Parent Payments

What are parent payments/fees/curriculum contributions?

Each year, all government schools require and request an annual Parent Payment (previously known as school fees) to cover the cost of essential learning items including all pencils, pens, exercise books and excursions and activities. The requests are sent home at the start of the year and are made via Compass. 

At St Kilda Park we take the approach of asking for one payment at the start of each year which then allows us to buy materials in bulk and not send home book lists or ask for payment for each separate excursion and activity throughout the year. We believe this approach reduces the workload for families and also allows us to operate with confidence and save money.

We appreciate the support of our families in making this payment to ensure that our school can offer the best possible education and support for our students. 

Whilst we try to keep these parent payments as low as possible and affordable for most, the income received is a large and important part of our school budget. 

The payments are used to cover expenditure not covered by Government funding and allow us to provide the resources, materials and experiences to our students that would otherwise be impossible.

Whilst these parent payments are voluntary, we rely on them to cover roughly 30% of our entire school budget each year.

To put this into context, the remainder of the school's budget each year is roughly made up of the following;

• 45%: money received by the school directly from the government 
• 10%: Parent and community fundraising activities
• 15%: Other income streams (Team Kids, Grand Prix, etc) 

At SKiPPS, we are incredibly grateful that roughly 80% of our families have paid the requested parent payment contributions this year. 

If you are one of the 20% of families who has not yet paid your 2022 Curriculum Contribution, we request that you do this prior to the end of the year.

Doing this is easy - you can login to Compass and, if you have not yet made payment, you will see the below icon on your homepage. By clicking on the icon, you can make an online payment in a couple of easy steps. 

If you would prefer to make payment in person or over the phone, please contact the school office who are happy to facilitate a cash or card payment.

Further details of our Parent Payments at SKiPPS can be found at https://www.skipps.vic.edu.au/community/school-documents/ 

2023 Parent Payments

Looking ahead to next year, at School Council this week we will discuss and confirm the below proposed Parent payment contributions for families for 2023. 

Our proposed Parent Payments for 2023 will be;

• Foundation $750
• Year 1/2 $747
• Year 3/4 $775
• Year 5/6 $733

These totals represent a very slight increase on 2022 however, they have been kept as low as possible. Further details and family statements will be sent home to families in February.