If you're worried about rising private school fees..

[CurlewKate]

... why not just get a better paid job? It apparently works for poor people.

Indeed. It's really, really shitty to put your kids into a private school if you are stretching yourself to the limit to do it. Appalling pressure. No wonder mental health problems (eating disorders and self harm in particular) are so much worse among pupils in independent schools.

And talking about bursaries and scholarships as if there were many of them-when everyone knows that there are very few that are more than a token amount (I know there are honourable exceptions) and those tend to go to the same demographic as the full fees families.

For those with experience of the private sector, they realise that it’s not a “small” increase. Thousands of pounds a year is a huge amount of money for many families, including those at private school. Many people at private school aren’t ultra wealthy, despite what people think.

Some parents will cut back, some will take on extra jobs. Some have already done that and won’t be able to magically find thousands of pounds. It’s not the super rich who will be affected by this.

@MrsBennetsPoorNerves It’s really hard for families to get funding for these schools from local councils and if the councils have to pay an extra 22% that will be less funding for other services.

@BlurredEdges It isn't petulant. It's simple fact. Lots of people in their late 50s & 60s carry on in high pressure, high skill, high salary roles purely to cover their dcs' or dgcs' school fees.

I'm in my 60s, already had one cancer diagnosis but I keep going for ds. Take away that motivation and I will stop.

A Labour govt will lose financially through this policy. That must be understood when planning any budget. Councils will need to find the extra money from somewhere.

Perhaps they have motivation other than immediate financial gain. Perhaps they genuinely believe in creating a fairer society.

Agree 100% with this. I actually had respect for this OP despite coming from a different viewpoint before she posted this.

Takes an extremely petty and nasty individual to rub their hands with glee at a situation that involves destabilising a young child who has done nothing to deserve it

you being unrealistic- no doubt because you have good state provision locally and children with no sen (or who are catered for well with state provision where you are). Not everyone is so lucky

I don't think you understand what 'wealthy' means to the vast majority of people in this country.

Or perhaps it’s just the politics of envy making us all worse off

I understand perfectly well that a large percentage of private school parents don’t view thousands of pounds a year as “small”.

Indeed - there are many, many families who have children with SEN who don't have thousands of pounds to spare every year. Perhaps a government which prioritised improving SEN care for all children, and not just those with rich parents, is something to aspire towards, rather than to complain about.

Anyone who has thousands of pounds a year to spare on something which is available for free is rich. HTH.

So that's an argument for better funding for those children - and one that I would fully support fwiw. It isn't an argument for maintaining the tax advantages for all private schools, many of which are catering to an entirely different demographic.

Appropriate SEN provision is a necessity, not a luxury. As such, it should be properly funded by the state, and parents should not have to fight for it. What happens to the poor kids whose parents don't have the skills or capacity to advocate on their behalf?

Private education for the majority of private school pupils is a luxury, not a necessity. They could attend state schools instead. As such, it is perfectly reasonable to tax the fees, as any other luxury is taxed.

Middle classes? No-one middle class can afford private school any more.

Ooh, that takes me back to the Thatcher days! 'The politics of envy'.

You might transfer that to your dc in that case. Others can do better and their dc could equally thrive

Are you fucking serious? My child has no idea that his school fees are a stretch for us. My child has asd and anxiety. He was struggling in his state school but is thriving in a smaller more nurturing environment, no school avoidance. Many many families choose private schools because they have anxious and/or asd children who would struggle in large comprehensive schools. Families in my position who can't afford private usually resort to homeschooling which I will reluctantly do if I can no longer afford the fees.

i don’t see how it’s going to be possible to create a “fairer society” without having regard to the money that pays for the state schools, the hospitals, social care and the countless other public services on which those less well off disproportionally rely.

Get excited, they’re coming back

@CurlewKate - I am in two minds about this

1. a private school is not necessarily better than a state school - not at all. Most children with supportive parents will get on very well which ever school they go to - but ( and you criticise me all you like ) the state school near us was not good. - But there are so many rubbish private schools.

2. full disclosure - my son went to a ( I think good) private school because the state one near us was not just uniforms and better sports - it was ( & I was backed up by teachers here ) poor , I did not want it. But we had to make a plan to pay. & I am not just talking about selling the Volvo - actually we did not have a Volvo - it was a decision we made. That said at times it was hard but we weren't going to whinge about it & ha ha ha taking in ironing would not have touched the sides.

3. at DS school at least one of his friends went up until GCSE and then went to 6th form college for A levels ( very well thought of 6th form college ) That seemed to work quite well.

Perhaps parents who really aren't wealthy enough to buy educational privilege for their children should have considered that before placing their children there. It's on them if their children are 'destabilised'.

Not incidentally, thousands of children a year in state schools have to change schools because of living circumstances - divorce, separation, eviction, etc. Without a handy cushion of multiple thousands of pounds sloshing around to help ease the transition. But no one seems bothered about that.

This multiplied by a 1000.

What a very sad and worrying thread this is.
Ultimately it's only the children who are going to suffer one way or another and the fact that grown adults seem to be getting some form of petty pleasure out of it speaks volumes about the sort of person they are.

@Ozgirl75 "Then they could have made the private schools work with local state schools, REALLY work together to spread that privilege to raise standards for everyone."

I'm not sure how this would work. What's your plan?