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.

No one needs to buy the assets of private schools. State school rolls are falling. And if they needed an extra classroom, a pre fab on the playground would be a cheaper solution.

There are not that many grammars in the country. Catchment areas are not usually full of "very expensive" houses. School don't become good because houses are expensive. The schools are usually good because of the student's parents and while they are often professionals that doesn't mean they are wealthy.

Sadly, that is not the case...severely dyslexic children are often not eligible for EHCP - hence, my comment earlier about the system being broken regarding SEN - my dd is severely dyslexic and we were not supported and told she did not qualify...that story is a whole other thread!!

I’d prefer Labour to not stir with red meat policy for a GE. One that will damage education

@YourPinkDog the other poster was saying she thinks there should be a mandatory buy out of private schools? I was asking how much they thought that would cost.

It's good to look at % of FSM and the catchment of good schools

That seems very unfair. I know that a few of the children with dyslexia at the school where I am a governor defintely do have EHCPs, but perhaps it depends on the area.

Not sure, could reinstate the 50p tax above £200k? Some wealthy people won't be paying private school fees anymore so they'll make a saving there. 😊 I think we should probably have more council tax bandings too. It makes me laugh my council tax band is D and someone in a house 20x what mine is worth only pays 2.5-3x council tax. Maybe a wealth tax on over £10million?

I think we could figure something out.

@crumblingschools sorry I thought you were proposing that.

“Sadly, that is not the case...severely dyslexic children are often not eligible for EHCP - hence, my comment earlier about the system being broken regarding SEN - my dd is severely dyslexic and we were not supported and told she did not qualify...that story is a whole other thread!!”

@northernerinthesouth2000 - so therefore you must have some empathy with private school parents with children with severe dyslexia? Why should they be taxed 20% on top of fees?

There is another thread going with a poster with autistic DC shouting that a different poster with autistic DC should pay VAT.

Surely we are all parents in this together? Surely we want all children to thrive as much as possible. Sending a whole sector into a frenzy is not going to make things better for our DC. It will lead to the opposite.

What we should be shouting for is not to pay more tax to fund education. Rich Pensioners sitting on loads of investments and cash, why are they not paying for their hearing aids when they can afford it easily? Why do they get to retire early and travel the world whilst the Government is letting our children down.

The Labour Party want this infighting between parents of DCs to detract from the fact that old rich people are not paying their way. Why are people not up in arms with triple lock for pensioners who do not need it!

@Araminta1003 so you want people not to ask private school parents to pay a fair rate of tax, and instead shout at old people?

How is it going to damage education when a small proportion of fee-paid kids will hit state schools.

Anyone who can't afford a fee increase due to vat should definitely register their interest for a state school place this September. Mr starmer would then have the actual statistics to work with rather than making it up as he goes along. It's certainly a good idea if you can't afford 20 percent more in the new school year - your child should continue their education and it's the government's responsibility to find a suitable place and fund it.

@Araminta1003 as I said in an earlier comment those with EHCP's will most likely not have to pay the VAT, as for wealthy parents with children with SEN without a EHCP they can afford the VAT so I don't see the problem.

I would like the next Government to fix the SEN/ EHCP system as it's become incredible unfair and adversarial - but that is a whole new thread.

@IvyIvyIvy They are too late, the deadline has passed. And they will have to give a terms notice for private school. So even if you applied without giving notice, they would be sensible to just reject it.

Or rephrase - not necessarily 'can't afford', more any parent that would choose to move their children rather than pay 20 percent more should register for a state school place as soon as possible

You can actually apply out of year at anytime in a school with a place.bums on seats=funding.

@IvyIvyIvy yes you can. But you will get offered the spaces that are left in any school. And places are only held open for a few weeks. So until you give notice at your private school and were near the end of term, if I ran an LA I would reject your application. Because you would obviously not be a genuine applicant.

Just registering an interest wouldn't demonstrate anything if parents are going to do it regardless of whether they really are interested. Parents will be offered a place in a currently undersubscribed school. The statistics will only be interesting if students start at those schools.

@YourPinkDog - no, young people and children made huge sacrifices during the Covid years to save Granny. Children with SEN etc have fallen behind massively and children across all sectors suffered, in particular poor children.

Time for rich old people to pay up for those children. That is all I am saying.

When young people went to war for the middle aged and elderly, they were honoured and remembered. Time to value our children and demand it despite the cowardice of our politicians!

These threads are everywhere, the private school lobby is really going for it... Why do people think parents who pay for private education are enormously wealthy? | Mumsnet

@Araminta1003 They were not honoured at all. You clearly know nothing about history.
And elderly people were sacrificed during covid. The average age in ICU was mid fifties, because elderly people were simply refused treatment. People in care homes were left to die.

And I do know that we seem to have collective amnesia about Covid due to societal PTSD. It is unfair on our DCs. All the statistics are showing exactly how much they have been failed across the board educationally and mentally. It is incredibly cruel what we have done to this generation of children and young people. Instead of admitting it, let’s invent a small crappy tax to detract and pretend it will fix things.

In normal situations you have to give notice to a private school, of course or pay fees in lieu of notice. But with this kind of tax, who knows. I am sure private schools will have been clever enough to change their terms and conditions but if loads of parents leave with no notice and cancel their direct debits, then the private schools will have to try and pursue them in court for the fees in lieu of notice. As the Government has given no exact details of when and where at this point and it is a substantial raise, who knows what a court would say?

Parents might be able to argue “force majeure” depending on the definition. Unforeseeable act, beyond their control… which this very much is, with no real notice given.

@Araminta1003 I am pretty confident a court would say you have to pay.