Charging Policy
Date – May 17 Reviewer – C Hughes
Review Date – May 19 Signed –
As a school we believe that live theatre performances, visits and school trips help to enhance the education of our children.
Obviously, in line with all other schools, we are unable to fully fund the cost of such events and we have to rely on our parents to see the benefits of such activities and help to fund such events.
The legal position is that we must ask for a ‘voluntary contribution’ and not a payment. Parents in receipt of any of the following benefits are not required to make a contribution although some choose to do so.
- Income Support [IS]
- Employment Support Allowance [Income Related]
- Income Based Job Seekers Allowance [IBJSA]
- Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Child Tax Credit without Working Tax Credit with an annual taxable income [ass assessed by HMR&C] of less than £16,190
The legislation also says that “no child is to be withdrawn from the trip due to there being no payment made”. The decision can be made to cancel the trip if it is felt that there is not a high enough number of parents who will pay. If the trip goes ahead the school has to meet the deficit from our school budget. This information can be found in the school brochure.
The Charging Policy also makes it quite clear that the trip has to be self financing and the school cannot add any additional money to the cost of the visit in case some parents choose not to send a voluntary contribution. The cost of any school trip is arrived at by calculating the cost of the coach, dividing this by the total number of children in the group and then adding any entrance fee e.g.
Cost of coach £ 180 divided by number of children in the class 34 = £5.30. Entrance fee £1 per child.
Total cost of trip per child – £6.30.
Nothing additional can be added to this amount if any parents decide not to make the ‘voluntary contribution’.
Refunds will only be available in exceptional circumstances.
It is also the schools practice to refund any balance to parents if there is any difference in the actual cost of the trip against the amount requested. Please note that if the balance is more we will not ask for additional money – e.g. if one or more children are ill on the day.
Lettings
We will charge competitive rates for hiring out school facilities. The nature of the let will determine the rate charged and will be agreed within the schedule of charges as detailed below. All lettings are subject to appropriate risk assessments being undertaken by the hirers.
Lettings Charges effective from January 2016
| Room area required | Per | Rate |
| Classrooms | Hour | £15 |
| School Hall | Hour | £25 |
| School Hall as a Sports facility | Hour | £25 |
| Sports Field/Outdoor area | Session | £25 |
| Additional Services hire | ||
| Setting out of Chairs | Session | £7 |
| Caretaker Unattended lettings outside normal hours | Session | £15 |
| Equipment Hire inc VAT | ||
| Tea, Coffee , Orange Juice | 10 cups | 5.00 |
Nursery Charging Structure
Charges will be levied for nursery provision provided to 3 and 4 year olds that is not covered by either the universal free 15 hours funding or the additional 15 hours of extended funding.
Nursey Charges for Additional Sessions over the universally funded 15 hours or extended 15 hours entitlement.
All 3 and 4 year old children have an entitlement to a universal 15 hours funded entitlement the term after they are 3 and this entitlement must always be completely free at the point of delivery. All 3 and 4 year old children whose parents have entitlement to the extended 15 hours funded entitlement will access this completely free at the point of delivery.
Any hours not covered by the universal 15 hours or extended 15 hours will be charged at a rate of £4.00 per hour. Parents accessing the extended 15 hours entitlement must inform the school prior to the start of term that they are using these hours for their place, to enable the school to complete the necessary admin to access this funding. Proof of the extended entitlement must be provided to the school either by email or with a code provided by the HMRC. Parents that fail to inform the school that they are using the extended entitlement for their nursery hours may incur a charge of £4.00 per hour (£12 per session) if the school cannot obtain funding during a particular term. (Price correct at April 2017).
Invoicing and Payment Procedures
An invoice for any additional sessions not covered by the funded entitlement will be sent to parents once notification has been received from North Yorkshire County Council that funding for the sessions already taken is not available. All sessions will be chargeable even if the child has failed to attend. The School will do its best to assist with payment arrangements basing individual requests on their own merit. Non-payment will result in the termination of the contract with immediate effect unless an individual agreement has been arranged.
Before and After School Club Charging Structure
The before and after school club has been set up to help working parents and Governors aim to cover the costs but not to make a profit. Charges are set for Academic Year 2017-18 as:
Breakfast Club
8.00am until 8.45am cost £3.00. This charge will apply even if a child is dropped off by the parent or carer at 8.30am.
After School Club
Option One 3.05 or 3.10pm until 4.30pm (or part thereof) cost £4.00. If a child attends an after school activity club and is then taken to the after school club this extra half an hour is chargeable at the FULL price of the session at £4.00 for the session.
Option Two 3.05 or 3.10pmuntil 5.30pm (or Part thereof) cost £6.00. If a child attends an after school activity club and is then taken to the after school club this extra hour and a half is chargeable at the FULL price of the session at £6.00 for the session.
A child will be charged the rate of Option Two if they are picked up after 4.35pm and if a child is not picked up by 5.30pm an extra charge of £5 per 1/2 hour will be made.
Parents will be invoiced either weekly or monthly depending on the admin times and once an amount of £75 in arrears is reached unless this is paid within one week the Headteacher may request that the child is withdrawn from the Clubs until the amount is reduced. If children are consistently collected late the Headteacher may request that the child is removed from the after School Club and an additional charge will be made.
Governors will review the chares of the Before and After School Club Charging Structure annually.