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October 2022
Cost of the School Day Position Statement
GLASSFORD PRIMARY SCHOOL
The core values for our school community are:-
Responsibility, Resilence, Respect and Kindness
‘Poverty’ is when your resources are not enough to meet your basic needs.
More than 1 in 4 (26%) of Scotland’s children are officially recognised as living in
poverty. The majority of children in poverty, 68%, have parents who are in work but
still don’t make enough to get by. Poverty damages children’s health and wellbeing,
their learning, attainment and future outcomes.
We’ve all experienced the same Covid-19 storm but we aren’t all in the same boat. Some
families have less protection than others.
Job losses and drops in income have affected thousands of families who were already
struggling. It is forecast that families with children will be worst affected in the long term.
It is expected that the impact of the pandemic on employment and the economy will
increase the number of children living in poverty – previously financially secure families in
your school may now be experiencing difficulties.
https://cpag.org.uk/scotland/about
The Child Poverty Action Group recently commissioned and produced a further range of
support materials to assist schools and school parent councils with ideas to alleviate some
of these concerns.
What the reading of the research continues to reinforce is that as a school we need to raise
awareness of the supports we offer to parents and pupils, while at the same time observing
the required confidentiality required when any parent or pupil requests assistance. Every
communication to parents/ carers with regards to a trip/ excursion/ event/ payment of any
kind will ask the family to contact the School cost if there is an issue preventing full participation.
The school is already in receipt of monies under the Scottish Government’s Pupil Equity
Fund (PEF) where financial resources are allocated to the school dependent on perceived need.
As far as possible as a school, we endeavour to match key recommendations that the
Poverty Action Group research has noted as being important markers of supporting children
from a low-income background- including:
• Giving our pupils the benefit of the doubt- our school staff and pupils should hold no
assumptions about financial situations.
• Ensuring as far as possible an ‘affordable school year’- spacing in-school and out of
school events out to try to avoid hotspots leading to increasing financial pressures.
• Running fund-raising activities which do not always ask families to contribute.
• Lending resources without trouble.
• Modifying expectations and tasks; offering/ providing support to access IT.
• Having consistent expectations and practice between staff members on uniform,
resources etc.
• Rewards and merits unaffected by issues relating to finances at home.
• Anti-bullying alert to income-based bullying or stigma.
• Greater poverty awareness among our own school community.
• Making sure families/ students are aware of their financial entitlements- clothing grants,
free meals, etc.
• Staff discretion and empathy in relation to equity issues.
• Ensuring wherever possible that costs for trips are affordable.
• Covering costs/ subsidising and supporting discounts where possible.
• Systems in place where pupils/ parents/ carers do not feel embarrassed asking for help/
subsidy.
In consultation with our Parent Council- we will continue to use these key recommendations
to look at ways in which we can further enhance our support to families who may be finding
the various costs of a child’s school experience a challenge- the Child Poverty Action
Group’s support materials provided us with a basis for that discussion. If interested the link
http://www.cpag.org.uk/costschool-day will take you to the document itself. In general,
school costs can be broken down into several key categories:
Uniform
Our current uniform is a light blue polo shirt or white shirt and tie, navy jumper and grey trousers or skirt. We recycle school uniform so please contact the school office to check what is
available before you buy for the start of the new term or again when children tend to outgrow
uniform throughout the School year.
We encourage parents to make their own decision on whether or not to wear a badged
uniform. It is absolutely fine to wear unbadged sweater/polo shirt.
Families can purchase uniforms from:?????????????
We do not insist on badged sweatshirts/polo shirts.
Parents on certain benefits can access a clothing grant to help with school uniform costs. At
the moment, the South Lanarkshire Grant is £130. Information about entitlement to clothing
grants and how to apply is available on the South Lanarkshire Council website https://
http://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/info/200259/education_benefits/159/
school_clothing_grants_and_free_school_meals or speak to Ms Gilfillan.
There may be situations where the expense of clothing exceeds the £130, especially with
regard to footwear. If this is the case, we would encourage you to contact the school to explore options.
Travel
Transport costs are significant for low-income families and can affect attendance and
participation at school. We are well aware that, in rural areas, own transport is a necessity
rather than a luxury, and families can struggle to meet the fuel and running costs of journeys
to school. Although our council has maintained the provision of free transport to and from
school, we are aware that any other activities outwith the school day are heavily reliant on
parent transport and that this is not always easy. If pupils want to participate in a school
activity and feel that financial circumstances would not allow for this to happen, we would
encourage parents/carers to speak to Ms Gilfillan to identify ways in which the school
could support pupil engagement. This could apply, for example, to an after-school club or to
an event which means the pupil may be returning late to school and requires to be collected.
Period Poverty
Statistically 1 in 7 girls have to borrow sanitary wear because of affordability issues, 12%
have to improvise sanitary wear and 1 in 5 choose cheaper, less suitable products because
of cost. At Glassford, a range of suitable, high quality sanitary products are
available for any pupil requiring access to these. All pupils know that appropriate sanitary
wear is available free of charge to collect in girls’ toilets to reduce embarrassment/ stigma.
Sanitary products are also made available over school holidays.
Learning
Children at Glassford do not need to pay for any core learning. Pens and pencils are
provided, and young people do not need to bring their own equipment. Pupils can borrow
equipment if they need it for homework or extra projects that are set.
School Trips
School trips can be difficult for families on low incomes to afford. Missing trips means that
children miss fun, new experiences and personal development and feel left out. Families can
be embarrassed about asking for financial help. The school, at all times, encourages staff to
arrange events outside of school that we feel will enrich a pupil’s school and life experience.
