Is Bridget Phillipson's tweet accurate?

I don't believe Labour should tax education, full stop.

Having said that, the parents I know who privately educate are also stinking rich!

You're conflating private school usage and wealth, which do not go hand in hand.

In our area the wealthy do not tend to send kids to private school- they move house to the higher priced houses near the highly rated state primary schools so that their offspring win the postcode lottery to get in. For secondary education there is no need for them to pay for private school either- they simply move homes if necessary to the schools with smaller class sizes that are not near locations with problems like gangs, drugs, knife crime etc.

The rich don't need sports activities or facilities provided by private schools because they are rich enough to afford membership to one or more country clubs and sports clubs with these sports on offer. They can also easily afford various private music, drama, dance etc lessons - if their kids are interested- and don't need these provided at school. If the local state school has staffing issues and the offspring struggle to pass GCSEs and A levels- no problem, Mum and Dad are wealthy enough to buy in private tutoring: even a different tutor for each subject if needs be!

The wealthy also know that wealth is a far bigger predictor of success and career opportunity than academic grades- why stress yourself and your offspring to work hard and achieve high academic standards expected by most private schools when it's easier to coast along and achieve mediocre grades at a state school then waltz into a cushy job opening offered by Dad, or Grandddad, or Mum (either in their own firms or through similarly successful or wealthy contacts in their social network) etc?

Most of the people I know whose kids went to private school cut out foreign holidays, shopped at discount stores (Aldi, Lidl), made do with an old car, scrimped on home renovations/repairs just to afford private school fees and are poorer than a good number of families with kids in state school who acquire new phones regularly, always drive new cars, take foreign holidays 3 times a year, and undertak home refurbishments costing over £20K. Sure, tax the rich. But they're not always found in private schools and a very high proportion of parents with children in private schools are not rich.

Private school is just simply another thing to tax, because they feel they can, like VAT on shoes or winter coats.

I don't know any private schools around my area that use embossed stationery- indeed most hardly write nowadays, with virtually everything being communicated by email or phone. On the rare occasion that something has gone out on paper, it is of the very basic, cheap kind.

State schools around here use private school pools and sports facilities because the local and central governments stopped providing any for state school use- not even offering [potentially lifesaving] swimming lessons at a sports centre. Since private schools that have them are now forced to start charging for them from January, that's not improvement for state school education either.

As for AstroTurf pitches, since the Education Secretary herself uses one at a private school, perhaps the Prime Minister should bar her from accessing private school privilege, that their voters can't access, from now on.

While some members of the new government are hard at work making improvements, it is a shame that Bridget Phillipson is more interested in taking petty and misleading swipes and tweeting half truths instead of addressing real issues like
a) SEND children whose parents have to pay private school fees for a SEND support because their state school wanted them out of mainstream education but the waiting list for an EHCP was too long or the assessment had rejected them despite their own school teachers agreeing that they clearly had SEND issues that needed specialist education support....what about debating whether SEND schools can be VAT exempt? At least a discussion rather than silence and starting petty squabbles about nonsensical topics. (That inews article she references is also trite.)
b) the serious teacher retention problem now rife in all subjects but especially severe in maths, physics and other science and technology subjects, such that it is becoming more common for students to be taught these subjects in class sizes of 40 and even 50,
c) the growing exodus of students from private schools into state schools which are already quite full to begin with, exacerbating the very problems the Labour Party had intended to solve.

(And no, some of her colleagues suggesting that pupils in overcrowded Liverpool, Kent or Brighton suburbs can be bussed into central London schools which are the very few that actually have falling enrolment because nobody can afford to raise children in or near central London any more.....that's not a proper answer but just woeful ignorance about the facts.)

I don't doubt that there are lots of problems Labour has inherited that need urgent fixing. But it would look better for her if she appeared to be listening and attempting to find solutions instead of starting fires of her own.

This morning talked to the sister of the deputy head of a bespoke special school for send children. The school is bursting at the seams because parents have sold their homes elsewhere to be in the catchment area of this school.

