Education should be a private good

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

Given the high levels of dissatisfaction with regards education should we not now make it a private good? The government should only provide education for free for those who are below the poverty level and then provide a sliding scale of support in a manner similar to child support. This will then give some schools the chance to charge more to ensure that any provision can be properly funded.

This will lead to happier schools, happier staff, happier pupils and a happier Mumsnet. Parents will therefore be free to buy provision that they want.

YABU - let education continue as it is
YANBU - fully privatise and let parents decide

@SquashedFlyBiscuit. The problem is that schools are underfunded which is why some building are poor, why we don’t have enough books, why class sizes can be large etc. The is a big disparity between what schools can deliver and parental expectations - that is a gap that needs to be closed

• I meant exactly what @Oakmaiden says.

Awful. You'll be wiping out the middle class with your frankly terrifying proposal. I hope you are nowhere near a decision making (or even advisory) role.

It is already funded like that - via taxation.

People on the very lowest incomes pay nothing. The wealthier you are, the more you pay.

We've seen what happen when schools become more businesslike. Academies! The one near me is one of the boot camp style ones where children are data and really it is the opposite of a rounded education or person centred approach.

Hahahahahaha This is a joke, right? The richer your parents the better your education? Christ almighty. Let's go all the way back to the divine right of kings and stick all the poor people in fields, while we're at it, eh?

This is right wing bat shit nonsense.

Education should be seen a force for good on a society level, not on an individual level. Good education of the population benefits us all.

But schools are not properly funded and teachers end up buying resources all the time. No one is happy with school funding.

A lot of flash points between teachers and parents/students link back to funding.

So either funding changes or expectations change. Something has to give in the education system.

It is already funded like that - via taxation. People on the very lowest incomes pay nothing. The wealthier you are, the more you pay.

It's not, though, because at the moment everyone over a certain income pays taxes, some of which go towards education. In the OP's proposal, it would be funded by parents - so either this would be additional funding to that raised by general taxation, or if general taxation was reduced (or diverted elsewhere) all the funding that schools get from people who don't have children (or children of school age) would be lost.

Trump loves the poorly educated

The problem is that schools are underfunded which is why some building are poor, why we don’t have enough books, why class sizes can be large etc. The is a big disparity between what schools can deliver and parental expectations - that is a gap that needs to be closed

Then the gov needs to fund it properly

I dispute that "buildings are poor" and there's not enough books. Some buildings need renovating but not all. As for books - is it really too much to ask those parents who can afford to buy their child books to do so? I think most parents don't mind doing that and assistance given to those who cannot.

No system will ever be perfect but actually it works for most. There is a very vocal minority who like to complain and some of those complaints are valid, others not.

I love my childs school as does she. I'm also fortunate that there are no major issues in all of my local schools but then I don't live in the SE.

I really don't think privatisation is the way forward for any of our public services. Our local prison is privately run. Loads of issues there.

Congratulations, this is actually the stupidest thing I've ever read on Mumsnet. And that's a high bar! If anything we should go the other way. Rich parents might possibly more likely to pay taxes if they had to send their own children to the schools that taxes funded directly.

@titchy. We have been asking for proper funding for years but governments do not like to put up taxes.

So schools introducing surcharges could be a way forward.

Or we just go back to a core curriculum in the morning and then a parent paid for curriculum in the afternoon?

This is the mist ridiculous op ive seen in mumsnet...and that's saying something!

Most

A much better way would be to scrap all grammar and private schools. Have everyone on an even footing. But that will never happen

I wish OP’s would stop telling us what AIBU or YANBU means to them.
It’s up to the voter to decide if your post is or not - you don’t get to make up the rulz for your benefit..
But YABU for the reason that you are unreasonable.

The problem with small state ideology is the idea that we all have equal chances. Whilst we do on paper unfortunately the world is nowhere near that. We could debate white male privilege and how objectivism refuses to acknowledge it but the majority of systems in any society are there to benefit certain sections of that society.
Schools should be run in a business like way, but not as a business. With any system where the profit motive is introduced the only people that suffer are the customers, for example trains, water and utilities. Society already has choice when it comes to education, it's certainly no perfect and unfair in some of it's delivery but it's a damn sight better than privatising all schools.

@Pieceofpurplesky not sure how that helps solves the gap between funding and parent expectations

@Fallsballs just following the trend

Somewhere in the middle.
I think you should get, like nursery, say 15 hours free. Then, as some parents do for nursery, get additional hours funded. Outside of that, up to parents.
I didn’t really have any complaints as such, prior lockdown. My daughter was behind in year 1. Came home from school tired and grumpy. In a very short period of time, just an hour or two a day is now doing well at year 2 level. Much happier and more time to enjoy being a child, whilst getting a better education.

Nice try but guess what...no one will ever be happy. Complaining is our lifeblood.

Schools should be publicly funded because we all benefit from an educated population, just as we all benefit from a healthy population, the rule of law, emergency services, publicly funded roads etc

We already are paying for state schools. Scrapping grammar and private schools would make selection by mortgage even more prevalent than it is already.