to suggest that every single parent with a child at private school apply for a state school place asap?

[sarjd]

let's see how that works.

Are you really expecting people to believe you’ve been voluntarily paying more tax than you needed to out of the goodness of your heart? It’s fine to be tax efficient, fill your boots.

that's not how it works, but yes technically in a few years the government would either have to incentivise people back to the private sector, or stop spaffing money on stupid projects and spend money where it’s needed.

Yep, exactly that. A big red rag to a bull.
No real political/economic/welfare debate needed. Typical socialist shit.

What I’m reading is that many many folks have no idea how school funding works yet are very vocal with their opinions. And this is for folks on both sides of the fence. Interesting.

so many opinions, so little knowledge of how things really work.

Standard mumsnet to be fair. The threads full of guessed legal advice about data protection or divorce are something else.

@SanctusInDistress Yes I wonder why? It's funny how opaque everything is.
Do feel free to enlighten us.

local Councils can fund the places of kids with an SEN statement if the kid has been assessed that a private school is the only place where their needs can be met.

the school will not be left out of pocket (unless the council considers that the kiddo longer needs the private school setting).

yes, before I’m pilloried, councils can and do fund SEN places in private schools. It’s a tricky process and councils will try to not go down the private setting route, but if you are articulate, good with words and you know if a good education lawyer, then it can be done. Do research if you don’t believe me.

Google is your best friend.

Ha ha. 👍

@SanctusInDistress state school educated?

Can those who are struggling to pay the vat get a cleaning job for a few hours a week to make up the difference?

Or follow a meal plan, swap or sell the car, take in ironing, cancel the cleaner, reduce savings/pension contributions, colour their own hair, cancel or holiday cheaper, sell second or holiday homes, not turn heating on, have 3 min showers not baths, batch cook, cancel subscriptions, stop takeaways/meals out. They are lots of ways to budget like everyone is doing whilst absorbing the cost of living. Or are they only actions for the lower tax bracket?

No, I went to private school all my life actually. A private boarding school at that. And I’m also university educated at a red brick university, and I have postgraduate education.

my kids go to state school in the uk though. I don’t think the quality of private education in the uk is value for money, and the state sector is excellent.

private education in the uk and the clientele who go there is not what it used to be, except for small pockets here and there.

I can imagine this post was made with a stamping foot.

OP, very few care.

Yeah let's make it harder for kids who really need a place. What a lovely thing to do 👍

@Mum1976Mum wow - that’s such a nasty comment. You sound like you’re having one epic tantrum, dear.

Exactly. It makes the politicians using it for votes happy and draws on some divide spite plus some damage to education in there. Depressing to see

@Mum1976Mum I genuinely hope you aren't a state school teacher at all with holding those views of state school kids.

Good luck with those fee rises which going by your posts you are just scraping by with.

Find the least desirable school locally.

Yes - that one, the one where the head left and the results are poor and its had unfilled spaces for years so is stuck in a vicious cycle of being short on funding for teachers

You'll get given a space there.

Lol! I love how people have spent ages on here asserting that all private school parents are desperately impoverished and that state school parents are all champagne socialists with expensive houses in the best catchments, and yet when they want to insult state school parents suddenly they are plebs.

But is VAT on private fees fair tax or not, that's the question.

Do you support VAT on private healthcare, or university fees, or museums/theatres, etc?

If so then I think you are being consistent. If not then what is the difference you see?

(Disclosure: my child is privately educated. I'm happy to pay more tax to fund education but think it should be from income tax, where the burden is paid borne by the highest earners, not VAT which just makes private schools even more economically exclusive, which feels like a bad thing to me).

‘not as simple as move to a state school who may very well not offer the same subjects!’

in what? Flower Arranging? The study of medieval heraldry? Dressage??
I think you’ll find that many normal schools do offer an incredibly wide curriculum - and if someone studying the lute for GCSE can’t find it at their new comp then they have the option of using a tutor to carrying on for that year or two…

Indeed

It must be tory bots as I have a hard time believing so many mumsnet parents are this ignorant/blatantly self serving.

All these countless threads have done is to convince me this policy should be implemented.

Such a staunch Labour supporter. Why do you choose private school?

Those values can’t be that strong

If they have multiple children in private school where I believe the average is £18k fees per year then they are within the highest income group, the wealthiest people in the country.

It's difficult to have sympathy when their school fees are more than the average household income. If they claim to be struggling on such a high income then its poor financial management.

It really is embarrassing.