Cost of school trips

MattMattMattUK

Brie said:

Trips are never going to be completely free so someone is going to have to fund them even if there are parents available to chaperone.  I think the idea of getting involved with the PTA is the best way to rein in some of the expense while looking for what really free things can be done to minimise the impact.  

The issue many schools have with free is that even with parents providing the additional staffing requirements as chaperones, kids bring pack lunches and the venue offering free admission (most museums), the issue is still cost of transport and insurance costs, those still have to be covered. Most schools have a hardship fund, generally covered by adding an additional 20% on top of the fees/donation for those who do pay to cover the cost of those who do not. That works in many areas, but in some the number of non-payers is growing and so the surcharge is also growing, becoming a vicious circle. 

Brie said:

It's the sort of thing that often falls under the "oh it's only £XX" category without any thought that £XX to one person is pocket money and to another it's this week's groceries.

I agree that it does come down to life circumstances, to some families £2 for mufti day is too much, for others £2,000 for the school ski trip is small change. 

annabanana82

When my children were at primary school I refused to pay for 1 trip to learn practical skills, such as crossing the road and not to cross train tracks. That was a yr 6 trip and I refused to pay as the reviews on the facility was incredibly poor and it was to cover basic information that children should be well aware of at 11. 

I said the children could go without payment or join another class for the day.

The foreign trips that come up in secondary school it's always made clear that children should pick one and not attend them all where home finances permit. Financial assistance is available for those that needed. A school bursary for those on free school meals was also available 

silvercar

Subsidising is fine, until you get to the point where those paying have to pay so much to pay for the kids whose parents are not paying. 

I remember a yr6 trip where only those who were unable to pay agreed to go on it, all the paying parents decided it wasn’t worth the money and that was mainly because the cost needed to be so high to pay for those that were not able to pay. 

leeparsons

sarah336 said:

I’m interested to hear what other people pay for school trips and what they think is an appropriate level. My children go to state school. This school year I have been asked to pay £23.50 for a trip to the pantomime and £245 for a two day residential, both for a year 7 child. My year 5 child also has a two day residential and a pantomime trip planned this year and I’m still waiting to be told how much that will set me back but I’m expecting to have to fork out around £500+ on school trips for two children this year. Our family holiday for four of us involves a tent and never costs more than £150 for 5 days!  The school trips expected in the next few years are likely to be even more expensive. We are not as hard-up as many families but we do make very careful decisions about how to use the spare cash we’ve got. I don’t feel like it is fair for school to decide they want something for the children that costs so much more than they can pay and then expect parents to foot the bill. I phoned the school to discuss this today. They offered financial assistance if we couldn’t afford it. I don’t feel I can take it as we are nowhere near as badly off as some. I just want to make my own decisions about how we spend that sort of money. They also implied that they hardly ever got this sort of feedback and that no one else seems to think these costs are unreasonable. I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts as I can’t work out whether I’m being completely OTT about this!

Why cant your kids walk or cycle to school? I use to, and i know many others did when i was their age. The government wonders why are kids are getting fat and unhealthy. If they walk to school they might help be a little more active, plus your helping to reduce climate change. Parents picking up kids are in considerate and cause utter mayhem on the roads. Let alone the blocking in, illegal parking. Everyone wins. Start treating kids and give them some responsibilities. I have noticed children seem to be more immature in general. I blame the nanny state, and parents for this.

Tucosalamanca

leeparsons said:

sarah336 said:

I’m interested to hear what other people pay for school trips and what they think is an appropriate level. My children go to state school. This school year I have been asked to pay £23.50 for a trip to the pantomime and £245 for a two day residential, both for a year 7 child. My year 5 child also has a two day residential and a pantomime trip planned this year and I’m still waiting to be told how much that will set me back but I’m expecting to have to fork out around £500+ on school trips for two children this year. Our family holiday for four of us involves a tent and never costs more than £150 for 5 days!  The school trips expected in the next few years are likely to be even more expensive. We are not as hard-up as many families but we do make very careful decisions about how to use the spare cash we’ve got. I don’t feel like it is fair for school to decide they want something for the children that costs so much more than they can pay and then expect parents to foot the bill. I phoned the school to discuss this today. They offered financial assistance if we couldn’t afford it. I don’t feel I can take it as we are nowhere near as badly off as some. I just want to make my own decisions about how we spend that sort of money. They also implied that they hardly ever got this sort of feedback and that no one else seems to think these costs are unreasonable. I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts as I can’t work out whether I’m being completely OTT about this!

