Dear Parents/Carers,

PARENTAL VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ACADEMY FUND

We write to ask parents for an annual voluntary contribution of £30 per student (£40 per family) to the Academy Fund. (Many local schools charge in excess of £45 per student per year.) The fund is used entirely to support your children and to give them additional educational opportunities such as:

1.  contributing to costs surrounding academy trips, such as coach transport and entrance to educational establishments or performances

2.  funding visitors to the academy during each year who work with either the whole academy or large groups of students to provide different educational experiences for the students

We have run numerous trips and activities during our three Academy Days, as well as at other times during the year. These included visits to London, to Iceland, to the coast, to museums, to careers events, to the theatre, as well as residential trips.

We are enclosing a Gift Aid Declaration form, which allows us to claim back 25p from HMRC for every £1 you give to us, therefore boosting the value of your donation by 25%. We would be grateful if you will please complete this and return to Ms Lucking in the Finance Office as soon as possible.

In the past, the academy has offered parents the option to pay these voluntary contributions by standing order. If you have completed a mandate already the academy will continue to receive your contributions each year in September.

We are encouraging parents to make payments to the school via ParentPay. This is an online money transfer system in our aim to be as cashless as possible. Should you need any assistance with ParentPay please contact the Finance Office.

If you have already paid your contribution to the Academy Fund for this academic year, thank you and please ignore this letter.

Yours faithfully

Ms A Colwell

Principal: The Ebbsfleet Academy