Charging and Remissions Policy
Charging and Remissions
Policy
Version: September 2024 Review Date: August 2025
Co-op Academy Swinton, Sefton Road, Pendlebury, Manchester M27 6JU Tel: 0161 794 6215 swinton.coopacademies.co.uk
The Education Act 1996 prohibits a school from charging students/parents for activities carried out as part of the normal school curriculum. There are, however, certain ‘borderline’ areas where the policy of the school needs explaining:
Music Tuition:
An increasing number of students have music tuition (over and above the normal music in the timetable) and the school is entitled to charge parents the full cost of this tuition. The Governors, however, reluctant to introduce any charge have conceded that a charge of £10* per lesson for one instrument (£15* for two instruments) is essential to offset the increasing cost to the school, the remainder being found from school resources. (*This charge is correct at the time of printing and could be subject to change).
Field Work/Residentials:
In certain courses it is a necessary component for students to be taken out of school to pursue ‘field work’ e.g. in Geography. In this instance the cost will be met by the school - although the school may ask for voluntary contributions towards the cost.
Examinations:
The school is not entitled to charge for entering students into public examinations for which the school has prepared the youngsters - unless the student fails to turn up at the examination.
Technology Subjects:
With the exception of electronics projects where parents are informed separately by letter, no charge is made for design materials.
In Food Technology students are required to supply their own ingredients on the understanding that they may take home the finished product. However, staff are sensitive to students where financial hardship may be a problem. The academy may offer students the option to buy ingredients direct from the academy at a cost set appropriately by the Food Technology department.
The Headteacher and Governors appreciate that some families do experience financial problems and would ask that where this is the case the parent should, in confidence, discuss the difficulties any charges might cause, with the relevant Pupil Progress Coordinator.
For a complete description of the academy’s charging policies in full, please read on.
School Activities : Policy for Charging:
General
Outlined below are the policies adopted by the academy based on advice from the Department for Education (DfE) for the purposes of determining:
A. the particular school activities for which charges may be made to the parents of those students for whom the activities are provided in accordance with the provisions of Sections 449--462 of the Education Act 1996, and B. the remission arrangement which set out the circumstances in which the charges that would otherwise be payable by the parents of the students concerned in accordance with the charging policy would be remitted.
Activity | Charges |
a. Non--residential activities outside school hours | |
Non--residential activities outside of school hours e.g. school day trips, which are not required as part of a syllabus for a public examination for which the pupil is being prepared by the school or which are not provided specifically in relation to the national curriculum or the provision of religious education. | Charges should be equivalent to the cost of the activity and should include an appropriate element for (i) the student’s travelling expenses, (ii) the cost of any refreshments that may be provided by the school for the student, (iii) teaching staffing costs (including any associated travelling costs) in those cases where a teacher or instructor is engaged specifically for the purpose of providing the activity and (iv) any other incidental expenses excluding (a) any other staffing costs and (b) the cost of any materials, books, instruments or other equipment that may be required in connection with the activity. |
b. Residential activities outside of school hours other than in connection with a public examination or in relation to the national curriculum or the provision of religious education | |
Non--residential activities outside of school hours e.g. school day trips, which are not required as part of a syllabus for a public examination for which the student is being prepared by the school or which are not provided specifically in relation to the national curriculum or the provision of religious education. | Charges should be equivalent to the cost of the activity and should include an appropriate element for (i) the student’s travelling expenses, (ii) the cost of any refreshments that may be provided by the school for the student, (iii) teaching staffing costs (including any associated travelling costs) in those cases where a teacher or instructor is engaged specifically for the purpose of providing the activity and (iv) any other incidental expenses excluding (a) any other staffing costs and (b) the cost of any materials, books, instruments or other equipment that may be required in connection with the activity. |
c. Residential activities during school hours or outside school hours in connection with a public examination or in relation to the national curriculum or the provision of religious education | |
Residential activities, i.e. trips where students are required to spend one or more nights away from their normal overnight accommodation, (i) during school hours, (ii) outside of school hours where the activity is required as part of a syllabus for a public examination | Charges should be limited to the cost of board and lodgings as subject to the proviso that no such charge shall be made in respect of any student whose parents are in receipt of Income Support or Family Credit. |
for which the student is being prepared by the school or which is provided specifically in relation to the national curriculum or the provision of religious education. | |
d. Examination | |
i) The fee payable in respect of the entry of a student with their parent’s agreement to a public examination for which the student has not been prepared by the school either during or outside of school hours including a student who has received private tuition for the relevant examination or a student who is resitting an examination for which he was originally prepared by the school but for whom no additional preparation has been provided by the school since his previous entry to the examination. | Charges should be limited to the amount of the examination entry fee. |
ii) The fee payable in respect of the entry of a student with their parent’s agreement to a particular syllabus in a public examination in those cases where the student has been entered by the governing body of the school attended for another public examination in a corresponding syllabus and the same course of study is provided at the school concerned in preparation for both syllabuses. | Charges should be limited to the amount of the examination entry fee. |
iii) The fee that has been paid or which the local education authority or school governing body is liable to pay in respect of the entry of a student to a particular syllabus in a public examination in those cases where the student fails without good reason to meet any examination requirement for that syllabus in order to qualify for assessment for the purpose of determining their achievements in that examination, including failure to sit the final examination or failure to complete the course work requirements. | Charges should be limited to the amount of the examination entry fee. |
e. Materials and/or ingredients for practical subjects | |
Materials and/or ingredients that are required for practical subjects in those cases where the student’s parents have indicated in advance that they wish to own the finished product. | Charges should be equivalent to the cost of the materials and/or ingredients. |
f. Individual tuition in the playing of a musical instrument out of school hours | |
Individual tuition in the playing of a musical instrument out of school hours which does not form part of the syllabus for a prescribed public examination and which is not provided specifically in relation to the national | Charges should be equivalent to the cost of the tuition and should include (i) the cost of the salary payments made to the teacher providing the tuition, (ii) the cost of any sheet music that is provided specifically for use |
Charging Policy-September 2023
curriculum. | by the student and (iii) the costs arising from the hire and/or insurance of any musical instrument that is provided for use by the student. |