Why cant your kids walk or cycle to school? I use to, and i know many others did when i was their age. The government wonders why are kids are getting fat and unhealthy. If they walk to school they might help be a little more active, plus your helping to reduce climate change. Parents picking up kids are in considerate and cause utter mayhem on the roads. Let alone the blocking in, illegal parking. Everyone wins. Start treating kids and give them some responsibilities. I have noticed children seem to be more immature in general. I blame the nanny state, and parents for this.

What relevance has this got to the OP's issue?

It would take my kids almost six hours to walk the return journey to school.
I'm not sure that walking 14 miles each day would make them a 'winner'?

sheramber

leeparsons said:

sarah336 said:

I’m interested to hear what other people pay for school trips and what they think is an appropriate level. My children go to state school. This school year I have been asked to pay £23.50 for a trip to the pantomime and £245 for a two day residential, both for a year 7 child. My year 5 child also has a two day residential and a pantomime trip planned this year and I’m still waiting to be told how much that will set me back but I’m expecting to have to fork out around £500+ on school trips for two children this year. Our family holiday for four of us involves a tent and never costs more than £150 for 5 days!  The school trips expected in the next few years are likely to be even more expensive. We are not as hard-up as many families but we do make very careful decisions about how to use the spare cash we’ve got. I don’t feel like it is fair for school to decide they want something for the children that costs so much more than they can pay and then expect parents to foot the bill. I phoned the school to discuss this today. They offered financial assistance if we couldn’t afford it. I don’t feel I can take it as we are nowhere near as badly off as some. I just want to make my own decisions about how we spend that sort of money. They also implied that they hardly ever got this sort of feedback and that no one else seems to think these costs are unreasonable. I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts as I can’t work out whether I’m being completely OTT about this!

Why cant your kids walk or cycle to school? I use to, and i know many others did when i was their age. The government wonders why are kids are getting fat and unhealthy. If they walk to school they might help be a little more active, plus your helping to reduce climate change. Parents picking up kids are in considerate and cause utter mayhem on the roads. Let alone the blocking in, illegal parking. Everyone wins. Start treating kids and give them some responsibilities. I have noticed children seem to be more immature in general. I blame the nanny state, and parents for this.

Do you know that they don't?

thara1996

Go in to talk to the teacher about school trips. Get details. Ask if you can reduce the cost with some other parents. Make some brief summary notes. Join the parent teacher association too. That way you can lower the expenses. 

CheesyChicken

sarah336 said:

I’m interested to hear what other people pay for school trips and what they think is an appropriate level. My children go to state school. This school year I have been asked to pay £23.50 for a trip to the pantomime and £245 for a two day residential, both for a year 7 child. My year 5 child also has a two day residential and a pantomime trip planned this year and I’m still waiting to be told how much that will set me back but I’m expecting to have to fork out around £500+ on school trips for two children this year. Our family holiday for four of us involves a tent and never costs more than £150 for 5 days!  The school trips expected in the next few years are likely to be even more expensive. We are not as hard-up as many families but we do make very careful decisions about how to use the spare cash we’ve got. I don’t feel like it is fair for school to decide they want something for the children that costs so much more than they can pay and then expect parents to foot the bill. I phoned the school to discuss this today. They offered financial assistance if we couldn’t afford it. I don’t feel I can take it as we are nowhere near as badly off as some. I just want to make my own decisions about how we spend that sort of money. They also implied that they hardly ever got this sort of feedback and that no one else seems to think these costs are unreasonable. I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts as I can’t work out whether I’m being completely OTT about this!

2 night trip to London (yr 10) - £439
3 night trip to Belgium (yr 8) £439

Don’t have the funds for either of these, so won’t be going

DofE - £70

primary - swimming lessons (6 x 1hr lessons) - £30
school disco (x2 per year, run by pta) £2.50

outside school -
beavers £40 per term plus occasional camps £15 each
brownies £35 per term
scouts £40 per term
Ballet £63 for 12 weeks

Gloria123

Schools are generally not allowed to charge for trips during term time, unless it’s residential in which case they can charge to cover the cost of board and lodging only. 

They can ask for a voluntary contribution and let parents know that if they don’t get enough voluntary contributions, the trip may not run. 

Importantly, they are not allowed to exclude pupils from trips during term time because parents can’t afford or choose not to pay.

But I think many schools don’t comply with the rules, tell parents it’s a mandatory charge and their child can’t go if they don’t pay. 

If this happens to you, you could complain to the school, then if that doesn’t work, escalate to school governors (or in accordance with your school’s complaints policy) and if that still doesn’t make them comply, escalate to the DfE or Ofsted. Do an internet search for “Complain about a school” to find out how you can do this.

School budgets are always stretched but children shouldn’t be excluded from term time trips due to an inability to pay. The full charging rules which schools must comply with are available on the DfE website, an internet search for “Charging for school activities” should bring up the full DfE guidance document.