To wonder if Private School parents think we can’t read?

[Captainmycaptains]

Work/volunteer in Education so following the whole VAT debate.

SM is full of private parent groups ‘organising’ to get the proposed VAT on fees cancelled - fine you would, wouldn’t you esp.if you’re used to getting your own way.

They’re advocating hassling local schools, councils, demanding stats and figures that don’t exist, wiring to MPs - telling people to ‘claim’ their state place to ‘disrupt’ the ‘system’ while also saying ‘ Obvs we won’t be taking Charlotte and Hugo out of school, we’ll find the money’ etc strive harder, getting granny to chip in’ but this might make the council ‘panic’.

Do they think that people in support of the VAT aren’t seeing/hearing/reading all of these plans???

the funniest one yet is the poster who said ‘ well going to claim our state school places then! See how they like that! We’ll going holiday, pay the mortgage down, shop at Waitrose and save £700k in the process, ha!’
I. no you aren’t 2. Okay - go for it! Who on earth would think £700k is worth it?? Behave like a normal person then…

YANBU - yeah, they’re noisy as expected but the rest of us are as think/ concerned as they seem to think. Also - it’s too late for Sept - waiting lists only…

YABU - applying for school places you have no intention of using is daft, and of course everyone can see what they’re trying to do.

Ah, more nastiness and spite with a side dose of ignorance.

I don’t disagree. I haven’t, however, seen anything from the Labour Party to suggest that they plan to reduce this tax burden though.

Surely if you work in Education you can appreciate that all children are different and all schools are different. Every child’s situation is unique and a school that works well for one child may not work for another. Ideally all schools would be child centred and flexible enough to accommodate all children’s individual differences but we are so far from that in the UK that it’s another issue entirely…

It is not just a matter of “private is better than state” as a whole, how could you even generalise that one entire sector is better than another?

Private schools are both a luxury and a business. All children get an education. People who can afford it choose to pay for a better education.
Some private schools are businesses - businesses only exist to make profits. Some are charities - why should they be charities? They are providing a service that only better off people can afford. Either way, they should pay VAT.
Essentials such as food items are VAT free. There is no reason for a luxury to be VAT fee.

Oh @Dancingonthemoonlight do you mean my pretentious, stuck up, overprivileged kids who are clueless about how the other half live?

Now 26 and 29 and both Labour voters. On teaching English at an SEN specialist school where many children and young people also have significant deprivation, the other an academic, publishing principally in relation to social differences and equality gaps.

They spat their silver spoons out long ago, but their education supports the difference they are making.

I never said they were 'less aspirational' - I described the obvious resource differences. I was a lone parent on a very low income myself and am still on a lowish income! I didn't say we don't show up and support.

(And I think it is the same the other way by the way - I think its good for kids to go to school with a mix of people, its good for well-off kids to be aware that they are. But that is aside)

I just posted an article that show the differences in school funds raised by wealthy parents. Lots of research has shown the difference.

London is a bit of an anomaly in this regard which is why it has been researched and written about.

Way to write off 93% of the nation's children 😬 the state sector is way better off without attitudes like that.

I was raised Catholic in the days that you would be forced to travel miles to a Catholic school rather than go to the nearest local school.
We were teased in those days and neighbours saw catholics as lesser than.
And yet our education was good, probably because we lived in fear of committing a mortal sin. 😂

I cannot remember the point that Catholic schools became desirable and assume it may have been associated with secondary schools becoming much larger.
Catholic schools would have remained smaller and probably stricter.

I didn’t send my dc to Catholic school, though they were eligible, as our local schools were good and I wanted them to have friends locally.

The same old tired accusations of jealousy, envy and class war.
Wanting to close a tax loop hole is not the politics of envy. It is the politics of fairness and equity.
Drop the hyperbolic class war accusations.

Not all private schools are luxurious though. Many have worse facilities than the local comprehensives. A lot have worse facilities and results than the top performing state schools. The difference is that the parents are paying for a school which suits their child. Some families can access this through the state system, too many can’t. The inequalities in the state system are huge. Where do I send my musical child? The local catchment school doesn’t even offer GCSE music. Other state schools do have great music provision. Should I penalised for living in an area where the provision is poor, whereas other areas of the country have great state provision?

It’s not a tax loop hole.
If it was then vat would be added to all educators and it’s not going to be.

It’s not a loophole. There is no ambiguity here. School fees were not chargeable to VAT. They now will be. That’s not closing a loophole.

@456789098765g of course wealthy parents can raise more money. If you do a fundraising event with low paid parents those parents will support this, but can spend only small amounts of money. Wealthy parents can spend a lot. I mean this is not rocket science.

It’s not a “loophole”. It’s entrenched in legislation for good reason. It’s against EU law to tax education for good reason. It’s not an accidental tax exemption.

It is a loop hole as private schools should not be able to claim tax advantages.

Private schools are both a luxury and a business

You do know a significant portion of specialist schools are private?

They don’t. Fees are not chargeable to VAT. They will be now. They haven’t been exploiting a flaw in the system the system so far has chosen not to charge VAT. It now will be. That is not a loophole.

VAT on fees is a tax on parents, not the schools. What tax advantages do you think that private schools get which the state sector doesn’t? Private schools are already disadvantaged through the VAT system as they can’t reclaim input VAT (unlike state schools).

👏

Less than 2%.

Actually currently private schools have to pay VAT on every purchase but can't claim it back. How is that a loophole?

The name calling and inverse snobbery is so embarrassing. Do genuine audkts actually think that all people who pay for tuition are the same? If we reversed that, would that be OK? Cringe worthy.

YANBU. These people don't give a shit about real problems and are totally self centred and superior. They are spoiled brats. My daughter is (reluctantly on my part) going to a private school this year because she has PDA, she doesn't yet have a diagnosis or an ECHP and won't cope in a class of 30. If VAT gets added to the fees, her dad and I will suck it up. The UK desperately needs a change of government and anyone with a child in a private school is lucky to have that option no matter how much they earn or don't earn. Or what the circumstances are.

There was, that's why the government brought in fuel allowance

Where was this kind of outrage, dissent and mobilisation when the whole country’s energy bills went up? Affecting EVERYONE.

I seem to remember huge outrage, large amounts of mainstream media coverage, and debates in Parliament over capping of bills. Where were you?