Rejected petition To democratise and strengthen the school–parent relationship

To require all schools to,
a) Establish & publish a transparent process for obtaining consent from the majority of parents to implement a proposal that will result in significant expenditure by the parents
b) Carry out a referendum of all affected parents on any matter that will result in significant expenditure by parent if it is petitioned to do so by some of the parents.

Many schools require parents to pay for teaching resources. For example, parents are required to make substantial purchase of several hundreds of pounds to provide the student with the necessary IT equipment (viz a tablet). Often this expenditure is compulsory. The aim is to introduce a means to ensure that parents are consulted on any new proposal that will result in them needing to make
1) A non-optional financial contribution to fund school resources
2) Significant non-optional personal expenditure to purchase equipment or other goods for the student’s personal use within the classroom or lesson.