Voluntary aided - how much are you expected to contribute ?

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shivanjali
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Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2011 9:12 am

Voluntary aided - how much are you expected to contribute ?

Post by shivanjali »

If a school is 'voluntary aided' I understand this to mean it is partly funded by parents donations ? Am I right and how does it work ? What happens to the children of those who cannot afford to contribute ?
yoyo123
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Location: East Kent

Re: Voluntary aided - how much are you expected to contribut

Post by yoyo123 »

Many voluntary aided schools are faith schools. My children;s school was a VA church of England school.

found this definition on Wikipedia which will explain it better than I can

A voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation) owns the school buildings, contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. Such schools have more autonomy than voluntary controlled schools, which are entirely funded by the state.
pheasantchick
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Re: Voluntary aided - how much are you expected to contribut

Post by pheasantchick »

As far as I know, parents are not expected to pay any extra.
hermanmunster
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Re: Voluntary aided - how much are you expected to contribut

Post by hermanmunster »

There are no compulsory donations in any state schools, however the OP may have picked on the voluntray contibutions that are asked for by schools - these vary from £15 a year (deepest Yorkshire) and I think up to £50 a month .... though I have no doubt others have more info.

There can be heated debates about the rights and wrongs of these and whether people should pay if they can afford to do so. Upshot is that it is always voluntary and every family will have their limit. £15 a year is a very small amount... but of it was £15 a week how would I feel?
AR1890
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Re: Voluntary aided - how much are you expected to contribut

Post by AR1890 »

My sisters primary school in London is voluntary aided and most often in the school letters there is a mention of each family contributing £450 for one academic year. But I think very few actually do and only 17 families have done so. Usually most fridays the children have non school uniform days were they can donate a pound or more.
chicko-mum
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Re: Voluntary aided - how much are you expected to contribut

Post by chicko-mum »

The voluntary contribution amount is set by the school's governors. How many parents contribute and how actively the school encourages/chases parents varies from school to school and will depend on the amount requested, frequency, primary vs secondary...
You should speak to the schools you are interested in for more specific information.
purplerose69
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Re: Voluntary aided - how much are you expected to contribut

Post by purplerose69 »

Usually volunatry aided schools are very good schools. Their development and maintenance depends on how much parents are contributing. Voluntary aided school does not mean free school. Any family can afford to pay £500 or even more per year if the school is worth it. It is a drop in the ocean compared to the fees in independent schools. As far as I am concerned, donations to VA schools should be mandatory. Some families though take an easy ride, unfortunately.
hermanmunster
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Re: Voluntary aided - how much are you expected to contribut

Post by hermanmunster »

actually purplerose I am not sure that that is true?

The schools are free - the contributions from the parents are usually for extra things - not for essentials (well that is the case round here anyway) - it pays for school mags, merit trips, presumably discretionary funds etc.
All the rest comes from the money they have from central government via the LEA. Obviously if schools can raise a lot they can get fabbo sports facilities, extra clubs etc etc - but actually the basics are the same
new2me
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Re: Voluntary aided - how much are you expected to contribut

Post by new2me »

School my DS is going to have asked for a voluntary contribution of £10 a month per family or what you can afford, but the emphasis is on voluntary. This seems entirely reasonable to me.
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