Charging Policy for Visits
Selston High School
2016 – 2017
Charging Policy for School Activities
Educational activities taking place during School hours
No charge may be made for any activity which takes place during School hours, including any materials, books, instruments, ingredients or other equipment (excluding clothing) provided in connection with the activity. The cost of such activities must therefore be contained within the funds available to the School, such as the School’s budget or School Fund.
School hours are defined as being those hours during which the School is in session, but excluding the mid-day break.
Parents or students cannot be charged or be required to provide such items as food technology ingredients or craft materials except where parents have confirmed in advance that they wish to own the finished product. If not already done so, departments e.g. Food Technology that require pupils to provide ingredients or materials for use in the lesson must ask parents to confirm in writing that they are able to provide the items and that they wish to own the finished product. If parents are unwilling or unable, due to financial constraints, to provide ingredients for the lesson the school must provide them but the finished product will remain the property of the school.
Charges may be made for any additional materials, books, instruments or equipment where the student’s parent wishes him or her to own them.
Educational activities taking place outside School hours
Charges may be made for activities taking place outside School hours EXCEPT where the activities are required either:
a.as part of the syllabus of a prescribed public examination; or
b.to fulfil statutory duties relating to the National Curriculum or Religious Education.
in which case no charge may be made, with the exception of board and lodging charges for a residential visit. Activities not falling into the above categories are known as ‘option extras’.
Optional Extras
An amount may be charged in relation to:
a.any materials, books, instruments or equipment provided in connection with the optional extra.
b.teaching staff employed to provide tuition in playing a musical instrument, where the tuition is an optional extra.
c.Entrance costs.
d.Transport.
Where charges are permitted, they may not exceed the cost of the optional extraactivity, divided equally by the number of pupils participating in the activity. It will not be possible to ask parents of participating pupils to subsidise other pupils taking part in the activity. The costs of any pupils for whom the charge for a School activity has been remitted will therefore have to be met from the School’s budget or School Fund. Parents/Carers should be asked to provide a voluntary contribution towards the cost of the activity.
Letter to Parents/Carers concerning optional extras
In your letter to parents it must be made clear that you are asking for a voluntary contribution towards the visit.
e.g. The coach will leave at 9.00am and return at 3.00pm. The voluntary contribution towards the visit, which includes insurance, will be £7.00.
I give my permission for ______to take part in the visit and enclose £_____ as a voluntary contribution.
Also include the phrase “Unfortunately if there is insufficient voluntary support for the visit it will not be able to take place.”
If a visit goes ahead, is deemed to be part of the curriculum and parents decline to make a voluntary contribution then their child cannot be excluded solely on those grounds. It is also not permissible to cross subsidise one pupil whose parents decline to contribute by increasing the cost to other pupils.
Your letter should also include a section that mentions the eligibility criteria for the remittance of charges relating to specific School activities. These are:
Income Support
Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance
An income-related employment and support allowance
Support under Part V1 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit, where the parent is not entitled to Working Tax Credit and has an annual gross income (as assessed by HM Revenue and Customs) that does not exceed £16105
Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
Universal Credit
If a family is in receipt of any of these benefits theSchool must fund the pupil’s cost. However the actual benefits used are very specific and families should be encouraged to contact you before making a voluntary contribution.
Under no circumstances should a pupil be excluded from an activity solely on the inability to pay. Your letter should include the following phrase e.g. If your family is in receipt of Income support, Income based Job Seekers Allowance or any other income related benefit, please contact the School.
Visits that are EXTRA to the curriculum and OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURSe.g. Skiing over Easter, the full cost can be charged. This is not a voluntary contribution.
However, if a visit is deemed to have taken place during School hours or is deemed to be part of the curriculum the voluntary contribution applies to all the costs EXCEPT board and lodging which can be charged for.