You’ve laid the groundwork and planned your approach, now it’s time to include the whole school community in the discussion.
In step two you will:
Our Cost of the School Day clock, wall frieze and case studies can help you to have these conversations with children and young people.
On this page:
Getting everyone involved helps build 'buy in'. Asking your whole school community for their opinions can create a sense of 'buy in' and help create an environment where everyone is more receptive to the changes you might make. The parents, carers and teachers in this video are reflecting on their ethos and ideas reflect on the atmosphere or the 'feel' at their school.
Parents, carers the teachers reflect on how taking a cost of the school day approach has made a difference at their school
Surveys are one useful way to hear anonymous opinions on the Cost of the School Day. Ideally, they will be used as one of a range of consultation methods. This section contains adaptable sample surveys to gather opinions about school costs, participation and ideas for improvement from children and young people, school staff and parents and carers.
When using surveys:
A short survey can give pupils a voice on how money affects school life. It can be completed individually, or questions can be read aloud in groups or used as prompts for discussion.
“Lots of families in Scotland are living on low incomes – around a fifth of children in Scotland come from families which sometimes struggle to afford everything they need. We want to make sure that lack of money doesn’t stand in the way of anyone taking part at school. We also want to make sure that nobody feels left out or bad at school because how much money they have at home.
This survey asks you questions about costs at school and what would happen if a pupil wasn’t able to afford some costs. You don’t need to be in that position yourself to take part in this survey – everybody’s views are important in making sure that your school is welcoming for all pupils.
We will look at what everyone says and work with you to try to improve things. We promise to keep you updated about what’s happening.”
To complete the survey online you can create your own copy by going to https://bit.ly/2tYGFoA and clicking on ‘duplicate this form and start using it as your own’. You will need your Glow login details.
A short staff survey can help you hear about awareness of poverty, existing examples of good practice, and ideas for reducing or removing these barriers. Results can support Cost of the School Day improvement planning.
“Addressing the Cost of the School Day involves hearing from pupils, parents/carers and staff to understand where school costs impact on participation and how cost barriers for children and young people can be dealt with.
This survey is a chance for you as staff members to contribute your thoughts on costs, highlight any good practice in the school that we can build on and tell us what more should be done to support pupils and their families.”
To complete the survey online you can create your own copy by going to https://bit.ly/2tYGFoA and clicking on ‘duplicate this form and start using it as your own’. You will need your Glow login details.
This survey can help you to find out parents’ and carers’ opinions on the biggest costs, their impact, and awareness of available support. A survey is unlikely to reach every parent and carer in the school so should be part of a wider approach. Various barriers can exist related to time, literacy, language and interest in the subject.
“[Name of school] wants to make sure that all of our children can make the most of the school day and that no child misses out on anything. Your answers to this survey will help us check whether school costs are causing any concerns for our families, and whether there is anything that we can do to help out.
Your voice is really important and we want to hear from as many parents and carers as possible. We promise to listen to what’s been said and take action where it’s needed.
For more information, please contact [name and details]”
To complete the survey online, you can create your own copy by going to https://bit.ly/2Nv8BJd and click on ‘duplicate this form and start using it as your own’. You will need your Glow login details.
Find out about the experiences of schools who have talked to families, with a particular focus on specific or hard to reach parts of their school community.
Surveys are just one way of speaking to your school community. These activities from our Voice network can help pupils get involved with researching costs at your school in other ways.
These real stories from children, teachers and parents or carers highlight how school costs affect families. Use them to prompt discussion and reflect on practice.
“It’s way different, in primary it didn’t matter as much but now in high school it’s different. You get some nice kids but lots of bullies. Teachers are like ‘where’s your tie?’ especially after assembly. You get told you have to get one for the next day. Some people get paid monthly… but they expect it the next day.”
“I think free meals should be for everyone because even if there is two parents it doesn’t mean they’re going to have more money. My dad had to get kicked out of his job because they couldn’t afford to pay the workers. He got redundant in October, November and he’s only just starting his new job this month.”
“If your pals are going out at lunch you’ll be a loner. It puts you out the group because they’re going out and then you’re sitting there on your own with a free meal. You have to stay here and have your free school meal or you could go with them and just watch them while you’re starving.”
“My mum felt guilty that I couldn’t go on a school trip. Why do we have costly trips then? It puts people under pressure and it makes people embarrassed and disappointed if they can’t go. Last trip I missed it was just me in my class and that was rubbish, the majority of people were away on the trip. I’d rather just stay off - cos if I’m not doing anything on activity weeks I just don’t come in because there’s no point, you just sit on a class and see a movie when you could just sit in your house.”
“There’s nothing to do at the summer fair if you don’t have money. Even throwing a sponge at the teacher costs about £1. Sometimes you just have to sit in class if you don’t have any money, that’s happened to me. You get made fun of.”
“Not only does their school require specific pieces of equipment such as calculators, glue sticks, certain expensive pencils and pens, rulers to name a few, but they run so many events during school hours which cost money. If the parents cannot pay, the children have to sit out … once again singled out because we can’t afford it.”
“Life is already hard enough without school making it even harder and risking kids being labelled or bullied because their parents can’t afford to keep up.”
“We need more devices so that everyone feels included during research activities.”
“Some schools have given out iPads but not everyone at home has Wi-Fi so they can’t use it.”
Resources drawers at Miller Primary School in Glasgow
Boys taking part in story reading club at Netherburn Primary School in South Lanarkshire
Nearly 1 in 4 children across Scotland are officially recognised as living in poverty. This can mean that some children and young people don’t have the resources needed to take part in school activities which cost money. This can put them at risk of missing out on opportunities at school and feeling different, excluded and unhappy. Parent Councils (PCs) have a key role to play representing parents’ experiences and working with the school to make changes to minimise these pressures.
Ideas from Parent Councils: promote grants, set up a reused school uniform shop, recycle ties and pass them for free to new pupils, or simplify uniform requirements.
Good practice examples: a uniform shop selling uniform at cost price, savings schemes, or sourcing low-cost suppliers such as supermarkets.
Ideas from Parent Councils: run a parent survey on travel needs, raise awareness of free bus travel, make clubs or supported study available during lunch break.
Good practice examples: funding taxis for after school study or organising liftshare schemes.
“Transport is a huge issue for us in our community. Even if an extra activity is free, the cost of fuel is enough to mean my child can’t go as there is no available bus.”
Parent
Ideas from Parent Councils: spread events across the year, run events without charging, consider cheaper alternatives (e.g. PC member to take school photos), raise money for a hardship fund.
Good practice examples: replacing book fairs with book swaps, approaching local businesses for donations, timing events where parents are expected to attend with drop off or pick up times.
“You can choose not to pay, it’s an option. But as a parent it’s not really, when everyone is getting their Christmas cards and your child’s left out.”
Parent
“You also need to buy a lot of stuff because you cannae really go in the same clothes that you wore to the last non-uniform because people notice that… Sometimes it gets to be like a catwalk or something.”
Student, S3
Ideas from Parents Councils: spread payments across the year, fundraise inclusively, promote financial support.
“I think you get quite annoyed when, if you don’t go and then people who did go come back, and that’s all they talk about for a week and you didn’t go so you don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Student, S6
Ideas from Parent Councils: improve the promotion of free school meals, consult with pupils on menus to encourage uptake from everyone
Poverty is not always visible. In some schools, especially in more affluent areas, the challenges families face can be hidden. Parents may also feel judged if they raise concerns about money.
Parent Councils can play an important role in building understanding and making sure that families feel safe to speak up about costs.
Questions for Parent Councils:
“Poverty is more hidden in our area...there should be some kind of way of letting people know that there are issues.”
Parent
Read case studies from our Ideas Bank about parents getting involved with reducing costs at school.
The Cost of the School Day clock can help to prompt discussion about school costs and financial barriers to participation with groups of staff, children, young people, parents and carers.
