Lady Margaret Primary believes that all our pupils should have an equal opportunity to benefit from school activities as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.
This policy supports the Rights Respecting principles adopted by Lady Margaret Primary School and is particular relevant to the following articles:
Article 3
The best interests of the child must be a top priority in all things that affect children.
Article 15
Every child has the right to meet with other children and to join groups and organisations, as long as this does not stop other people from enjoying their rights.
Article 27
Every child has the right to a standard of living that is good enough to meet their physical, social and mental needs. Governments must help families who cannot afford to provide this.
Article 28
Every child has the right to an education. Primary education must be free. Secondary education must be available for every child. Discipline in schools must respect children’s
dignity. Richer countries must help poorer countries achieve this.
Article 29
Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.
Article 31
Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.
The federation governing body recognises the valuable contribution that the wide range of additional activities including clubs and trips, can make towards pupils’ personal and social education and will wherever possible ensure that each child goes on a trip or has a visitor to class each term.
The governing body aims to promote such activities both as part of a broad balanced curriculum for the pupils and as additional optional extras.
We believe that all our pupils should have an equal opportunity to benefit from school activities and visits (curricular and extra-curricular) independent of their parents’/carers’ financial means.
This policy describes how we will do our best to ensure a good range of visits and activities is offered and, at the same time, try to minimise the financial barriers which may prevent some pupils taking full advantage of the opportunities.
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.
The governing body of Ealing Bridges Federation have, determined that the school may make charges and seek voluntary contributions from parents for school activities provided for registered pupils at the school on the basis of the information set out in the main part of this document.
Ealing Bridges Federation aims to:
This policy is based on advice from the Department for Education (DfE) on charging for school activities and the Education Act 1996, sections 449-462 of which set out the law on charging for school activities in maintained schools in England.
It’s also based on guidance from the DfE on statutory policies for schools and academy trusts.
The Governing Body
The governing board has overall responsibility for approving the charging and remissions policy, but can delegate this to a committee, an individual governor or the Executive
Headteacher.
The governing board also has overall responsibility for monitoring the implementation of this policy.
For the schools in our federation, monitoring the implementation of this policy has been delegated to the Chair of Governors.
The Executive Headteacher
The Executive Headteacher is responsible for ensuring staff are familiar with the charging and remissions policy, and that it is being applied consistently.
Staff
Our staff are responsible for:
– Implementing the charging and remissions policy consistently.
– Notifying the Executive Headteacher of any specific circumstances which they are unsure about or where they are not certain if the policy applies.
The senior leadership team will provide staff with appropriate training in relation to this policy and its implementation.
Parents
Parents are expected to notify staff or the Executive Headteacher of any concerns or queries regarding the charging and remissions policy.
Below we set out what the school cannot charge for:
Education
Transport
Residential visits
Below we set out what the school can charge for.
Education
We are able to charge for activities known as ‘optional extras’. In these cases, the schools can charge for providing materials, books, instruments or equipment. The following are optional extras:
Education provided outside of school time that is not part of:
Transport (other than transport that is required to take the pupil to school or to other premises where the local authority/governing board has arranged for the pupil to be provided with education)
Board and lodging for a pupil on a residential visit
Extended day services offered to pupils (such as breakfast clubs, after-school clubs, tea and supervised homework sessions)
When calculating the cost of optional extras, an amount may be included in relation to:
Any charge made in respect of individual pupils will not be greater than the actual cost of providing the optional extra activity, divided equally by the number of pupils participating.
Any charge will not include an element of subsidy for any other pupils who wish to take part in the activity but whose parents are unwilling or unable to pay the full charge.
In cases where a small proportion of the activity takes place during school hours, the charge cannot include the cost of alternative provision for those pupils who do not wish to participate.
Parental agreement is necessary for the provision of an optional extra which is to be charged for.
The school can charge for vocal or instrumental tuition provided either individually or to groups of pupils, provided that the tuition is provided at the request of the pupil’s parent.
Charges may not exceed the cost of the provision, including the cost of the staff giving the tuition.
Charges cannot be made:
We can charge for board and lodging on residential visits, but the charge must not exceed the actual cost.
As an exception to the requirements set out in section 5 of this policy, the school is able to ask for voluntary contributions from parents to fund activities which would not otherwise be possible.
Some activities for which the school may ask parents for voluntary contributions include:
There is no obligation for parents to make any contribution, and no child will be excluded from an activity if their parents are unwilling or unable to pay.
If the school is unable to raise enough funds for an activity or visit then it will be cancelled.
If the activity is cancelled all monies paid will be returned to parents/carers.
Any voluntary contribution asked for in respect of an activity or visit will not exceed the total cost to the school divided equally by the number of pupils participating. It will therefore never include any element of subsidy for any other pupils wishing to participate in the activity whose parents/carers are unwilling or unable to contribute the full amount.
The federation is committed to ensuring fair access and treatment of all pupils, and this means ensuring that no pupil is excluded from an activity because the parents/carers of that pupil are unwilling or unable to pay. If there is insufficient funding for an activity, then it will be cancelled. The identity of the pupil or parents/carers of the pupil who did not want to make the payment, or could not make the payment, will not be disclosed under any circumstances.
The federation often subsidises some of the day trip costs in order to support a visit.
The school will charge for the following activities:
For regular activities, the charges for each activity will be determined by the governing board and reviewed in the summer term each year. Parents will be informed of the charges for the coming year in July each year.
In some circumstances, the school may not charge for items or activities set out in sections 6 and 8 of this policy. This will be at the discretion of the governing board and will depend on the activity in question.
The Governing Body may wish to remit in full or in part the cost of other activities for particular groups of parents, for example, in the case of family hardship. When arranging a chargeable activity such parents will be invited in confidence for the remission of charges in full or in part. Authorisation for such remission will be made by the Executive Headteacher in consultation with the Chair of Governors.
The Head of Business monitors charges and remissions and ensures these comply with this policy.
This policy will be reviewed by the Executive Headteacher annually. At every review, the policy will be approved by the Governing Body.
Ealing Bridges Federation
Approved by:
The Full Governing Body
Last reviewed:
October 2025
Next review by:
October 2026