Charging and Remissions Policy

We believe that all our pupils should have an equal opportunity to benefit from school activities and visits independent of their parents’ financial means. We will do our best to provide a good range of visits and activities for all pupils and, at the same time, try to minimise the financial barriers which may prevent some pupils taking full advantage of the opportunities.

The school’s charging policy is in line with the regulations set out in the 1996 Education Act.  This allows the school to make a charge for board and lodging on residential visits, costs associated with individual or group musical tuition and activities which take place wholly or mainly outside school hours.  This charge will cover the full cost of the activity in question in respect of all pupils.

Charges will be made for the following areas of activity.

1. Board and lodging on residential visits.
2. Costs associated with individual tuition in the playing of musical instruments whether in or out of school activities, unless it is provided as part of the syllabus for a prescribed public examination or is required by the National Curriculum.
3. Activities which take place wholly or mainly outside school hours, which are not provided as part of the syllabus for a public exam and are not required to fulfil statutory duties related to the National Curriculum or to Religious Education.

Voluntary contributions are requested from parents/carers for activities and outings that are run during the school day that incur costs for the school e.g. class visits, transport to events, theatre visits to and by school, cooking and design where the finished product is taken home, etc. 

Requests for such contributions will be made to the parents/carers by letter at the time of the activity and emphasise the voluntary nature. Parents who do not make such contributions will be treated no differently from those who do. If the activity cannot be funded without voluntary contributions, the parents/carers should be notified of this from the outset stating that If insufficient contributions are raised the trip or activity may have to be cancelled. Parents/carers are not obliged to make these payments, however, if enough contributions are not made the proposed activity will be cancelled.

Exceptions

Pupils entitled to free school meals (but not the Universal Free School Meals Offer) or whose family receives Income based Job Seekers allowance, Income Support, income-related Education and Support Allowance, support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the guaranteed element of Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit (provided you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190), Working Tax Credit (run-on) or Universal Credit (household income must be less than £7,400 per year) are charged.

At the discretion of the Headteacher, exception to this will be:-

In cases of known hardship, the school will offer to pay part or all of the cost in respect of individual pupils.  This money will be met either from the school budget or other funds available to the school e.g. Pupil Premium.

Additional considerations

The governing body will adhere to the following guidelines in order to minimise any unnecessary burden on family finances.

• Have a system for parents to pay in instalments for residential trips.
• When an opportunity for a trip arises at short notice it will be possible to arrange to pay by instalments beyond the date of the trip
• We acknowledge that offering opportunities on a “first pay, first served” basis discriminates against pupils from families on lower incomes and we will avoid that method of selection.

Other Charges

The Governing Body has determined:

1. To charge the statutory maximum fee in respect of a request made under the Data Protection Act 2018.
2. To charge a fee not exceeding the cost of supply in respect of a request made under the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2000.
3. To charge a fee, in accordance with relevant regulations, in respect of a request made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The school has the right to require payment for any items of school property lost or damaged as a result of careless or needless behaviour, including damage to books, equipment and furniture etc.