Contents

• Introduction
• Aim
• Responsibilities
• Prohibition of Charges
• Publication of Information
• School Meals
• Charges
• Miscellaneous
• Remissions
• Voluntary Contributions

Introduction

This policy has been formulated in accordance with the Local Authority’s guidance on charging for school activities.

Aim

The aim of this policy is to set out what charges will be levied for activities, what remissions will be implemented and the circumstances under which voluntary contributions will be requested from parents/carers.

Responsibilities

The College Board of Governors is responsible for determining the content of the policy and the Headteacher for implementation. 

Prohibition of Charges

The College BoG recognises that the legislation prohibits charges for the following: 

• an admission application to the college;
• education provided during college hours (including the supply of any materials, books, instruments or other equipment);
• education provided outside college 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 college, or part of religious education;
• tuition for pupils learning to play musical instruments if the tuition is required as part of the National Curriculum, or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for at the college, or part of religious education;
• entry for a prescribed public examination, if the pupil has been prepared for it at the college;
• examination re-sit(s) if the pupil is being prepared for the re-sit(s) at the college (however, if a pupil fails, without good reason, to meet any examination requirement for a syllabus, the fee can be recovered from the pupil’s parents/carers);
• education provided on any trip that takes place during college hours;
• education provided on any trip that takes place outside college 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 college, or part of religious education;
• supply teachers to cover for those teachers who are absent from college accompanying pupils on a residential trip;
• transporting registered pupils to or from the college premises, where the local authority has a statutory obligation to provide transport;
• transporting registered pupils to other premises where the governing body or local authority has arranged for pupils to be educated;
• transport that enables a pupil to meet an examination requirement when he/she has been prepared for that examination at the college;
• transport provided in connection with an educational trip.

Publication of Information

The College will make no charge for information provided following a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

School meals

There is no charge for pupils who are entitled to free school meals, as long as they remain within the spending limits given by the government plus a uniform top-up contribution from school funds, to be determined from time to time.  Pupils who are not entitled to free school meals will be charged a set amount for menu items as published at the point of sale and on the College’s website.

Charges

The College will make a charge for the following: 

• any materials, books, instruments or equipment where the child’s parent/carer wishes he/she to own them;
• board and lodging on residential visits;
• the proportionate costs for an individual child of activities wholly or mainly outside college hours (“optional extras”) to meet the costs for:
  • travel
  • materials and equipment
  • non-teaching staff costs
  • teaching staff engaged under contracts for services purely to provide an optional extra, this includes supply teachers engaged specifically to provide the optional extra
  • entrance fees
  • insurance costs;
• optional tuition in the playing of a musical instrument;
• appeals for internal assessment remarks
• re-sit(s) for public examinations where no further preparation has been provided by the college;
• costs of non-prescribed examinations where no further preparation has been provided by the college;
• re-scrutinised public examination results due to a request by parents/carers;
• any other education, transport or examination fee unless charges are specifically prohibited;
• breakages and replacements as a result of damage caused wilfully or negligently by pupils (this includes windows, furniture, defaced, lost  or damaged books and course materials);
• extra-curricular activities and college clubs.
• administration fee for sale of goods and services
• locker rental – pupils who require a locker must pay locker rental in advance for the whole academic year.  They are also required to pay a returnable key deposit which will be refunded upon return of the key.  Pupil Premium pupils will be charged an annual locker rental from their funding and a retainer for the key deposit amount will be assigned from their funding, until the key is returned.

Miscellaneous

At present the college receives some specific additional allocations to support certain categories of disadvantaged pupils.  At the discretion of the Headteacher these monies may be used to support pupils, who meet the requirements of the allocation, in meeting some of the above charges.

Remissions

Children whose parents/carers are in receipt of Universal Credit payments who have also applied for, and been declared eligible for, free school meals, will be entitled to the remission of a proportion of charges for board and lodging costs during residential college trips. Other relevant support payments are:

• Income Support;
• income-based Job Seekers' Allowance;
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance;
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999;
• The guarantee element of State Pension Credit;
• Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit;

Note:

No other benefits qualify for free school meals.

Voluntary Contributions

The College will request voluntary contributions from parents/carers for college activities in or out of college hours for which compulsory charges cannot be levied but which activities, wholly or in part, can only be provided if there is sufficient voluntary funding, whilst ensuring that no pupil is excluded from such activity by reason of inability or unwillingness to make a voluntary contribution.

Parents/carers may be invited to make a voluntary contribution for the following: -

• any activity which takes place in or out of college hours;
• college equipment;
• college funds generally.

The terms of any request made to parents/carers will specify that the request is for a voluntary contribution and in no way represents a charge.  In addition the following will be made clear to parents/carers: -

• that the contribution is genuinely voluntary and a parent is under no obligation to pay;
• that registered pupils at the college will not be treated differently according to whether or not their parents/carers have made any contribution in response to the request.

The responsibility for determining the level of voluntary contribution is delegated to the Headteacher.

If insufficient voluntary contributions are raised to fund an activity it may be cancelled.