AIBU to feel that the ‘Labour against Private Schools’ campaign is a scapegoat for a lack of vision for educational reform?

[BusyMum1978]

2500 UK independent schools with 615K children attending which is 7% of the population of children in FT education up to the age of 16. A number of articles published this week have highlighted the campaign supported by Labour MP’s, who are calling for a number of measures impacting Independent Schools including their complete abolishment, and for these schools to become part of the state school system. A real hatred seems to be forming, and it feels to me like an easy smoke screen to put up rather than the Labour Party providing very specific policies to show how state funded education will be reformed.

I completely understand the feeling behind the imminent appointment of our 20th Etonian PM - there is urgent reform required in politics to have equal representation which I wholeheartedly agree with. I also understand the recently published stats showing accelerated social mobility for those attending top independent schools. I am not saying that there aren’t areas for improvement- but is the objective to bring more children up, or to bring the independently educated 7% down to make it ‘fair’?

My children both attend a prep school, and they are the first generation in both mine and my husband’s family to do so. We aren’t rich, neither of us have a degree, we own one property. We have -and continue to- work hard and made a choice to invest in our children’s education. We know we are privileged to be able to do so. To hear that MP’s want to wage a ‘class war’ with a family like mine feels inflammatory and yet more decisiveness in an already fractured country.

My children started their education in a state primary school but quite honestly it wasn’t good enough, and our heads were turned by what the private sector had to offer.

It equally broke my heart and inspired me to read The Times article on The Willow in Broadwater Farm school. Schools like this desperately need funding and further support, as do a range of children’s services which were cut during austerity. However will abolishing independent schools help a school like this? Parents who have money will still gravitate to the best areas / schools, and get tutors etc. There are a large number of selective state secondary schools that require heavy tutoring to access.

We need to nurture brilliant young minds in this country, to plug the UK skills gap, and compete in a global market. The independent sector has a valuable role to play.

Progress and globalisation is happening at such a rate that it’s becoming a bit uncomfortable. Many jobs our children will do haven’t even been invented yet.

The independent schools could work more closely with the state sector, but it concerns me that this campaign is chasing an ideal, and if successful would just shift the problem elsewhere.

I didn’t read all of this but you do know many Labour MPs send their children to private schools, Abbott springs to mind. Also I think Corbyn and Milne went to private schools.

that it's based on a sentiment of bringing the children in Independent schools down a level rather than bringing the state schools up.

That's always the consequence of these leftie social engineering ideas. They don't care if it drags everyone down as long is everyone is equal. It's nothing but politics of envy.

The most effective predictor of a child's future educational attainment is parental income. If you can afford private school fees, statistically your kids are going to do well in education whether the money is actually spent on a private school or not.

Yes I agree bashing independent schools is a vote winner for this lot of Labour 'leaders' and not much else. Easier to focus on this, and attribute all of society's ills to it, than to come up with a constructive policy for the state sector. The state sector is underfunded and that needs to change but improving leaps and bounds. If people want to pay forty grand for schools a year, let them. Seriously. There might be a lot of Etonians in politics but they're (and their other big money cohorts) strangely absent in most other areas of life. This is a red herring.

I mean standards have been improving.

Milne went to Winchester College, yes.

I didn’t read all of this but you do know many Labour MPs send their children to private schools, Abbott springs to mind. Also I think Corbyn and Milne went to private schools.

Please don't worry about what they're doing. Everything will work out just fine if the proletariat fall into line and don't get aspirational notions for their children.

Politics of envy, crap trope.

Invest in state schools rather than cutting taxes for the rich maybe?

Oh and repeat, this is not policy.