The school are accepting these children so classes have grown enormously. The TA's and teachers are quitting because frankly it's becoming dangerous with some of the older classes who are violent. There's no bouncers to protect them

They've put into planning another massive extension to reduce the class sizes. Unfortunately the school is on a fairly narrow road. Unloading children in wheelchairs and getting them up the drive into the reception area takes ten minutes minimum if the child cooperates.

So there's vans with lifts taking up large lengths of the road for a lengthy time. We desperately need off road parking but there's no spare land in town.

Honestly they're on the third massive extension, if the education authority had a brain, they'd have moved the original very small school out of town where there are fields galore. Even now it's valuable real estate in town.

This is a state school which has to go through the education authority and use approved contractors.

An awful lot of children in small private schools are there because of SEND and their parents are desperate because the state system cannot support them.
This policy is spiteful and hasn't been researched or thought through.

That's what's so sad about it, Labour seem to have no new ideas about education at all there were so many better policies that could've been enacted and been cooperative rather than divisive.

Starmer is in a bit of trouble I feel - didn't see this coming at all but the latest loss of a £1bn p&o deal due to someone not being on message is all bad.

This is an intresting take on the politics of this situation and the Maths.

If the Parents of the nearly 1.5 million Children in State school whos post tax combined household income is over 80k who are currently taking free state education paid Just 1000 pounds extra .... the same money could be raised

https://capx.co/labour-asked-for-a-better-way-to-pay-for-education-here-it-is/?fbclid=IwY2xjawF3Mw5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHX9X6AfaGoGXH0Nj9fhQxziHGmn-3iiTIMQsANkj4auC4V_7xIubCfnkBg_aem_jVeKZWedrdyAaFogySMxEw

At 6th form it's more like 18%

I agree. Or wanted them to close.

This is exactly it. Labour got their way, people are paying tax, and yet she's still bleating on with her divisive goady language. It's not a good look.

I think she's upset that private schools haven't just made their services 20% worse. She didn't want the tax, she wanted to see a significant degradation in service provided.

I have pointed this out to our MP. Her job is to represent ALL children. It’s clear that she isn’t. She despises 7% of children.

Yes, if its fine to charge VAT on independent schools because, you know, businesses, then is fine to charge VAT on nursery and university fees.

I was going to say something like this. Children in private schools don’t live in another country - the UK government is their government too.

I’ve been pondering why this tweet annoyed me so much. I used to have a year 5 and 6 teacher who was quite a hard personality (but was a terrific teacher). She used to talk about how it was as important to be a “good winner” as a gracious loser. The Labour Party won the election and have put VAT on fees. This sort of tweet makes them a bad winner.

How odd.

Both the independent schools I have recently visited would sign him in, issue a visitor’s badge/lanyard and make sure someone with him until the job was done. He’d then return the badge and be accompanied off the premises.

The worst bit about this (other than the snide reference to embossed paper - which i haven't seen anyone use since the mid 00s) is the divisive use of the phrases "our schools, our children, our students". She clearly doesn't see herself as representing or caring about children in private schools- they are very much seen as the enemy.

👏

All this rubbish about causing real pain for families… you’re spending thousands a year that the vast majority of the country could never find. Have you spent so long in your echo chamber that you really don’t realise how entitled you sound 🤦‍♀️

itwasnevermine · Today 10:51
I am keen, actually. I will look into the direct debit and set it up proportionately to my income.

That’s excellent that you want to pay more tax voluntarily and you can even specify where you would like to see that money spent - so you can ask for it to go towards state education if you so wish.
As a matter of interest, how much more voluntary tax are you intending to pay?

Over half of indy schools are charities and the majority are not for profit. However Labour are now turning them into businesses with VAT. They want it all ways!

Many private schools are businesses, e.g, Cognita, and do not have charitable status. Many care homes are run by businesses as well, some are charities but far from all.

Should add even those pensioners paying tax are having to help out adult offspring too.

You're right 40% supporting 60% is insane.

its staggering that people still need to be told this

If you're earning minimum wage then you are a net financial drain on the country by a considerable margin.

You're not picking up slack, you ARE the slack.