This Cost of the School Day flashcard and wall frieze pack contains 10 subject area flashcards and one money card. This pack is intended to be used in a group session where the participants determine how much a certain day-to-day activity costs in real terms – the more pound coins piled up on the flashcard the more that activity costs. Print out the flashcard sheets, and several copies of sheet showing images of pound coins, and cut out to shape. You’re now ready to find out the cost of the school day.
The flashcards can also be printed out in A3 and stuck together to make a wall frieze. This can be used at Parents’ Evenings, at assemblies or at other school events where you are seeking the opinions of as many people as possible.
Participants can:
Some children and young people in your school will be experiencing these issues in their own lives. The stories here, featuring characters called Ross, Humeira and Jessica, can be used to broach potentially sensitive topics in Cost of the School Day sessions with children and young people.
These scenarios touch lightly on some of the challenges facing low income families like the cost of living, family stress, housing, access to childcare and difficulties finding suitable employment. Exploring a fictional character’s circumstances means children don’t need to focus on their own experiences.
The character’s story, age and interests can be adapted depending on the age group you are working with. Stories can be explored through discussion or drawing pictures of the characters and their families.
Ross is 10. Ross has just moved to this area with his mum and little sister Amelie. Ross is about to start at your school and he is nervous about fitting in and making friends. He hopes he’ll be able to do the work and that there’s a computing club there like there was at his old school.
Ross gets on pretty well with his family – Amelie is a bit of a pain sometimes but he likes her really. His mum used to work part time in Tesco but since they moved she’s finding it difficult to find another job which will fit in with Amelie’s nursery hours.
This means that there isn’t a lot of money at home and sometimes Ross knows that his mum is a bit stressed about paying bills. She sometimes says that they can’t afford the things Ross wants, like video games or a phone.
Humeira is 15 and has just moved to this area with her mum and her brother Irfan after her parents separated. They are now living with their elderly grandmother who her mum is helping to care for. Humeira misses her old school friends and her dad. She is happy to spend more time with her grandmother, and enjoys cooking and baking with her..
Humeira is starting at your school and wants to fit in and make friends. She’s had a look at the uniform online and thinks that her mum is going to take her to buy it soon.
She’s a bit worried about being behind after moving schools halfway through the year, but she likes Home Economics and Drama, and hopes she’ll be able to sit exams in all the subjects she was doing before. She wants to be a professional chef and plans to find some work experience in a local restaurant.
Her mum gets some money from the government for helping to care for Humeira’s grandmother but she is struggling to find a job that fits in with her caring duties and also being able to pick Irfan up after school. Humeira knows her mum is worried about money and doesn’t want to stress her out too much. She often plays with her little brother in the evening so her mum can have a break.
Jessica is 11 and has three sisters: Cara 8, Libby 6, and Eva who is only 3 months old. Jessica shares a bedroom with Cara and Libby and her baby sister sleeps with her mum and dad. The house can feel crowded and noisy. The family is waiting to hear from the council whether they can move into a bigger house so she won’t have to share a room.
Jessica likes family movie nights with popcorn, but sometimes finds it difficult to have quiet time alone in the house. Her favourite thing to do is to go to school football practice on a Thursday after school where she can relax with her friends.
Jessica’s dad works long hours as a delivery driver and can be home late so she helps out around the house. Her mum is on maternity leave right now but says she will have to go back to work soon because things are getting more expensive and she’s being ‘eaten out of house and home.’
Jessica is in P7 and is looking forward to secondary school next year. She’s excited for the leavers’ activities the school is putting on and can’t wait to come home and tell her family all about them.
Ross, Humeira and Jessica are all part of families where there isn’t a lot of money to spare. This is really common – around a fifth of all children and young people in Scotland are living on low incomes. Today we’re going to talk about a typical day in your school and try to think about what it would be like for them.
The Cost of the School Day Clock and Flashcard Resource can be used as visual prompts when discussing their school day.
