who wrote about having £10 left for the week and they were low on food.

What do you think happens in families where one or both parents have lost their job or taken a big pay cut. Where they have a mortgage they can no longer comfortably afford but do not have any equity in the house so they are stuck in it?

They can just about pay their mortgage, council tax, water rates, electricity and heating. They've already sold the car, cancelled the phone, cable, broadband and mobiles. Whatever else is left is needed for food. They have no leeway whatsoever.

I know a number of people in this exact situation. Some through failing businesses, some have taken pay cuts in order to save their jobs, other shave lost their job and found another one on a much lower salary. Their mortgage still needs paying, as do all their other bills. Some are defaulting on some of their bills as they just don't have the money to pay for it.

They could not pay £5 on an afternoon's entertainment, they just don't have it. Not in a £5 lump sum, not at 50p a week for 10 weeks. The money just isn't there.

Just take a look at the court records, see how many personal bankruptcies are happening each month in the UK. Those people don't have cash for luxuries and for everyone who is going bankrupt there are god knows how many people barely holding on. And countless more who are managing now but know that a .5% interest rate rise will wipe them out so they are saving like mad in the hope that they can bring their debt down enough to be able to service it once the rates rise.