Charging and remissions policy for Stepney All Saints Secondary School

We want all our pupils to have an equal opportunity to benefit from school activities, both on and off site, within and outside the curriculum, regardless of their family’s financial means. This policy sets out our school approach to charging and remissions, and is informed by local authority guidance. In doing this our intention is to ensure transparency in setting charges and ensure all children are able to access all the provision on offer.

This policy does not apply to charges made and determined by other organisations offering activities and services on the school premises.

Charging and remissions policy
1	Admissions	No charge will be made for admission.
2	School meals	No charge will be made for pupils entitled to free school meals.
		We will charge all pupils not entitled to free school meals an amount determined by the local authority, contractor or governing body of the school, as appropriate. Currently the amount is £1.80. We will charge all staff members who do not do lunch duty an amount determined by the school, as appropriate. Currently the amount is £1.80 including VAT.
3	Public examinations	No charge will be made for the entry fee if the examination is on the set list and the pupil has been prepared at the school.
		No charge will be made for the entry fee if the examination is not on the set list whether the pupil has been prepared at the school or not.
		A charge will be made for the entry fee for all external pupils whether the examination is on the set list or not. The entry fee is decided by the Exams Board.
		We may charge parents the examination fee if a pupil fails without good reason to complete the requirements of a public examination where the school originally paid the entry fee. This will be decided by the Headteacher.
4	Activities for pupils that take place during school hours (‘School hours’ are those when school is actually in session and do not include the break in the middle of the school day)	No charge will be made for activities provided during school hours.
		No charge will be made for transport during school hours eg for PE activities.
5	Activities for pupils that take place outside school hours (non-residential)	No charge will be made for an activity that takes place outside school hours when it is: a) a necessary part of the curriculum b) part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for at the school c) part of the school’s basic curriculum for religious education
		Optional extras We may charge for some other activities that take place outside school hours. The Headteacher will decide which activities we make a charge for. The levels of charge (including any remissions) will be set annually on the recommendation of the Headteacher and the finance committee. Where we make a charge, the total collected will not exceed the cost of providing the activity and no parent will be asked to subsidise the cost to other pupils by paying more than an amount equal to the total cost of the activity divided by the number of pupils participating. Costs we can legally recover are as follows: a) any materials, books, instruments or equipment provided in connection with the optional extra b) transport to an activity outside school hours
6	Activities that take place partly during school hours either on or off site (non-residential).	Where the majority of time spent on a non-residential activity is within school hours, we must treat the activity as if it is fully within school hours, and will apply the same criteria to charging as set out in section 4.
		If the majority of the time spent on a non-residential activity is outside school hours, we must treat the activity as if it happens fully outside school hours, and will apply the same criteria to charging as set out in section 5.
7	Residentials	Residentials are classified as being within school hours if the number of school sessions missed by the pupils is at least 50% of the number of half days spent on the trip.
		Board and lodging We will charge pupils an amount up to the full cost of board and lodging on residentials whether it is classified as taking place within or outside school hours EXCEPT where pupils are legally entitled to remission. In such cases no charge will be made for board and lodging.
		Travel If the residential is classified as being within school hours, no charge will be made for travel costs (legal requirement), although, a voluntary contribution may be sought. Where the residential is classified as being outside school hours, a charge will be made for travel to cover the unit cost per pupil other than those entitled to remissions (but no paying pupil will be required to subsidise the cost of non-paying pupils)
8	Music tuition within school hours	No charge will be made if the music tuition is an essential part of the national curriculum or a public examination syllabus being followed by the pupil (including resources such as instrument hire, music books etc).
		No charge will be made for instrumental and vocal tuition within school hours for children in care (including resources such instrument hire, music books etc).
		We will charge for all other instrumental and vocal tuition requested by parents and delivered by specialist tutors within school hours, whether offered to an individual or group of pupils. Charges will be determined by the headteacher and the appropriate committee of the governing body and may vary depending on size of group, length of lesson and type of instrument.
9	Childcare	No charge will be made for any childcare offered to children before and after school (and during school holidays), with the level of fees.
10	Damage to property and breakages	We may seek to recover some or all of the costs incurred due to wilful damage or breakage of school property. This will be determined by the headteacher.
		We may seek to recover some or all of the costs incurred due to wilful damage or breakage of property belonging to a third party where the school has been charged. This will be determined by the headteacher.
11	Remissions and concessions	We may choose to subsidise, in full or part, charges for certain activities and pupils, as determined by the Governing Body, advised by the Headteacher. The circumstances in which concessions are applied will be reviewed regularly.
12	Voluntary contributions	We may in certain circumstances invite parents to make a voluntary contribution towards activities that are exempt from charging.
		Where we do ask for voluntary contributions, we will make it clear that children of parents who choose not to contribute will not be treated differently from those who do. No pupil will be excluded from the activity if their parents do not contribute.
		If an activity cannot go ahead without sufficient voluntary contributions, this will be explained to parents when the contribution is requested. If the activity has to be cancelled due to insufficient funds, all monies received will be returned to parents.