That's always the consequence of these leftie social engineering ideas. They don't care if it drags everyone down as long is everyone is equal. It's nothing but politics of envy

From their Manifesto.....
When it (education) fails, it isn’t just the individual that is held back, but all of us. When we invest in people to develop their skills and capabilities, we all benefit from a stronger economy and society
and
Labour will create a unified National Education Service (NES) for England to move towards cradle-to-grave learning that is free at the point of use. The NES will be built on the principle that ‘Every Child – and Adult Matters’ and will incorporate all forms of education, from early years through to adult education

Sure Start, and the support it gives to vulnerable and hard-to-reach parents, was one of the great achievements of the previous Labour government, but under the Conservatives 1,200 Sure Start centres have been lost. Labour will halt the closures and increase the amount of money available for Sure Start

Or we can continue to carry on as we are and repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Well this the issue. It’s likely that any legislation would need to be phrased as ‘all children aged x to y must be educated in a government school’ as it’s basically impossible to write one saying ‘ it’s now illegal to pay for educational services

Would “educational services” cover ballet, football, tennis or gymnastics lessons. How about training schools that teach tiling or diy.

Would colleges not be able to charge for night school?

Just because you don’t go to a private school doesn’t mean you go through life never paying for an educational service.

FWIW with an income of £36000 per annum net I put one child through private education and another did an in line school.

It is more than possible to send 2 children to private school on a £45000 per annum income it just is about where you choose to spend your money.

sionnachbeag

What’s your kid(s) school like?

Oliversmumsarmy

You ve hit the nail on the head, there wouldn't be legislation because it isn't Labour policy and neither will it be.

I ve copied & pasted what Labour policy is above.

What there should be is changes in taxation and charitable status rules, charitable status is there to help St Lukes Hospice treat more dying patients NOT to subsidise predominantly wealthy parents school fees.

Utter rubbish that is possible to send a child to school on that and its just "choices". Perpetuating this myth simply suits people to make out that other parents just aren't trying hard enough.

Perpetuating this myth simply suits people to make out that other parents just aren't trying hard enough

No, it just suggests that not all private schools cost the same....

Not at all.

Why end the post with: " just is about where you choose to spend your money". If it wasn't?

Why end the post with: " just is about where you choose to spend your money". If it wasn't?

Because for some it is. That’s perfectly acceptable though. Everyone makes choices. As long as they’re happy with them, who cares?

Yes but that ending implies that anyone could do it if they made the right choices.

They can't as demonstrated.

Utter rubbish that is possible to send a child to school on that and its just "choices". Perpetuating this myth simply suits people to make out that other parents just aren't trying hard enough.

It's true that there are a lot of people for whom private school is simply not an option because they don't earn enough.

It's also true that there are people who do send their children privately and struggle to do so, and have had fewer children than they would otherwise so that they can do it.

Others with the same setup would think they were bonkers to do it because they prefer to avoid the stress/have disposable income.

Shocking but true - different people make different decisions.

Yes but that ending implies that anyone could do it if they made the right choices

I think more people could if they wanted to. I suspect many think it’s out of reach without researching.

Did you see the question about your kid(s) school? Apologies if I missed a reply.

A lot of state schools, such as academies, have charitable status. They'll be more badly affected by taking away charitable status than the private schools.

In my opinion most of the problems with eduction in this country are down to the lack of interest of the parents anyway, so what difference would banning private schools make, those parents are still there letting down their children.

An engaged interested parent will not let it child down

Don’t blame the schools

Disclaimer I am not a teacher

I dont think many people could if they wanted to. Look at the average cost even in the North.

My kids non selective comp was great, but a London school so still had issues, they went to Oxford, Durham and Bristol so have all done well. Number 4 still there doing A levels next year but options had reduced since the others due to funding cuts.

My kids non selective comp was great, but a London school so still had issues

Was it your first choice for them?

Oh and I’m in the north, certainly for Prep the fees aren’t huge at all.

In my opinion most of the problems with eduction in this country are down to the lack of interest of the parents anyway, so what difference would banning private schools make, those parents are still there letting down their children.

It'll make them feel better that some random "rich" kid is suffering too! That's all it's about, just politics of envy. IF, Labour could actually come up with some sensible justification for why getting rid of private schools would actually improve state education, then they may start to get a bit of support.