To think that the private school VAT case is a waste of time and money?

wrong. The bar for EHCPs is so high and the process can be so torturtous, deliberately obstructive and time consuming that some kids age out before it can be achieved. It has been demonstrated time and time again that a typical 1000+ secondary can be massively challenging for children with AuADHD. The rigidity, lack of time and space to cater to make minor adjustments, behaviour issues, crowsed and chaotic and rushed lucnhtimes etc can be overwhelming. These kids don't need a special school or even many adjustments in the classroom that a teacher might make, its the environment. Unless we are going to cut all comps in half and double the staff, you can't recreate the private setting that suits those kinds of kids.

No, I assume OP is talking about the case brought on behalf of a number of children on a number of bases, including special educational needs, religious beliefs and the alleged need for single-sex education.

If the reports are correct, counsel for the children with SEND shot themselves in the foot by arguing that the policy will force them into schools where their needs won't be met. If that is the case, they would qualify for EHCPs and would be exempt anyway.

What great outcomes does national service have in your country? Are they data backed or just what people think? What did you do for your national service?

It’s just how the judiciary and a democracy work. You could argue the same about any number of public spending. We need to fund the upkeep of our society and democracy in the same way we fund hospitals and social workers

What is a waste of money and time is £1 million of your tax being paid to 4 KCs to defend this bullshit policy is that good use of tax money ? and it’s not a tax break in fact parents pay twice for private education and state contribution. We have a low educated population this will not help.

Exactly! Ffs just pay the fucking tax like the rest of us and stop whining!

What’s bad about national service? I come from a country where it’s mandatory to serve - I think it’s quite a good idea?

The courts have always been there to enable legislation to be clarified in "grey" areas. We need to have the ability to do this, however much we think we know the outcome. The outcome will also be explained so we will, more usefully , know why too.

Just like the important, but somewhat humerous, case of the different size marshmallow, VAT, and the question "well, are they eaten using fingers?"

There you go OP. Thanks for making it easy. That word "toffs" just nicely sums up the whole reason you have started this thread. You assume "they" are all posh twats who live on landed estates with staff and don't know the price of a pint. There are so many of us who use shabby, desperately needing investment private schools because, contrary to a pp's comment do not actually have a free alternative because it caused EBSA in my two kids when they moved to secondary..they were fine in primary. I'm a teacher myself. I have help from equally modest retired parents to get my kids to GCSE in a quiet pastorally focused place that they do well in. This has just made me be in 20% more debt to achieve that. Until the population is prepared to accept the truth about what most private schools are (ie not Eton et al) this debate will never progress.

even younger people are influenced by boomer rhetoric. Besides How do you know how old they are, at least on FB you can tell by their name and photo. And lack of
ability to spell

Seen it on here too but not just by boomers.
It takes all sorts

Too much time seeing them post exactly that drivel on Facebook

good one 😅😂

Agree
Labour are proving useless
and sucking up to Trump isn’t doing Starmer any favours

Once the welfare cuts kick in and there’s no money from RRs other policies it will be the end

That’s rude
Why assume that’s a boomer attitude ( I am not one btw )

This
because you said it better that I could Frowning 👏👏

I agree that we need to be able to access the legal system to challenge the government so in that sense go for it.

i am GOBSMACKED at the number of schools that have closed 4 months post the introduction of VAT. These schools took fees in advance from parents and yet didn’t have 4 months cash flow available.

they’ve clearly been very poorly regulated (if they are relegated at all) and parents should be furious with the schools themselves for this. You were giving your money to an unsustainable company who knew they’d collapse at the first hurdle yet continued to operate. Very poor running.

There’s nothing funny about state boarding schools for children with behavioural problems. They were hotbeds of physical and sexual abuse, violence and neglect and left children with blighted educations and bleak futures. Not amusing at all. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-66688508.amp

The boomers have arrived!

Labour will not get in for a second term. Polls already show that they have lost any lead they had and things will only get worse as they get further immersed in the messy business of running the country.

They inherited a poisoned chalice but they have also made things far worse for themselves. This private school policy seems to have aged particularly badly. It was always a dog whistle policy but it now looks like an obvious red herring that had no business being a major policy when changes to disability benefits, WFA and NI were on the horizon. People feel duped. Nobody has any idea what they stand for anymore. They pretended that taxing the rich would be enough when it was never going to be. They have wasted opportunities to try and bring in proper, well thought change by focussing on peripheral policies like VAT on school fees. Whether you support the tax or not, it's highly unlikely to rank in people's top five or top ten issues that they care most about.

There is a very clear link between Farage and Trump. Forget Reform voters who are a lost cause anyway. Reform is not getting new voters from embracing the orange buffoon and probably losing some of those who would have voted from them previously.

Crazy to throw his lot in with the Trump. But Slugs for Salt, as they say.

Yes, Labour turbo-charged job losses. Good job 😆

People are voting reform because they don't want more immigrants and they think if there are fewer immigrants they would be richer.

I had an ex colleague who was fresh off the boat from Hk who wanted to support reform. Before I reminded her that farage wanted higher NI rates for foreign workers. But it still appeals to her, the general ethos of Farage. I think she had a zero sum way of thinking she also thought she could buy a london property on her own on a salary of 30k without bank of mum and dad and was constantly thinking of how to make more money from day trading. It was a bit of a bean counter mindset, like she probably thought if she paid 10 quid less in taxes then she would be well on her way to having enough to buy her own place (she lived in a hmo).

I felt it was too cruel to point out how all this was impossible and also quite insensitive as I did own a london property (I have a dh). But my take from this is that people who support farage/ trump aren't interested in details as it should have been clear as day from any mortgage calculator that it's just not possible. Just like it should be clear to any low income trump voters they cannot afford medical care without medicaid. But they are still swayed by vague overarching statements about prosperity, business acumen (ex colleague big fan of trump as he knows so rich about business) and lower taxes.

Hi really glad we are able to challenge thd government in this way. They had to create a new law to apply VAT to school fees so it was hardly 'ending' a tax break,bit was creating a new tax opportunity. Regardless of where you stand ideologically on private schooling, there's a tragedy quietly unfolding here, loads of independent schools ARE or have closed, many jobs are being lost and local economies impacted. Many independent schools are not rich with amazing facilities they serve a community or a special purpose quietly. This policy is also bad news for all children in the state system as already over stretched teachers with 30+ kids are being asked to take a few more and probably the ones who need more support but who were doing fine in a class of 15 that their parents were paying for. This legal action has highlighted that the government knows this, it has shown they know the policy has affected average and lower income families who were lucky to have scholarships or bursaries and that they lied about this. I am glad to have had this confirmed. I don't think anyone thinks bring VAT in mid academic year was fair or sensible. This affects everyone, not just a few lucky kids. A lying government is relevant news to all.