NAWTON AND ROSEDALE ABBEY FEDERATION

CHARGING & REMISSIONS POLICY FOR SCHOOL ACTIVITIES &
LETTINGS (Hire Arrangements inc Swimming Pool Hire) 

NAWTON AND ROSEDALE ABBEY FEDERATION

CHARGING & REMISSIONS POLICY FOR SCHOOL ACTIVITIES & LETTINGS (Hire Arrangements inc Swimming Pool Hire)

This policy takes guidance from the DfE Policy – ‘Charging for School Activities’ and Local Authority guidance on school lettings. Sections 449-462 of the Education Act 1996 set out the law on charging for school activities in schools maintained by local authorities in England. This guidance complements the guidance laid out in section 6.7 of the Governance Handbook.

This Policy will be reviewed on an annual basis by the School’s Finance Committee and will be adjusted in line with new Government or Local Authority recommendations. It sets out the School’s position on charges, remissions and lettings.

If the Nawton and Rosedale Abbey Federation choose to apply a charge for a particular activity then it should make information available to parents as to how the charge has been calculated as well as details of support for those on low incomes or in receipt of specific benefits.

Activities Schools CANNOT Charge For

The following list of activities cannot be charged for by school governing bodies and local authorities:

1. a) an admission application to any state funded school (paragraph 1.9(n) of the School Admission Code 2014 rules out requests for financial contributions as any part of the admissions process);
2. b) education provided during school hours (including the supply of any materials, books, instruments or other equipment; sports activities such as swimming lessons and professional coaching; author visits);
3. c) education provided outside school hours if it is part of the National Curriculum, or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for at the school, or part of religious education;
4. d) instrumental or vocal tuition, for pupils learning individually or in groups, unless the tuition is provided at the request of the pupil’s parent;
5. e) entry for a prescribed public examination, if the pupil has been prepared for it at the school; and
6. f) examination re-sit(s) if the pupil is being prepared for the re-sit(s) at the school.

Activities Schools CAN Charge For

Schools and local authorities can charge for the following:

1. a) Any materials, books, instruments, or equipment, where the child’s parent wishes him/her to own them, i.e. a charge can be made to cover the cost of materials or ingredients required for design or food technology subjects where parents have indicated in advance that they would like their child to bring home the finished product;
2. b) Optional extras (see section below);
3. c) Music and vocal tuition, in limited circumstances (see section below);
4. d) Certain early years provision; and
5. e) Community facilities.

Voluntary Contributions and Responsibilities of Staff

A school can request voluntary contributions for the benefit of the school or any school activity.

The Head Teacher or Governing Body should, from the outset, make clear to parents:

• If an activity is reliant upon voluntary contributions and cannot be funded from any other sources;
• That there is no obligation to make a contribution as it is voluntary, not compulsory;
• That the activity will be cancelled if insufficient contributions are received to fund it; and
• The school’s policy for allocating places on school visits.

A child should not be excluded from an activity if his/her parents are unwilling or unable to pay and indeed their child should still be given an equal chance to go on the visit. Parents must not be made to feel pressurised into paying as it is a voluntary not compulsory contribution and schools should not send colour coded reminder letters or direct debit / standing order mandates when requesting contributions.

Optional Extras

Charges can be made for providing materials, books, instruments or equipment where an optional extra is being provided. Participation in optional extra activity is a matter of parental choice and a willingness to meet the charges. Parental agreement is a necessary pre-requisite for the provision of an optional extra where charges will be made.

Optional extra charges may be made in the following circumstances:

• Education that is not part of the National Curriculum, or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for, or part of religious education is provided outside of school time;
• Examination entry fee(s) if the registered pupil has not been prepared for the examination(s) at the school;
• Transport, other than that required to take the pupil to school or to other premises where the local authority/governing body has arranged for the pupil to be provided with education;
• Board and lodging for a pupil on a residential visit; and
• Extended day services offered to pupils (for example breakfast club, after-school clubs, tea and supervised homework sessions.

In calculating the cost of optional extras an amount may be included in relation to:

• Any materials, books, instruments, or equipment provided in connection with the optional extra;
• The cost of buildings and accommodation
• Non-teaching staff;
• Teaching staff engaged under contracts for services purely to provide an optional extra (including supply teachers); and
• The cost, or a proportion of the costs, for teaching staff employed to provide tuition in playing a musical instrument, or vocal tuition, where the tuition is an optional extra.

The charge per pupil should not:

• exceed the actual cost of providing the optional extra divided equally by the number of pupils participating;
• include any form of subsidy for other pupils wishing to participate whose parents are unwilling or unable to pay the full charge
• include the cost of any alternative provision for other pupils not wishing to participate in the optional extra where a small proportion of the optional extra takes place during school hours; or
• include the costs of supply teachers contracted to cover for teachers who are away from school accompanying pupils on a visit as they are seen to be providing education during school time, not an optional extra.

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