Wolfson Hillel Primary School

What are Voluntary Contributions?

They are contributions made by parents so the school can fund extra investment in your child’s education and provide security to safeguard our children. 

Voluntary contributions are to advance the education of pupils at Wolfson Hillel Primary School by the provision of resources, equipment, teaching and facilities for education in addition to those provided out of public funds. 

We are required by law to point out to you that you are not legally obliged to make your contribution nor does failure to make a contribution mean that your child will be treated any differently as a result. There are some parents who genuinely cannot afford to contribute due to financial hardship.  If you are in this position please arrange to meet with the School Business Manager to explore options. Even a small contribution will make a difference.

How do our Voluntary Contributions rates compare with that of other schools?

Currently at £1,200 per year, per child, they compare extremely well against other schools.   This payment can be spread across the year.  The governing body has decided to freeze this amount at the same rate for 2016/17.  The Governors continue to work hard to ensure that contributions remain as low as possible without compromising the provision.

Voluntary Contributions – How They Are Used

Parental voluntary contributions are used to fund education and learning opportunities which could not be afforded based on the money we receive from the Government alone. We are sometimes asked “what is the voluntary contribution spent on”. Unfortunately we cannot answer this with a direct analysis because that is not the way the system works. What we do is prepare a budget for each year to meet all of the schools requirements and compare this to the amount of money that we will receive as a grant from Enfield. The balance divided by the anticipated number of contributors gives us a number for the suggested voluntary contributions.

As an example in 2016/17, parental voluntary contributions funded £331K on top of £1,800K received from Enfield. This means that 18% of all our spending was funded through voluntary contributions. We know that funding from the Department for Education is being reduced going forwards, making these contributions even more vital.

Staffing

The largest part of any school budget is spent on staff.  Government funding is not designed to cover our Jewish studies programme, this is paid for through these contributions. Jewish studies is taught as both a separate subject and interwoven throughout the curriculum – Jewish holidays are celebrated in style.

Support from voluntary contributions means that Wolfson Hillel has generous staffing levels and can afford the three teacher model ensuring Maths and English are taught in classes of 20 children. We also have specialist teachers to support the Music and Ivrit. This is far in excess of what is provided at most primary schools. 

Added extras

The money provided by voluntary contributions also supports the provision of many added extras which collectively could not be afforded if we relied on Government funding alone.  Examples of this include:-

• Specialist teaching and intervention activities for all children including gifted and talented children
• IT facilities for access across the curriculum in classes
• Additional support for children with special needs, provided before additional funding is received from the government;
• Generous levels of training and professional development for staff to ensure that the quality of teaching remains outstanding
• Specialist facilities to support the emotional needs of children through our learning mentor and therapists
• Playground equipment

How is security provided at the school?

The school uses an outside security firm who are approved by CST to provide security guards.  Community Security Trust (CST) is a charity which represents and supports the Jewish community in dealing with security and anti-Semitism.  The service provided to the school by the security firm ensures the safety, security and well being of all pupils and staff during the school day.  We use an up to date CCTV system, radios and a dedicated security cabin.

An additional Voluntary Contribution of £120 per family enables us to maintain the high level of security and provide additional security as and when required that is necessary to ensure a safe and secure environment for our children and staff.

Current Financial Pressures

Economic pressures mean that we expect Government funding for schools to decline significantly in the next few years, in a climate of rising costs. Your continued support is appreciated and is now more important than ever to maintain our high standards.

Thank you; please make voluntary contributions a priority.