School seem to think we have a money tree at the bottom of the garden!

poet123

My youngest son in in yr10 and we are getting text message overload!!

The school must be trying to get vfm out of the text message system. Text for PTA meeting, parents evening, revision classes, reminders to sign diaries, school trip money. And we all get sent them en bloc regardless.

Spendless

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

It does seem that way sometimes endless payments to school!!

I have just had three requests from school for money, the latest one being for GCSE revision class during the Easter holidays which we have to pay for.

:eek: Never heard of such a thing. I suppose I don't know kids of the right age. :cool: Dare I ask how much?

pinksk8

I don't think its unacceptable to ask for a small donation for sport relief or any of the other stuff. I would rather give my child a few quid than see them go without at school.

DaisyFlower

I never get moaning about the costs associated with having children - its not like they are unknown!

You would have to pay for lunch anyway even if they are home and can always send a packed lunch.

Sports relief - its £1.

School fair/raffle - just spend what you want. I assume you dont mind your children benefitting from PTA funds.

You have two children, surely you have crayons and craft bits to decorate an egg with.

If school club is childcare, then its a standard expense for many working parents not a school one. If its an optional extra, then your choice to sign upto it.

meritaten

Its bad enough with just ONE child in the school - when you have one set of twins and a younger sister - its TRIPLE the amount! and I have just ordered a set of photos and was staggered at the cost! I could buy a digital camera for the price of one set! luckily I am grandma - but I well remember when MY kids were there - I swear that not a week went past unless they had to take 'a small amount' in for one reason or another!

ajuk

What exactly do you have against the money that goes to Sport Relief?

JC9297

meritaten wrote: »

Its bad enough with just ONE child in the school - when you have one set of twins and a younger sister - its TRIPLE the amount! and I have just ordered a set of photos and was staggered at the cost! I could buy a digital camera for the price of one set! luckily I am grandma - but I well remember when MY kids were there - I swear that not a week went past unless they had to take 'a small amount' in for one reason or another!

I don't understand the need for individual/family photos at school in this day and age when everybody has access to a decent camera at home.

Bluemeanie_2

JC9297 wrote: »

I don't understand the need for individual/family photos at school in this day and age when everybody has access to a decent camera at home.

We never buy them. It's a picture of them in their school uniform?!

meer53

Last year my daughter came home with a letter about a skiing trip to Colorado ! It was £1400 !!!!!!!

My son has previously been on a skiing trip to France but that was ONLY £850 !! My daughter will not be going to Colorado !

This week, for Sport Relief we are baking chocolate brownies for the cake stall and also providing a jar of sweets for the "guess the number in the jar" competition. The sweets cost me £7 this morning !

Trip to the theatre last week, £15, most trips these days are £15 ish. £1.85 per day for school dinners, non uniform day, kids pay £1. Xmas cards the kids design, harvest festival, book fair, xmas craft fair, school photos (now come as keyrings and mousemats !) it's never ending.

The text messages get to me too, yesterday i had 3 ! Parents evening reminder, then text to say no KS3 teacher available due to sickness then another to say no crossing patrol as lollipop lady off sick !

Four_leaf_clover_2

Abbafan1972 wrote: »

School fayre tomorrow - I will have to give DD's some money each to buy whatever tat takes their fancy! Luckily I'm at work tomorrow and will miss it, that's a shame! I have already had to donate stuff for this.

I share your pain. I constanty seem to be shelling out for my two boys at their school too. What with breakfast club, dinner money, after school club, school discos, mufti days, red nose day and school fayres. Then you get the letters home stating that your little darling would just love to learn to play the violin, cello, take your pick you get the picture. Its like they brainwash the kids to nag you till you buckle.

The homework they set can never be as easy as using paper and pencils. Oh no they want you to produce castles, shields, miniature gardens etc, whatever fits with the latest learning journey. Woe betide any youngster whose mummy hasn't shelled out and produced a flipping masterpiece. No marble in the pot for him/her.

It reached ridiculous levels last year with how much they were asking parents to contribute towards school trips out or for companies to come into school. I love that word contribute, as if they are luring you into a false sense of security that you actually have a choice. At the boys school they have hired women in the office who would not look out of place as attack dogs. I am sure one of them is constantly sucking a lemon. Anyone who argues with them, when they haul you over the coals for not paying up, is braver than me.

Not only do they want parents money, they are constantly after our time too. The amount of notices that come home asking for help when they have these trips going on, people needed to read with the kids etc etc. I dont think it occurs to them that out in the real world we have to work for a living and live to a budget just to make ends meet.

The bit of your post I have quoted made me laugh. I send things into the school fayre and at xmas my eldest bought something I had donated a couple of days previously. I couldn't believe it. I asked him why the hell he had bought something that had been sat in our house untouched for months. He said he didn't recognise it as ours and it was the best thing there. God give me strength now I am paying the school to get back my own possessions. These are the people I trust to educate my children.

Rant over, off to have a big glass of wine, from a bottle I won at the last school raffle. Thanks to kid pressure I paid 8 quid for a wad of tickets and got a cheap bottle of plonk for my trouble. Had again :mad: