To think parents of private education school children will be fine

[Bluewhitered]

I’ve seen lots of threads on this topic recently. It would be great to have it’s own section so those who want to chat about it with fellow parents , can without an argument.

But private school parents and their children!! We will be just fine. There’s so much smugness and bitterness and hate coming from people who think it’s great the VAT will be added and force some out. In fact I don’t disagree - add VAT on ! Great, and then we can take either our state places up … win win we have more money to spend on holidays, deposits for houses for our kids, private tutors, extra cirricular activities etc and we can probably move to better areas with the outstanding state schools or OR we pay it it we can afford to keep our children there.

On some of the independent school committees they are working out how to charge the fees differently so the actual fees we will pay 20% on are low and the rest of the money is on stuff that’s exempt from VAT. They are also looking at changing the nature of the schools so the children get their state education allowance and then pay extras on top- like you would nursery extras.

The chance of labour implementing it is low. There are solicitors looking at it now and whether they can change the law to allow it.

So either way we’re not in a bad position - as most of the threads argue we are the wealthiest in The UK- some can’t afford food bills etc so we are incredibly lucky to have choice and it is true we must have money to
even contemplate spending £25k on each child in school.

You could vote lib dem instead

Not really. My son attends the local private school. He got bullied at our local state to the point he was self harming and then wanted to kill himself. He has SEN, but not 'enough' to go to a special school. The funding for children with SEN is non existent.

He receives a 70% bursary and my mum helps for the 30%. I am extremely lucky and forever grateful. I am also absolutely terrified of him going back to a state school where he was physically and mentally bullied daily.

He now thrives and I think if I told him he was going back to state school (he went to three, before pulling him out to go to the private school) he would turn back to the anxious and self harming child he was before.

We aren't all rich tories. I just want my son to be safe.

As do all the parents of bullied SEN kids who use state schools and who form a massive majority. Our children cope, yours will too.

It doesn’t stop charging VAT on private education being the right thing to do.

Some of them won't be fine, and some of them will be OK, but they won't reach their potential. It's not just the government that needs to sort this out. How about parents teach their children not to bully people?

Bullying happens everywhere, in all schools(even private) and can happen in the work place. Not sure what relevance this has to VAT on private schools.

Because some of us aren't wealthy who send our kids to private schools and by moving them to state could have a detrimental effect and impact on our children. I am hoping that his school will help, they've not said too much yet.

I’m not in this position but I know several parents with children in private school. Obviously I don’t know the fine details of their financial situation but they’re all clearly very wealthy and I’d be surprised if they can’t swallow the extra fees TBH.

For those who really can’t, finding a place at a state school shouldn’t be a massive issue either, especially at primary level. Many schools in the area are undersubscribed and talking about closing or reducing classes per year. All good and outstanding rated as well.

It has to do with the issue of how we sort out the problems in state schools - which is the issue, right? The government has been tackling bullying in the workplace because the number of people suffering from stress is costing the economy, and, ultimately, costing the government in lost tax revenue and paying out sick benefits. Child mental health services are overwhelmed. So, if one family has found a solution so that their child can be a well adjusted member of society, why knock it?

tbh, there is so much poverty in this country. I am sick and tired of these wealthy pampered clowns pleading poverty over the Vat issue. Of course the majority will be fine and those who really cannot afford it will have to make do with state schools like the rest of us.

How about we put VAT on fees but allow those parents who keep their child in the private school a tax break to the tune of the exact same amount the state pays for a child in the state system? They could only be given it if they are paying more than that in tax from their day jobs (not avoiding it through self employment, for example). That would be fair to both sides of this argument, surely?

Yep, the house he bought years ago before areas became wealthy and gentrified.

Our house is a bog standard 3 bed in what was, when we moved here, a pretty normal area. 20 plus years on, it's worth about 6 times what we paid for it and is near the most sought after state school in the city - which it certainly wasn't when we moved here.

People could accuse us, as a left-wing family of being 'champagne socialists'

Don't people understand about areas changing?

My post from 1.10 explains that it’s not how tax works, we don’t put in the same or ‘draw’ out the same - it provides a societal pot.

Your ill-conceived suggestion above would benefit the wealthiest private school parents and penalise parents like the poster above where the school contributes 70% and the grandmother 30% - way to go 👏

There are many other countries which do not see it as ‘I’ll conceived’:
https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/faqs/how-does-school-choice-work-in-other-countries/

Presumably the grandmother would still be able to pay for the school this way.

What you are describing as the ‘societal pot’ means the school fee payers, with children who are not taking up state school places, are effectively paying an extra form of tax. Now they will also be taxed VAT on this ‘societal’ voluntary contribution.

@oberst

i hope the school does it's very best to minimise the impact on your fees. It's people like you who I feel very sorry for. I hope you can keep DS in his school!

I agree with OP. They will fine and those who won't deserve their misery for pretending to be rich.

Loads of spaces in schools? It must be very area dependent. Secondary schools here are all oversubscribed. Yes, there is one "in measures" school I am sure has places, but would you want your child going there, whether they currently go to private or state, I can guarantee you wouldn't.

Re, “The rest of ‘us” not paying school fees but using state resources to attend state schools:

There are lots of “us” not sending children to private schools who are privileged in so many ways from the food “we” eat, the professions “we” are in, the level of education “we” enjoy, including being able to fund tutors for our children, the savings bank-tax-free houses we are in, in good school areas / from cradle to grave - which all mark “us” out as advantaged. “Pampered” whatever we think.

Just try living in a grammar school area in Kent!

Maybe some of “the rest of us” should all be paying some fees, dependant on higher incomes, to make nurseries and schools in poorer areas much better, and all schools better for everyone. (Rather than depending on the ‘societal pot’ provided by private school parents not taking up state school funding which a previous poster mentioned, and now proposing VAT in addition.)

Whether or not people go on to pay VAT for private education, your “pampered clowns” post is just nasty.

The poorest children will still be at a disadvantage on so many levels right from when they are born.

Or maybe I was being Ironic?

What nastiness.

🤣 I could afford to send my kids anywhere, but I don't. I always think those that do are a bit simple and the OP is proving my point.

My kids don't go to private school. I have no skin in the game. As a charity trustee you are obliged to do the best thing for the beneficiaries of the charity which would include maximising the charity's financial resources. It's unlikely that HMRC is a beneficiary of any of the charities. Who is a beneficiary should be defined in the individual charity's governing document and they should discuss that in their publicly available accounts.
Tax planning is done by many individuals and organisations. Personally I avoid tax by paying into my pension, keeping my savings in an ISA and using gift aid when I donate to charity. I also claim my legitimate business expenses on my tax return.
If government wants to prevent these actions it's up to them to draft legislation to do so, such as by stopping landlords claiming certain expenses.

I know its not reallythe point of the thread but seriously - 'Entitled arseholes', 'lower class oiks' - there some lovely people on this thread! Do you know what I choose not to do? Judge kids on how much money their parents make, or adults on how successful they are.
Op you may have meant your thread in a bit of a jokey way but seriously, with how much people are struggling right now it's pretty low to go on about how you will just spend you fortune on other things people cant afford instead. Similarly, assuming everyone who send their kids to private school are entitled twats really does just scream jealousy.
For the record I'd say I'm in the middle, we probably couldn't afford private school but I know some of the most generous, wonderful people who do. Thankfully we aren't overly struggling either but know people that are and would still give you their last penny to help. I prefer to judge people on how they treat others and hope my kids are the same regardless of their friends wealth

For those that send your kids to private school and are concerned about the proposed VAT increase on fees have you ever questioned why fee paying schools in the UK are so bloody expensive? My db is in the UK and his kids are in a private school. The fees are almost double what the most expensive fee paying school in Ireland is (€10,000 in Ireland), majority here are between €3k and 10k per annum. Surely this needs to be also questioned. Why are schools charging so much in the UK?

Difficult question to answer. They say it's because of recent changes in teacher pension schemes, plus just general inflation/rising costs of everything. Most schools are run by a board of governors that doesn't get paid anything, so there's no reason for them to raise the fees beyond what's necessary. It would be interesting to know what Ireland is doing differently, though. Education in general is more highly valued in Ireland and perhaps land is cheaper?