A theatre group which has been operating in Dunfermline and West Fife for 10 years says it may have to stop classes due to Fife Council policy.
Mix-Up Theatre operates in Dunfermline, Linlithgow, South Queensferry and Edinburgh.
The group have never paid school let fees, and has previously sorted arrangements with individual schools. However, at the start of this year, they were told they would have to start paying the school let fees, to the sum of around £5,445 a year.
A representative of Mix-Up Theatre said: "I didn't get an answer in May, so we had to stop the club. Families were asking me if it was returning.
"The council got back to me in September and said it will be £25 an hour for the club, but it's £3 or £4 a class [per child]. It was adding too much for the families; they shouldn't have to pay extra fees.
"They said they need to take the money for the janitor, but the janitor is already in the school."
Mix-Up say the fees mainly go towards paying staff, insurance and costumes, and they aim to keep prices low to ensure it's accessible for local families.
They continued "It's putting barriers in place for children to access these [groups]."
Mix-Up have sought political support from Willie Rennie MSP and Graeme Downie MP, who are understood to have approached the council with the issue. They have also now launched a petition calling for the removal of lets charges for "Inclusive School Clubs".
Head of Education of Fife Council, Shelagh McLean, said: “School lets are governed by Fife Council policy to ensure fair access to facilities and to cover essential costs such as janitorial and administrative support. These charges are set at a nominal rate and do not generate profit. They also ensure compliance with safeguarding, insurance and licensing requirements.
“This drama club is a private, commercial organisation and is not an extra-curricular activity provided by the school or Fife Council. All fees for its sessions are set and collected by the club and the council’s Education Service has no involvement in its administration or income. We have apologised for the oversight and resulting confusion, which meant school let charges were not applied to this club at two schools when they should have been."
The council said offering free lets would have a direct impact on other education services, and so all external organisations using school facilities must follow the school let process.
They added: "This approach ensures proper oversight and the safety and well-being of young people."
OUR RESPONSE AND E-MAIL to Shelagh McLean...
Dear Ms McLean,
I am writing once again to raise serious concerns about the council’s approach to charging families for school clubs through the school let process. While I fully support the need for proper oversight and safeguarding, I believe the current policy unfairly burdens families and risks excluding children from valuable opportunities.
Safeguarding and Oversight
- PVG checks, insurance documentation, and risk assessments are mandatory nationwide and are not dependent on whether a let fee is charged.
- These checks do not cost thousands of pounds to administer. Suggesting otherwise risks misleading families into believing that fees are tied to safety, when in fact safeguarding is already guaranteed.
- Councils across Scotland routinely waive let fees for clubs during school hours, without compromising oversight or child protection.
Equity and Access
- In Fife, 1 in 4 children live in poverty. For these families, even modest hourly charges can be prohibitive.
- Clubs run within schools are not commercial ventures; they are educational and developmental opportunities specifically for pupils at that school.
- Using clubs as a revenue stream by adding letting fees undermines the principle of equal access to enrichment activities.
The Role of External Providers
We also highlight that schools are entitled to use clubs provided by external providers. These partnerships bring significant benefits:
- For schools: They expand the range of activities offered without adding workload or costs to staff.
- For children: They provide enriching opportunities, build skills, improve wellbeing, and ensure wider participation.
- For families: They reduce inequality by offering accessible, affordable activities within the school environment.
If Fife Education is now removing opportunities for inclusive clubs to run in schools, families deserve to know why. Why would Fife Council take this approach when other councils across Scotland actively allow and encourage community clubs to be part of the programme of activities offered by schools?
I am also asking this as a parent of a child in a Fife school - are you now actively preventing external companies from running optional extra clubs in schools? For what reason or benefit is this to any child in Fife?
Precedent Across Scotland
- Other councils have recognised the importance of affordability by removing let fees for specialist clubs.
- In cases where external organisations run clubs free of charge for families, the council does not impose fees, and safeguarding checks remain identical.
Conclusion
Waiving let fees does not compromise safety. It simply ensures that children—particularly those from low-income families—can access the same opportunities as their peers. The framing of fees as necessary for “oversight” risks implying that councils who waive them are endangering children, which is demonstrably false.
I urge the council to reconsider its approach. Supporting children’s access to clubs should be a priority, not an opportunity for revenue generation. In a community where poverty affects so many families, the council’s role should be to remove barriers, not create them.
I would encourage the council to consider a set-up cost or donation ratio per child for clubs in schools as opposed to an hourly rate that has to be added to the fees for families.
WE HAVE RECEIVED NO RESPONSE