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Our daughter has been awarded a 'progress award' which if we want a 'quality shield' to show this and take home will cost us a fiver. The school is turning into an academy for sept and this comes after being bullied into buying the new uniform, only available at the school, (£10 for cardigan! x3 and not allowed to wear handmade stuff) so this seems like yet another ploy to extract even more money out of the parents, the implication being if you don't buy this for your child you don't love them enough. I'm picturing the headmistress sitting at her desk dreaming up ways to elicit money from the parents. I already pay for the school through income tax and I resent underhand tactics such as this into shelling out more money every other week.
I already pay for the school through income tax and I resent underhand tactics such as this into shelling out more money every other week.
Would you rather the school budget was spent on teachers and teaching resources or some tatt to give the kids? Take the certificate or whatever and leave it? I seem to remember school uniforms cost money when I was a kid and a lot more than a jumper...
Unfortunately you are probably right, the headteacher will be sat at her/his desk thinking of ways to get extra money. Most schools now are virtually independent, budgets are extremely tight and hardly cover staff costs so for resources it will come down to squeezing every penny the school can get out of parents. Have you discussed it with the parent governor, though they may not exist for much longer?
The boys school,not an academy, has a very active pta. Lots of events and evenings, I find it hard to begrudge giving money that will improve their education.
It does seem to be more & more that the whole school uniform is branded with the school name & badge.
When I was at school, it was only the tie & badge for the blazer that identified the school and as long as you wore the right colour, you could get everything else from normal shops.
I remember seeing the list of clothes that my sister-in-law had to get her kids from school as part of the uniform & the prices seemed very high compared to getting stuff that didn't have the school name embroidered on it.
Schools are really hard pressed at the moment. The "government " says that funding is the same as in previous tears. There might be no reduction in funding but the costs have gone up significantly. Increases to NI and pension have meant some schools are facing 7% more contributions. Government enforced changes to the curriculum and exam system mean lots of revised resources and training to meet new demands (or you'll go under at the next OFSTED)
I'm a governor at a large secondary and small primary school. Both are having to reduce staffing to make ends meet. The reality is schools are 10% worse off in the last 12months. No difference between local authority or academies.
More likely it's to fund the additional layers of 'business managers' and the Academy group Executives....
The boys school,not an academy, has a very active pta. Lots of events and evenings, I find it hard to begrudge giving money that will improve their education.
Thats fine - but what the OP is talking about is fundraising based on shaming - "you're child has a achieved something in school today but unless you pay for it he/she isn't going to have the same prize as everyone else". There are plenty of ways to raise funds that don't need to distinguish between the families that can contribute and those that can't or don't. Like, ermmm - putting a [b][i]P[/b][/i] in front of their name on the register 🙂
It's a tacky scheme. I'd spend the fiver on a reward for your daughter she would probably rather have, like a book. I'm amazed the school didn't think of this.
Bear in mind that, as the school has not yet converted, it is not an academy. So this is not an example of academy schools screwing parents; it's an example of a senior leader at a hard-pressed maintained-sector school who has made a poor decision with their Recognising Achievement Policy. It would not surprise me if it's an off-the-shelf "system" they've bought in to "do rewards".
Schools are really hard pressed at the moment. The "government " says that funding is the same as in previous tears. There might be no reduction in funding but the costs have gone up significantly. Increases to NI and pension have meant some schools are facing 7% more contributions. Government enforced changes to the curriculum and exam system mean lots of revised resources and training to meet new demands (or you'll go under at the next OFSTED)
I'm a governor at a large secondary and small primary school. Both are having to reduce staffing to make ends meet. The reality is schools are 10% worse off in the last 12months. No difference between local authority or academies.
^^This
on reflection my beef really should be with the system (government) that forces schools to seek additional funds and not with the headmistress, who is simply trying to raise the shortfall for her school.
Part of the problem is that your typical high street uniform shops have started pushing the boundaries on uniform and often sell items which some schools deem as unsuitable such as denim type trousers and leggings. Some schools have taken control of this by selling their own uniform (and yes making a few quid at the same time). This then means pupils and parents are unable to push the boundaries and there are no 'grey' areas.
Just take the certificate - the shield will just end up at the bottom of a drawer in a few years time.
Schools are really hard pressed at the moment. The "government " says that funding is the same as in previous tears. There might be no reduction in funding but the costs have gone up significantly. Increases to NI and pension have meant some schools are facing 7% more contributions. Government enforced changes to the curriculum and exam system mean lots of revised resources and training to meet new demands (or you'll go under at the next OFSTED)
I'm a governor at a large secondary and small primary school. Both are having to reduce staffing to make ends meet. The reality is schools are 10% worse off in the last 12months. No difference between local authority or academies.
Another governor here, what he said.
More likely it's to fund the additional layers of 'business managers' and the Academy group Executives....
Somebody has to do the job that the LEA used to...
It seems that a lot of Headteachers are actually crap at the business side of running a school - some of the contracts Mrs Dubleyou's school have got into are just bonkers, and you hear stories from other teachers too.
Sometimes think the government could have done a lot better if they'd just privatised the LEAs!
As a teacher, what they said.
how come there's so many teachers commenting on this thread? Oi get back to work I'm paying your wage! 😛
I went to my first school governor board meeting last night. I was shocked at how hard up schools are and the poor levels of funding in the system. They are grappling for every pound they can get
All of the above re budgets and it'll get worse. Interesting piece in the Guardian yesterday about education and academisation, particularly the bit about NZ schools and parents 'contributing' ~NZ$2000 per year per child!!!
IME the people who run academies think that they have the business skill necessary but generally don't.
I've seen some heads who are very poor at the areas that the LEA used to cover, but I've seen some who are outstanding and far superior to the Senior manager at most Academies.
I'm on Holiday Jekkyl!