Private school parents - fees for next term....

[STST]

So, you're already part of the tiny percentage of people who can pay for their children's schooling.

You've committed and planned to pay for schooling for 15 years (age 3 - 18).

One terms fees out of 45 is a drop in the bloody ocean. Seriously. You've committed hundreds of thousands to this. You've essentially chosen to work several extra years of your life to pay for this. That is a very very generous thing to do for your children's future.

And now people get gripey about paying for a service that THEY demand.

You CANNOT decide not to pay your fees. The gardeners, cleaners, matrons, secretaries, teachers, support staff are paid through your fees. By not paying, they don't get paid. It is really simple. If you don't pay, other families have no income.

If you are still receiving your full salary, you owe it to the school to pay your fees. In full. Without complaint. That's if you want a school to go back to when this all ends, fully staffed by dedicated teachers.

Those staff, ALL OF THEM, rely on their income to provide for their families too. You should pay. That is what you signed up to.

If everyone pays their full fees, then there is a cushion to help those who genuinely can't (job loss etc). If you are still being paid, then you should just bloody pay up.

I can't bear this quibbling over getting money off. Fucksake. What about the bloody staff at the school? They don't get to decide if they want to pay Sainsbury's for their shop, or Halifax for their mortgage. Because they commit to paying for a service that they want/require. And so should everyone else.

You chose to pay for private school. You want that facility there. So bloody pay for it. In full.

We have children in private school. We have not lost our jobs. We will pay, even if our children do not spend a second in the school between now and god knows when. Because that is what we committed to, and there is no way I could sleep at night knowing that by not paying, someone through no fault of their own might lose their job or not be paid.

Who on earth thinks that the government might cover private school fees? To be fair, I haven't seen anything this crazy mooted on these groups yet. For crying out loud, they've enough to do.

Sorry, I didn’t mean fees, I meant staff wages. Thinking and typing at same time is not my strong point some times.

It’s worrying that so many would send their child to a private school when they’re living pay check to pay check. How frightening for them !

If private schools were to close then their student population would be given a place in the closest school with available spaces . They couldn’t just turn up and sit on the knees of the children already enrolled .

The government should never be put in a position to cover the salaries of private school staff .
The very idea is ludicrous.

If parents want staff to be furloughed to enable them to stop paying fees then fair enough. I can survive on 80% of my salary for a few months. But it would mean I have to stop working. So no online teaching, no marking or feedback, no communication with parents at all. Not even setting any work for them to do independently. Their children's education will suffer long term if they do little / nothing educationally for months. I really don't think most parents would be happy with that.

@Fizzysours
"The [state school] teachers are generally better qualified, better managed and have far more up to date teaching methods."

What do you base this on? There are some great state school teachers but as a teacher, please don't spout bull.

You state school teachers tend to be worse paid because they are less qualified and don't make it through the interview process. This is a fact.

My children are at private school. I don't expect a reduction in fees but it would be a nice gesture, I have heard of other schools reducing fees by 20-25%. Yes, the school is open to key workers children but their overheads have reduced considerably. I went through a list of parents and calculated that at least 50% would have seen a considerable drop in their income (holiday park owners, beauticians, tourist attraction owners) surely it would make sense for the school to help parents so that in the future the parents are there to pay the fees when normality returns.

"The [state school] teachers are generally better qualified, better managed and have far more up to date teaching methods."

I have worked in both sectors. This is ill informed nonsense.

Maybe the teachers could be furloughed over the school holidays and that saving could help to provide support for the families experiencing difficulties in paying?

"The [state school] teachers are generally better qualified, better managed and have far more up to date teaching methods."
most private school teachers are ex state school teachers escaping crap working conditions.

Lucky - you want the government to pay teachers salaries so the parents can save some money?
Very funny !
Teachers don’t get paid for school holidays so furlonging them in the holidays is a mute point.

I’ve worked In both state and private. Teachers often move back and forwards at different stages in their careers between the two sectors and there are fantastic and weaker professionals in both.

The comment about skills and management a few posts ago is very ill informed and out of date.

Maybe the teachers could be furloughed over the school holidays and that saving could help to provide support for the families experiencing difficulties in paying?

You can't furlough someone who already isn't working! School holidays don't count as our working time - exactly the same as other people's weekends or rest days. The payment received by teachers in July and August covers work already done earlier in the academic year. No way would that be covered by the government scheme. And, honestly, I think saying that you shouldn't pay people for work already done is really shitty.

Our school already has a fund for anyone who experiences a sudden drop in income. If that has affected anyone they are advised to speak to the bursar.

I think only a dickhead would pay for a service which isn't available to them.

The payment received by teachers in July and August covers work already done earlier in the academic year.

That's not correct.

National Education Union - Employee rights in the independent sector;
Holiday

"It is standard practice for teachers to be entitled to take all school holidays as paid annual leave, although your employer may reserve the right to require you to attend for one or two days in the holiday."

neu.org.uk/advice/employee-rights-independent-sector

Permanently employed school teachers in the state sector (England and Wales) are paid an annual salary accruing at a daily rate although the Burgundy Book is a bit woolly in specifying this.

Teachers in Scotland receive 40 days' holiday at full pay;

"A teacher’s full working year is 195 days–which includes 5 days of in-service training. Every year, you’ll get 40 days’ holiday at full pay."

teachinscotland.scot/being-a-teacher/benefits-of-teaching/

I think only a dickhead would pay for a service which isn't available to them.

As I said, if parents want to stop paying fees and have teachers furloughed then that is their choice. But it means no education for their DC whatsoever until schools reopen (and many smaller private schools wouldn't reopen at all).

My husband and I both teach in independent schools.

So far we have been working pretty much non-stop to produce new resources for our online teaching platforms and be in contact with our pupils through instant messaging, emails and video software.

My school is still putting on online assemblies, online counselling, video music lessons. The teachers are all working very hard to try and continue teaching our pupils. I recognise that certain things should be refunded if possible, e.g. cost of school lunches. But we're not just putting out feet up and watching TV - we're working probably longer hours even than before to keep teaching children - we can't do this for nothing.

@Fizzysours - "The [state school] teachers are generally better qualified, better managed and have far more up to date teaching methods."

This is an unfair generalisation. There are excellent teachers and those who are lacking in both private and state sectors.

Well, you are lucky you haven't lost your job and can still afford to pay.
There will be plenty who do lose their jobs/ business and moving their children will be a big upheaval, but bully for you.

Surely if you can't pay you have to take your kids out and enroll them in the state sector?

"Surely if you can't pay you have to take your kids out and enroll them in the state sector?"

My children's school is letting parents take their children out if they don't want to pay fees for the third term. The children will go to the bottom of a long waiting list if they want to come back, though.

At my eldest two's school, they have just offered a 20% reduction on fees.

I think only a dickhead would pay for a service which isn't available to them.

Dickhead?