To skint us all by sending DC to private school?

I went to a private school. It was awful. I came from a poor working class background. Obviously all my friends went to a state school. They've all done fine. The education I received in O-level subjects wasn't notably better than the state school, and the education in entitlement never jelled with me. My partner grew up in a country with no private schools and their parents were school governors putting time and effort into helping turn around a school in a poor area. It's a brilliant school now (and my partner is doing the same on the board of our kids school). Private schools just steal away opportunity, reduce social diversity, and suck money from the middle classes.

Gertrude whatever your name is.

It's taking pressure of the state system. Try working it out using basic maths.

mumumental · Today 09:37
There is no such thing as “to skint” us

It’s obvious what the op meant.

We were the same op. My dc's are dyslexic and needed full time support with their learning. I live in an area where the grammer and private schools are amazing but main stream arent great at all. Our local school closed down and most around our area are over subscribed so we new our dc's would of failed.
We put the costs on our mortgage and it helped with the 10%discount. We asked for a Bursary and they gave us an additional 10% off which did help a little.
My oldest dc's is at university and she received good grades with her gcse's and A-levels. The school helped with how she process her learning with flash cards, coloured paper, extra time in exams, etc. If you can, it will be worth the costs in the long run, not only for your dc's learning but also their confidence.

There is no such thing as “to skint” us.

Wow you must be rich

If you can afford £33k a year
on private school then you are a rich family. I only earn £19k a year!!

Yes
1.5 bn
What have you got against Latin?
And fuck off yourself

Do you understand what 1% of the education budget equates to?

Fuck off with you ‘latin’ joke. Gross

Maybe a bursary for your 2nd child? It’s worth exploring with the school.

It’ll add 1% to the education budget
So there will be no discernible difference unless it funded something noticeable and specific, like Latin lessons for all

So she can attend school?

This government suffers from class envy.

explain this @OneLilacCrow. You think you are of a ‘higher class’ than others because you have more money? Even though, you don’t have quite enough to send your kids private, so therefore you’re not the ‘class’ required ?

My friends daughter has SEN and couldn’t attend school as it was just too stressful for her… they’ve now got her into a private school and it’s fully funded… why couldn’t you do that?

I was thinking the same. It sounds like DC2 also has SEN. It happened to us as a family, putting so much resource behind DC1, only to find both were in fact struggling for the same reason. Secondary school is often when it become noticeable. Worth having a chat with the (SENCO at the) state school as a starting point.

So many on Mumsnet have the attitude of, “Well, WE worked hard, so WE deserve private school!” Why do they expect anyone who could never afford private to care that they have to pay VAT? If they can’t afford it, they can’t have it, just like most of the country.

Maybe it's got nothing to do with the school. Maybe your younger son just doesn't like school or just isn't academic? Maybe he is feeding off your vibes as you do seem to think that his school isnt as good? It's kinda a self fulfilling prophecy isn't it?

Anyway, take him out of state and get the other parents in the private school to subsidise him. One less in state means one less for the state school teachers to teach.

How much sympathy did you have, pre VAT, for the families that wanted to go private but couldn't afford it by about 10%? Did you push the school to offer them a discount or more bursaries, did you care at all?

There have always been people who can borderline afford it, most people only care when they fall into that group. If you think about your previous attitude to people on the border, that's how much people are going to sympathise with you.

In most private schools the academic/ sports/ drama scholarships are only worth 10% of the fees, and only once no matter how many scholarships you have. But I agree that bursaries and hardship fund applications should be the way to go.

Yes, I know - my quoting might be messed up. Not having a go at you.

I was commenting on the poster I was quoting use of the phrase "benefit scroungers".

Don't put too much savings away for them though as they might not get much help when they are 18.

Claiming what you are entitled to, even if you're 'playing the system' (dropping your working hours) to claim as much as possible does not make someone a scrounger. Not claiming does not make you a better person. You could put any money you don't need at the time into savings to ensure the person has a safety net in the future.

If we were still in the EU, the government would not have been allowed to impose VAT on private schools. They might be a business but EU rules state that taxes cannot be imposed on education.
This government suffers from class envy. The VAT was supposed to pay for more teachers in state schools (2024 manifesto pledge) but there are now almost 2000 fewer state school teachers than there were then.

Indeed. But many are

Many of those claiming DLA are not benefit scroungers.