Following on from the 'Cost of Living Survey' undertaken last term, I wish to update you on trip payments, expectations and actions in light of feedback and pressures on home budgets.
Parents are broadly split between reducing the number of trips out of school and maintaining them which means a balance must be achieved.
Do I have to pay for trips?
Whilst we will not stop individual children attending trips if their parents are unable to pay, trips off school site may be cancelled if there are not enough contributions reached.
This is because the school cannot maintain payments for multiple families on multiple trips. The budget simply does not accommodate this.
Can you support me making payments?
If you are unable to make a full contribution, a part contribution is better and may mean the difference between a cancelation and a trip going ahead. Likewise, if you would like to spread the payments over a period of time and make stepped payments, the office staff would seek to accommodate this and have been given my authority to offer this in many cases.
When would a trip be cancelled?
Every case would be individual. Broadly speaking, if the cost to the school for cancellation is lower than that of payments missing a cancelation is likely to occur. The cost of cancellation varies in each case.
Why don't the school simply pay for trips if it is curriculum linked?
In reality, parents are rarely asked to foot the true cost of trips. We do already heavily subsidise trips using the school Pupil Premium allocation and specifically for those who are entitled to the Pupil Premium directly.
The school would love to be in a position to pay the costs of trips, however this simply is not possible. As business costs rise in the current climate, so do pressures on school budgets and whilst we subsidise as much as we can, we cannot cover the costs for all pupils.
Trips off school site are designed to enhance the learning experience and are not a requirement, therefore, they are at risk if they are not financially viable.