Schools demanding money with menaces

maman

Hezzawithkids wrote: »

I don't resent the money, I resent the school's attitude in asking for it - thoe whole "pay up or else" approach. And this is not the first time either.

I'm curious that OP uses the word compulsory and then says that alternative arrangements would be made for those who can't/won't pay to either fund them or keep them at school doing something else. That's not compulsory. Surely that's poor use of language by the school?

Schools are between a rock and a hard place here. They know that off-site visits enhance students' learning but they haven't got the funds to pay for them. So, hoping that parents will also want to enhance learning they ask them to contribute. Makes sense to me.

I was disappointed to hear that some schools seem to have given up on visits particularly at secondary level. Maybe teachers are fed up of chasing parents for money.

patchwork_cat

andygb wrote: »

:eek:That's not a school trip, that's a holiday;)

When we were at school back in the sixties/seventies, we had two or three school trips a year - to the local zoo, museums, day trip to France.
We were not well off, but my parents always paid for us to go.
If parents do not want to pay for things for their children, then they should not have had children in the first place.

Unfortunately not we haven't had one of those for over 10 years! It is 3 days at the battlefields a well known History trip for GCSE's

angelil

Person_one wrote: »

What a shame. Small school trips to local places can be really beneficial. I think I'd be asking the school why they aren't being a bit more imaginative and why they're never taking them out of the classroom!

Because the entire process practically gives us a heart attack!

Of course we take our students on school trips, BUT I won't pretend that I always enjoy doing so. It's incredibly difficult to keep nearly 40 of them all together on the way there/back (if we take our students anywhere we have to do it using public transport or by walking), make sure they don't smoke/play fight in the street if we are walking, and to make sure they actually switch off their damn phones and MP3s during the visit. Sometimes the whole thing really feels like more stress than it's worth...!

pollypenny

Letters for school trips are difficult. The cost has to be voluntary, but if not enough patents pay, then who is to pay?

I used to look into space and say something like, ' If this will be difficult, come to see me quietly.'

My trips were to various theatres, with an annual Stratford visit. 'king Lear' may be on the syllabus, but the school will only provide the texts. In an ideal world, they would finance theatre visits, too.

andygb

patchwork_cat wrote: »

Unfortunately not we haven't had one of those for over 10 years! It is 3 days at the battlefields a well known History trip for GCSE's

Is that in the UK or in Northern France (Le camp du drappe d'or, Somme, Picardy etc.), because it sounds like a lot of money for three days. We can normally have a weeks holiday for two in France for £300.

marisco_2

Hezzawithkids wrote: »

At the very least they could let us know at the start of the term what activities are planned and the cost so we can budget for them.

The above is a realistic expectation and should be how your childs school operates. I am a teacher of year 3 and at the beginning of every term, a letter is sent out to parents advising them of the special trips and activities we have planned and the related costs. This is done so they can budget for it.

As trips come up a polite letter is sent out as a reminder informing parents of what we are doing, all that is needed to make the childrens experience of it comfy and enjoyable and a request for them to contribute to the cost of it. We dont demand payment or tell any parent that if it is not recieved their child will be excluded. There is no need for that kind of aggressive and manipulative tactic from schools.

jackieblack

marisco wrote: »

We dont demand payment or tell any parent that if it is not recieved their child will be excluded.

Because that would be illegal if the activity is during the school day.

marisco_2

jackieblack wrote: »

Because that would be illegal if the activity is during the school day.

Exactly I agree with you.

jackieblack

pollypenny wrote: »

Letters for school trips are difficult. The cost has to be voluntary, but if not enough patents pay, then who is to pay?

The school pays.
If a school arranges a trip then they should be prepared to bear the cost from the funds they get from our taxes.
If parents contribute towards the cost, this should be a bonus to the school.
If the school can't afford to run the trip they shouldn't arrange it in the first place.
Schools shouldn't expect parents to put their hands in their pockets every time some teacher thinks a trip out would be a good idea.
I always paid up when asked for my daughter's school visits, and there were many of them, but I really question the educational value of alot of the trips. The children like going because it is a day out of school but, particularly at secondary school, my daughter often came home saying the trip had been 'a waste of time'.
There were a few (the battlefieds trip to France/Belgium for GCSE history was one) she did get alot out of, but I do believe these were in the minority.

fluffymuffy

DD's school (fee paying) has about 5 trips per term for each class. They range from going to the local town centre to do a survey, to visiting a National Trust thing up to 50 miles away. The total cost of the trips is typically about £35 - and we think it's great value.

The trips are not compulsory and if we didn't let her go she'd be occupied at the school instead. Probably by spending a lot of time in the library and then doing lots of PE.

School trips are really good value, whatever school your child attends. Cheaper than a trip to McD's, cheaper than a new DVD, massively cheaper than a trip to the cinema.

Though for some people, living on a very tight budget, it can be a really difficult problem to find the money. I thought schools were not allowed to demand that everyone pays? I'm half-sure I read on a letter from DD's old (State) school that "no child will be excluded on financial grounds" (or similar).

Any teachers reading this might like to know about ParentPay - the website our school uses to get parents to pay for things. It's a bit like Amazon but personalised to your school. You have an account and select which trips (etc) you want and then pay online, after ticking the "I give permission for my child..." box.