To think that there would be less anti private school

[Poopoolittlekitten]

sentiment or threads on MN if people using private school were a tiny bit more self aware and didn’t ask for sympathy for rising fees or possible rising fees if Labour take away their false ‘charity’ status?

send your kid private if you want, just don’t come moaning about the costs or claim than anyone can go private if they ‘prioritise’ their child’s education they way you do. Particularly at a time when state school teachers are striking over pay and conditions.
And many, many people are working their socks off just to keep a roof over their family’s head.

YANBU - stop whining and looking for sympathy about your fees!

YABU - my milkman sends his 4 kids private by ‘prioritising’ their education so it’s not just for whiny poshos….

Looking at the Tory cabinet does make me question this otherwise reasonable statement
But how many of them were educated in the state sector? Surely the current make up of the cabinet is a strong argument for abolishing independent schools altogether!

I don't know - I mean people are allowed to moan about what is bothering them, even though there are always bigger problems and people worse off. And everyone is allowed their feelings aren't they? Would you have sympathy if Jeff Bezos's house got burgled? I think I would.

The people complaining are not those who can afford private school. It’s those who have scrimped and scraped to try to give their kids a better life and were borderline coping until the fees went up. We shouldn’t be in a situation where state schools are so inadequate that parents feel the need to scrape their pennies together for private school.

I’m currently saving to send my DC to private secondary in a few years. My local secondary is rated Satisfactory and achievement is below average, which is already a reason to go private. But they’ve built so many houses recently that kids who live less than a mile away are unable to get a place at the school, and are being redirected to other schools 6-7 miles away, which are even worse (rated Requires Improvement). So I either need to move house in the final year of primary, or fork out for private school. It’s incredibly distressing to watch private school fees rising, knowing that my DC won’t get a school place locally and I’ll have to afford this somehow.

Are you only going to answer posts that agree with you?

I'm worried about the potential fee increase. I don't think I have ever posted looking for sympathy regarding the fee increase though. If fees do increase by 20% then we would be looking to move house to a different school catchment as I wouldn't be happy sending mine to our local comp.

Do you live in a neighbourhood with high house prices, conveniently situated in the catchment of good schools, allowing your kids to get top quality education which is better than many private schools for free? If so maybe you should be charged a levy to support parents and schools who aren’t as fortunate as you?

I’d also love to see the house prices, catchment and type of state school Kier Starmer’s kids went to. Bet there weren’t many recipients of free school meals there. Educational inequality is much more than ‘all private schools are like Eton and all state schools are like Jaywick High’. He’s opening a can of worms in his desperation to woo ‘Stevenage woman’.

I’ve got DC in both private and state, as those schools cater to their needs. I’m very happy with the state school DC2 goes to. There’s a lot of positive parental engagement with the school, the kids are lovely, its academic and achieves results akin to private schools. I know not all state schools are like this but I genuinely believe the relationship between the school and the families is one of the main reasons it’s successful.

Pulling people down is what happens when it becomes a race to the bottom instead of trying to improve things for the majority.

Here you go OP...

My DC is in a private school. Will the fees be going up? Not sure.... probably? May I just come on MN to share that we are all absolutely delighted at this prospect. Can't wait!

Thank you. And yes, she has an awful lot to say about her very privileged lifestyle, and comes across as rather tone deaf.

I've no sympathy for people moaning about increased costs. I agree with removing the charitable status. It's like anything in life, you budget for any increases which may occur.
If I could afford to send mine I totally would. I have no issues with private schooling but I'm not interesting in hearing the moaning about the fees either. Its a business like any other.

Literally who cares. If you think I'm going to feel bad about sending my dcs to an excellent private school or care if some rando online is triggered by me sending them there but tutting about the fee increase then you are deluded. This board isn't RL in any way shape or form, thank god. My local state school is shocking and I can just about afford private school. Dcs have benefitted hugely.

She's not tone deaf. She's just unapologetic and honest about her choices. She's probably one of the most genuine posters here, ironically. Completely untouched by the need to be liked by a bunch of anonymous randoms. I don't always agree with her but I appreciate her posts.

