Schools given cash - to give away

The measure is part of a £9m project funded by Home Office and is designed to create a more "generous society".

The scheme will also see lessons about giving offered to primary schools for use in the citizenship curriculum.

But head teachers have expressed reservations about the project, saying many schools are already committed to raising money for charitable causes.

Home Office minister Paul Goggins said charitable giving in England alone added up collectively to £7bn every year.

"We hope to develop a culture where charitable giving is a natural part of everyone's life"
Paul Goggins

"In the last 12 months alone, the public response to tragic events such as the South East Asian earthquake, the Asian tsunami and the attacks on London on 7 July have brought home to many of us the real benefit that can come from the support we provide," said Mr Goggins.

"The decision to donate, like the decision to volunteer, is a private one, but we are determined to do all we can to make it as easy as possible for those who want to contribute, to do so.

"In this way we hope to develop a culture where charitable giving is a natural part of everyone's life."

Lack of consultation

But the Secondary Heads Association said head teachers were puzzled by the move, which had come "out of the blue".

"Schools do not need the government to tell them what to do," said the general secretary, Dr John Dunford.

"This is not the right time for this initiative, on which schools have not been consulted.

"This school year is the busiest that school leaders have ever experienced and they will not be able to devote the time necessary to make this initiative work well."

A Home Office spokesman stressed that the scheme was voluntary, and would be rolled out over time by the Charities Aid Foundation which would set up the accounts for schools.

He said that while one-off appeals for worthy causes were good, the idea was for children to learn about building up a pot of donations then making difficult decisions about who should get the money.

Do you think the government should give grants to secondary schools to kickstart charity fundraising accounts? Should charitable giving become part of the primary curriculum?

Your comments:

Children are the most generous and thoughtful group of people on the planet, with none of the cynicism and pessimism of adults. Children at primary school still believe they can change the world for the better. Children already have a strong sense of right and wrong and hearts big enough to try and save the entire population of the planet as well as the environment before playtime. They certainly don't need £500 to teach them. Possibly the MP's could just use the money to help some charities themselves and stop patronising children and wasting already overworked teachers' time.
Angela, Herts

Why on earth should the taxpayer fork out £500 to each school to set up a fundraising account? Why is any money at all needed to set up such an account - they can usually be opened at High Street banks without cost to bona-fide charities. This just seems like another PC publicity stunt. How about spending the money on extra books for schools instead?
Roy Carter, Leicester, England

As a mother of two with a memory, schools have always been involved in raising money for charity. This stinks of another Labour idea to waste money and resources - you would think that before spending our money they would do some research.
Sarah, Norfolk

My school raised hundreds of pounds for charity every year, usually driven by the pupils. Surely the government can find somewhere better to put all this money!
Charlie Stanhope, Lincs

I'm appalled by this. Schools are meant to teach children to learn, not what their morality should be. "Come on kids! The more you sacrifice, the higher your marks!"
Fraser Stephen-Smith, London, UK

I thought most schools were registered charities anyway for tax purposes, or was it just mine? Surely this means then that the grant could easily just be absorbed into regular school costs like tea and biscuits in the staff room?
Stewart, Brackell, UK

I think that the Government should spend less time trying to reorganise schools and let the people that are running the schools do just that. What schools need is a period of stability, in which they can develop the policies already in place, not a series of knee-jerk reactions forced upon them without any consultation. There is too much Government interference in education.
Dave Talbot, Sutton, Surrey

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