Would it be wrong to only pay half of DS school trip cost?

[Shirtbuttons26]

DS is going on a school trip. Its costing 45.00. Would it be wrong if I only paid 20.00 /25.00? I am on a low income and I'm juggling things a bit at the moment. I have another child at the school as well so I have been paying out for 2 children.

The school rang me saying i need to pay by tomorrow.

It does say contribution but I feel wrong for even thinking about it.

The majority of the £45 is probably for the coach travel. Since Covid, coach prices have increased exponentially and not many school trips can operate using public transport.

Well, unfortunately, yes - this is what poor families have to do routinely: do without nice things if they can't afford them. It doesn't change anything that the school have organised it all if they're being given an end price for it that they simply cannot afford.

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(I should have refreshed before posting exactly what somebody else had already!)

Contact the school they may be more understanding than you realise!

Whether you can afford £45 doesn’t change that is true but is it a £45 trip ? I think a trip to the moon would be more than £45

As a teacher what frustrates me is parents who say they can’t pay then take their childish on an expensive day out or holiday. Not the families where it’s generally difficult

email the school and explain you are on allow income and juggling atm.
Ask if the "contribution" you make of 20/25 would be acceptable .
I think many people will be feeling as you are right now.

If you approach the school and say full payment is tricky most will offer a payment plan. If this is still not doable just explain your situation, don't just pay half and say nothing.

Teacher here - completely reasonable. I’d be very pleased that you’d been honest and paid what you could. There will be plenty of others that haven’t paid anything.

For some reason this thread has made me a bit emotional, perhaps because as a child I needed financial help from school or I’d have missed quite a bit, but my mum worked very hard and did her best.

You're trying to pay what you can and keep your family afloat. Not everyone can understand some people’s financial positions despite budgeting. It’s not comparable to ‘oh if everyone chose to only pay X amount’ because it doesn’t sound like a choice, it sounds like you work hard and you’ve only got X amount left over. What’s the option, go without food, pay a contribution that you can afford, or exclude your child from the trip?

Please don’t feel guilty, you are doing your best and there’s nothing more you can do. Schools are there to support where they can and they do have funds for this. Take care x

Same I really struggled to pay as a single parent now as a grandparent I often double pay and ask them to put it towards some one else

Our school has cancelled a number of trips because not enough parents paid and they did not have enough money to make up the short fall, so it definitely does happen.

@Shirtbuttons26 If you're a working lone parent but only bringing in minimum wage then I can totally appreciate things may be tight.
That was me for a number of years, although I went without so I could save to just above cover it.
I think I'd feel differently if you're not though tbh.

As others said, don’t feel guilty. The fact you’ve never done it before should tell the school you genuinely struggle to pay it. Even if you couldn’t pay every time as long as you explain the school should be sympathetic. Not everyone can afford it. I hope your DS enjoys the day and you can relax about it.

Are they offering a payment plan? for DD's year 2 residential we were a!lower to pay weekly, but it was more than £45 admittedly.
We've had an email from school that her upcoming history trip will be cancelled if more dont pay, I'll be so disappointed if it doesn't happen because she won't have the opportunity again

This.

It a tricky balance. All the kids deserve to go. I wouldn’t mind paying more to cover the shortfall for those who genuinely can’t afford it. The problem is that some parents refuse to pay when they can afford it or aren’t willing to sacrifice anything in order to afford it. There’s no way of really knowing who genuinely needs help and who doesn’t.

When I was a teacher I had a few parents who would pay extra. It's a kind thing to do.

I suspect the school will have a good idea.

I think it depends whether you are spending money on luxuries for yourself such as coffees, meals out, nails, alcohol and new clothes and makeup. If so, then you should be cutting back on things like that and prioritising on paying for your children’s education.

Not really. There are lots of families
struggling to make ends meet who
don’t qualify for official assistance like free school meals. They can’t possibly know the financial situation of every single family.

This is interesting to me. I'm currently the lead organiser of a school residential trip to London. I've never actually thought about breaking down the money for the parents, but the reality is I couldn't.

For insurance purposes we need to go through an official supplier from a list, and they're essentially a tour operator who give us a cost per pupil. We don't get a breakdown from them on where all the money is going (I don't know the specifics of how much of the total is accomodation/ show tickets/train etc). What I do have to provide is evidence that I have researched and have quotes from four suppliers, and justified in my proposal how the chosen supplier is best value for families.

I don't expect the supplier would give us these figures, as then it would obviously be very clear how much they're taking for profit.

I don't think you'd be wrong to pay what you can genuinely afford. If the letter says it's a contribution, then that's usually because the school recognises that not every family is in the same financial position.
If you can manage £20 or £25 right now, I'd pay that and perhaps contact the school to explain your circumstances. Many schools have hardship funds or are able to help discreetly, and they'd usually rather a child went on the trip than missed out because of money.
Please don't feel guilty. Lots of families are having to juggle costs, especially with more than one child at school. It's always worth having an honest conversation with the school, they've almost certainly dealt with similar situations before.

My SLT did say we (the school) would cover any shortfall and provide any financial support asked for, though. Which is a big risk, as the cost per student is £535 and I'm taking 60!

That doesn't mean you get to choose how much you contribute. If you don't pay it all then you haven't paid the fee and he can't go. Ask the school about help with the rest of the cost.