Not another thread about private schools!

People are understandably worried that their fees are going up at the same time as all their other bills, and that a Labour government might put it up another 20%. If you don't have any sympathy, why post? Just move on with your life.

Again, Labour can promise to remove the charitable status, but that doesn’t mean they will, or even can.

it is not up to the government, it’s up the Charity Commission. The Charity Commission that lost a significant court case against private schools. Don’t think that if the government tried it that it wouldn’t result in years of expensive legal battles that would be no means guaranteed to result in victory.

Oh come on, really?! Even if you “scrimp and save” being able to afford private school is very privileged. I’m not anti private school, I went to one and would probably send my children if I had the money but the ability to save that money means you are able to afford it.

I totally understand if a child has SEND but actually my judgement is directly at this government who are failing in their duty to provide a suitable education.

This kind of comment just misses the point and is really annoying. How much increase do you think people should budget for? We're not talking about normal inflation increase - we're talking about 20-30%.

I don’t really hear any whingeing.
you’re just trying to start a scrap.

Erm, no, your comment was directed at the mother who is trying to save for private school because the schools in her area aren't providing a basic standard of education. Just like this whole thread is directed at parents - not at the government, not at the country, as a whole, which doesn't value education enough.

That’s exactly my point. The government is failing in its duty to provide a suitable education, at least in some geographic areas. My DC is unlikely to even get a place at the local comp half a mile away, because it’s over subscribed since they built thousands of new houses but no new schools, and it’s below average in performance anyway. We’re looking at travelling 6 miles each way to the next nearest comp, which is rated Requires Improvement. So I’m saving every penny for private school and it’s still not enough, I might have to sell my house.

I suppose you’re going to say I’m privileged to have a house to sell in the first place, which is ridiculous. It’s reasonable for people to expect to own a home and still be able to send their kids to an acceptable school. If a school is rated anything below Satisfactory the government should be throwing everything at it to get it up to scratch. It’s not fair to expect some kids to attend an inadequate school, it affects their whole future prospects.

‘Its a business like any other.’

they really are. And if as a customer I didn’t like the quality or price of a product or a service I would complain to them, not everyone else, and if I was still unhappy I’d stop using the service.

‘I don’t really hear any whingeing. ‘

You’re obvs being selective in the threads or posts that you read them. Your prerogative.

I know, and it's so boring !.

I’m assuming that the OP has started a new thread because her numerous comments on other threads on exactly the same subject are frequently ignored because they’re often illogical, and because people disagree with the comments. I’m beginning to think the OP works for the Labour Party and is trying to gather public opinion.

We know you don’t agree with private education. Move on and focus your energies on something which could actually make a difference. You are becoming obsessed with the 6% of privately educated children. Focus on the other 94%.

Most of the posts on the increasing costs aren’t expecting sympathy. They are expressing concern and disagreement with the proposed VAT on fees. There is a difference. I’m not expecting sympathy, but nor do I expect to be vilified for choosing the best education for my children, using whatever resources I have. It’s what most decent parents would do - choose the best school available to them.

Do I think that all children should have access to a decent education? Yes of course I do. I was state educated. However, state schools are inadequate and underperforming in many areas (not all state schools, but a lot). Sort the state system out and many parents wouldn’t feel the need to use the private system. Sorting the state system out is going to take a lot more than taxing private schools though. You need to focus on pulling the state schools up, not dragging the private schools down.

‘This kind of comment just misses the point and is really annoying. How much increase do you think people should budget for? We're not talking about normal inflation increase - we're talking about 20-30%.’

So? Don’t use the service of these businesses then. There are free alternatives.
If my gym suddenly put their prices up by 30% and I could afford it or didn’t think it was fair, I’d leave. Or find an alternative. I’d start doing park run instead, follow YouTube videos, lift weights at home.

These businesses are free to charge what they like, as private companies.
Thats the upshot. Most people don’t care because it doesn’t affect them.

The problem is that your child is legally required to be in school. So you can’t just stop using the service unless you have an alternative. And often there is no acceptable alternative.