U.K. schools threaten to use debt collectors

LONDON • Schools in Britain are threatening parents with debt collectors if they fall just 50 pence (about 84¢) into debt over lunch money, a survey of parents has revealed.

Nearly one in five parents said they had been in arrears or debt to their children’s school. Of those, over one in 10 said that a sanction was applied to their child as a result of the debt.

This included their children being banned from music lessons or from afterschool clubs until their parents cleared their debt.

The survey of almost 4,000 parents, conducted by The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), found that parents felt harassed by schools after declining to make donations that headteachers had insisted were “voluntary.”

One parent told the survey: “On one occasion I was in arrears by 50 pence with dinner money (it transpired that this was actually an error on the school’s part).

“However I received a very strong ‘round robin’ text from the school telling me to clear my debt otherwise it would be passed on to a debt agency.

“I was also told that if I was in arrears with dinner money, my daughter wouldn’t receive a school dinner, and if I didn’t send in a packed lunch the matter would be referred to social services.”

Other parents told how they received text messages from the school chasing them up for “voluntary” donations the school had asked for, and how teachers would “hassle” children about the money as well.

Almost a fifth of parents said they are asked to make a regular financial donation to their child’s school, and in some cases parents have been asked to contribute more than $170 a year. The findings also show that many families are being asked to hand over money to pay for pens, pencils, iPads and computers.

The findings come amid concerns from school leaders and teachers about growing funding pressures in England’s state schools. Eighteen per cent of parents said they had been asked to complete a standing order or direct debit for a regular donation.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said “substantial financial pressures” are now being placed on parents.

“The costs of attending some schools are now acting as a barrier to parents accessing their school of choice for their children and are effectively a covert form of selection,” she said.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said that no parent is required to make a contribution to their child’s education, adding: “the rules are clear on this and no policies have been introduced by this government to allow schools to charge parents.”