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and then financially later on. Sponsorship can also be secured through the writing and submission of bids. Our school sports kit, for example, is funded through a yearly bid programme offered by a local supermarket. Having our kit sponsored has left room in our budget to allow for the purchase of school uniform items for our more disadvantaged students. Submitting successful funding and/or sponsorship bids to support the cost of your school trips and equipment does take a bit of practice – but it’s staff time that’ll be well spent when the rewards can be so high. We also regularly encourage donations of used school uniform items, which we’ll distribute to our families in need where we can. If you lack the required storage and distribution capacity within your school, there are some companies who’ll take on the task for you at a small cost. Some settings will maintain a school fund they can use for supporting parents – but be aware that it’s essential to establish a clear and transparent policy of precisely what those funds will be used for. Financial resilience These are just a few practical suggestions, but how viable they are in your setting will be very much informed by your student cohort and the needs of their families. It could be argued that our education system currently falls down a little when it comes to promoting and teaching financial resilience and knowledge to students and their families, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Some banks offer learning materials and resources that schools can opt to use when educating students on these areas as part of PSHE lessons or extracurricular sessions. With further funding and the will of policymakers, this kind of financial education could perhaps one day be extended to parents and families. For now, though, one thing we can do is ensure that parents are fully aware of our policies, and all the costs associated with their children attending our schools. Wherever possible, we should be looking to keep those costs at the most affordable level we can – whether they be for uniforms, PE kits and trips. At the same time, it’s vital to maintain contact with any parents who default on payments, and uncover the reasons as to why. Whilst it is important to have policies in place around non- payment, and to ensure these are enforced, we should also remember that any family can find themselves in a situation whenmaking payments to your school is hard, or even impossible – in which case, it’s our responsibility to support them in achieving the best outcome for the school and the student. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Do schools have a moral responsibility to support families in financial hardship, and what does that look like? How do we identify those with genuine need, and what can we do? As well as complete transparency in any costs that we ask to be subsidised, making sure that we share our charging policies, and listening to our family’s needs to ensure any additional costs are fair and set at an appropriate level, is a good start. Yes, some costs are out of our control – such as school meals – but there are many we can influence, such as the setting of uniform costs, the trips we offer, the equipment and resources students will require, and the charges for clubs and activities. If an activity is tied to something within the curriculum, then we are bound to cover the cost or else not run the trip or programme at all. If it isn’t, then we can give thought to offering a subsidy for hardship, offering payment terms or providing direct funding. This could also give students opportunities to raise monies through other means, such as fundraising and grant bidding – all useful skills. Embedding a culture of joint support into our school ethos will help to get parents on board with your school or academy from the very first day of induction. Keep in mind that all the school decisions you make should prevent unaffordable choices from being made, and ideally result in a win for all concerned. “There is an increasing expectation that schools shouldbedoingmore to support financiallydisadvantaged students” Sue Birchall is the School Business Leader at The Malling School, Kent 47 teachwire.net/secondary L E A D E R S H I P