For ‘local trips’ pupils can be asked for a donation but we try to meet the costs through grant
funding and support of our Parent Council. Equity pupils’ trip costs will be met fully by the
school. Again, if there is an out of school activity being run and a pupil is reluctant to
participate because of family financial constraints, we would encourage you to contact the
school in confidence to seek support and identify ways to subsidise/support attendance and
participation in the identified activity.
For longer school trips, we try to ensure that the maximum advance notice is given to allow
pupils and parents to work out a staged payment plan that provides the opportunity for
participation. Again, we would encourage all pupils who may be interested in participating in
any activity to start off with the view that participation is possible, to express an interest and
then have conversations with the school about how to achieve this.
Eating at school
Lack of food and poor nutrition are realities for some children in Scotland. Food costs can be
significant and receiving Free School Meals can lessen the financial burden on low-income
families. However, not every family entitled to free meals applies for them, and not every
child receiving free meals takes them. We would encourage any parent presently on low
income to investigate the conditions under which free school meals can be provided.
Information about entitlement to free school meals and how to apply is available on the
South Lanarkshire Council website: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/info/200259/
education_benefits/159/school_clothing_grants_and_free_school_meals, or speak to Mrs
Kennedy.
If you have any problems in accessing IT or require further assistance in completing the
online application we would be more than happy to support you to do so. All pupils now have
free access to water at all times during the school day and we would encourage them to use
this facility- both on cost and health/ nutrition grounds. Again, if there are any issues relating
to access to food during the school day we would encourage pupils/ parents to contact the
school.
Fun Events
Special days, events and activities are a fun part of school life and often raise valuable funds
to subsidise trips and provide additional resources. However, such events can create
difficulties for some children due to lack of immediate funds, hidden costs and feeling
embarrassed and marginalised if they are unable to take part. In some of our communities,
particularly rural ones, families travel long distances to work and making extra trips to school
has a large impact on their finances. We have one dedicated fundraising event a year (this is our Christmas Fayre) and other activities are planned with careful consideration to affordability.
School Clubs
From time to time, we offer after-school clubs, most of which are free.
These clubs are a valuable resource for children, making new interests and experiences
accessible to them. However, small costs can still stand in the way of participation. Please speak to the School if this is a concern.
Home Learning
Home learning tasks should have little or no costs. We are already aware of local community
issues in relation to intermittent or poor broadband connection(s) that inhibit some pupils’
access to online materials and working. From session 2022/23 core curriculum costs across
a range of subjects will be met centrally for all pupils. We are also aware in the years ahead
of the increased use of smart phone and other digital technologies to support learning- in
relation to school work, homework and home study- and that this does potentially create
situations of disadvantage for some of our pupils. Any pupil who for whatever reason cannot
access technology / Google Classrooms will be provided with paper copies of any
classwork/ homework materials when required and Please let Ms Gilfillan know immediately if this
becomes an issue at some point during the school session so that teaching staff can
prepare accordingly. Hopefully as we recover from the Covid 19 Pandemic, access to google classroom at home will not be required as mcuh as it was, but there may be other reasons when this may be used instead of or alongside traditional class based learning.
We are very clear that the Cost of the School Day is an area that requires constant
vigilance and will not be ‘fixed’ by any one action. We constantly ask the questions
below:
Support for Families is also included in the school newsletter, see below:
Free school meals are for Primary 1 to 4 pupils. P5 will be free from January 2022
and P6/P7 at some point in the future.
South Lanarkshire Council are pleased to announce some new financial supports for
families who have children or young people in school entitled to means tested Free
School Meal. https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/fsm#:~:text=This%20is%20a%20one
%2Doff,food%2C%20fuel%20and%20other%20essentials.
https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/info/200259/education_benefits/159/
school_clothing_grants_and_free_school_meals/2
https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/info/200134/benefits_and_money_advice
• We offer free, confidential and impartial advice – we can help check your benefit
entitlement, assist with the claims process, challenge decisions and represent you at
Social Security appeal tribunals. For debt issues we look at your financial
circumstances, contact creditors, discuss options and give budgeting advice;
Contact number: 0303 123 1008
Our Telephone Advice Line offers a similar service specifically aimed at pregnant women
and families with young children; Contact number: 01698 453154
•Remember Sanitary Products are available FREE in
school.
Please contact Ms Gilfilan in school office if you need to access a supply for your child during
school holidays.
The public can access sanitary products by emailing Free.Period@southlanarkshire.gov.uk
• Aberlour Trust – Urgent Assistance Fund for families
Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund can provide cash grants to help families with children
(aged 21 and under) who are suffering extreme hardship, including the impact of the
Coronavirus. The fund offers support, usually via cash grants to assist with a range of needs,
such as food, prepay power cards, clothing, bedding, or other essentials. The average grant
is usually around £50 per child. All applications must be made by a sponsor (e.g. school,
social worker, health care professional, clergy) on behalf of a child or family and are
considered on an individual basis and needs assessed. Please click on the attached link for
further information and details of application, https://www.aberlour.org.uk/service-category/
urgent-assistance-fund/
Scottish Child Payment
A new Scottish Child Payment benefit is being introduced from 15 February
2021 and Social Security Scotland started taking applications for this benefit
from 9th November 2020. Scottish Child Payment will be the biggest benefit
introduced to date and initially, it will be available for those children under 6
years old, with 194,000 children expected to be eligible in the first year.
Families who meet the criteria and are eligible to apply will receive a payment
of £10 per child, per week (equivalent to £520 per year) and payment will be
made on a four-weekly basis. There are no limits to the number of children per
family who can receive this benefit. If families would like to know more about
this benefit and how to apply, they can contact Social Security Scotland by
phone on 0800 182 2222, or look online at My Gov Scot
Glassford Primary School 