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.

I think people are making these calls to make the point that they are already paying through taxation for school places that they are not using but are entitled to and to get through to people like you that they are actually subsiding the state school system as well as paying already sky high private school fees. Why should we pay more? The worst kind of snobbery comes from people moving into catchment areas of oversubscribed schools which, in our case, would have cost more than private school fees. Tax them instead.

? Your poll makes no sense.

Are you joking?

@Araminta1003 it is hyperbole. Hardly any of these private school parents will switch to the state sector.

I hope I am generally polite and moderate in my posts but have been called a right Tory twat on multiple occasions on these posts.
This is what Labour want, to demonise "the other" and drum up support through denigrating anyone who opposes the policy as rich/Tory etc
This prevent proper scrutiny of the maths

I'm not.

I do not think education should be taxed.

And I'm not a Brexiteer - remember that this policy can only happen as long as we stay outside EU and any other trading agreement that requires tax harmonisation

And, despite the name, VAT is not a luxury tax. It's the EU's general sales tax

And PP who raised the prospect of VAT on DC's clothes - that is permitted in the EU, and some members do charge it. (It was only zero rated for UK (when in EU) because it was before 1991 - no guarantee we could keep it if we rejoined). It would probably raise more for the Exchequer and be a greener policy (buying less, buying second hand)

Raising the standard VAT rate would also raise a lot - rates in EU range from 16% (Luxembourg) to 27% (Hungary), and the commonest rate is 21%. Again, this would raise considerably more

I believe what they mean is that designer kids clothes is VAT exempt but why should it be when there are plenty of good kids clothes in sainsbury etc? That's exactly the same argument as taxing private education as a "luxury". Even though VAT has nothing to do with luxuries

@winterrabbit someone disagreeing with you is not snobbery.
The state offers free services. You choose whether to use them or not. I can join my local library for free. If I do not, that does not mean I should get a subsidy when buying books in my local bookshop.
You choose whether to use public services or not. Take up a state place if you want. Or don't. The decision is yours alone.

OP I agree with you but most private school parents will be getting on with it, quietly grumbling and voting Tory.

The ones on here parroting the same lines endlessly are nutty activists or Tory bots.

And you prove my point.

Anyone who disagrees with the policy is automatically a Tory/bot etc.

Re military kids - without them and the children of medics our local private school would go bust. The military thing in so many cases is also bogus. We have a big base near our town and many of those officers have been there for decades in one capacity or another (behind the wire as it's termed) and yet still get subsidised education.
Doesnt seem right when it's public money.
DH worked overseas a lot but for a private company, and we were also posted overseas. No company subsidised education for our two. And nor should there have been.

@twistyizzy get well soon. I don't recall who made the comment but someone upthread did say that all the private parents they knew worked full time. it was that comment I was referring to - an awful lot seem to have time in the middle of the day to fill these threads!

They won't switch as in flounce.

But they may well leave at next natural break point. Or join later or not at all.

(Some may well have to leave, possibly shortly after introduction, because they have simply become priced out).

It’s not ok. It’s really not ok.
this happens time and time again when renters have to mov due to rent rises in an area

its always the kids who get the raw unfair end of all these policies.

Goodness you are bitter Rosie. Are you equally angry about people using private health care and people moving house to get into a better school?

Why are in a private school parents group when you aren't a private school parent? Is it so you can sneer at those who try to do their best for their kids?

I agree. Means test the parents who’ve bought expensive houses near outstanding secondaries and let them pay an extra tax.

I think the whole policy is badly thought out and just politics of envy.

I think VAT on private school fees will do little to repair inequality given how few it will affect. So why stop there?

If they are serious about ensuring a social mix at state schools I propose a doubling of stamp duty on homes larger than 1 bedroom in the catchment areas of all "outstanding" state schools. 😇

And then perhaps we could have some threads sneering at the parents of Jack and Isla when they are less than thrilled to realise that their plans are going to have to change radically at short notice.

(My children are at state school, btw)

I think that most of us are in support for VAT being added to private education since it's a luxury

It's not though, is it? It's education. It may not be the education you choose for your child, nor is it an education I can afford for mine, but it's not a luxury. The children need educating regardless of whether or not the parent pays for it. Private school parents are already subsidising the system but not taking up a place they are entitled to. Why tax them more?

Given some of the nutty comments and posts there have been on here from private school parents, saying they have been posted by a bot is a kinder interpretation than saying they are real private school parents.
I have found the many threads eye opening. I understand people not wanting to pay more. But some arguments really have been a bit nutty.

Of course it is a luxury. You can take up a free school state place. Being able to send your children to private school is a luxury.

What funding is going to be diverted?
Private schools don't get any state funding (except where the LA needs to send a child with SEN to one as they can't meet their needs in state schools).

And realistically, the most this will raise is about 0.5% of the current education budget. So we will theoretically get a 0.5% improvement in our children's education! Woohoo

My children are in state, but any friends in private have done so not because they are fabulously wealthy, or because they look down on state schools, but because their child had had an awful experience in state school, which has caused them trauma, and they are worried thst needing to change schools again would cause them further upset. I personally don't think a theoretical 0.5% improvement in my child education is worth that, but others I'm sure will disagree

You've answered your own question there - if we could not longer afford it. If you can't afford something, you can't afford it.

I care a lot about children living in unsafe housing, experiencing food poverty children in foster care, children experiencing abuse and neglect. I also love the children I look after as a pallative care nurse.

I really couldn't give a shit if a child has to move school because their parents can no longer afford fees. Children move schools all the time.

The point is that parents paying school fees get a tax break - or the school does - and this is seen as unfair by those who have no choice but to use state schools. I see their point, however, I suspect the removal of VAT exemption from school fees is more about Labour wanting to be nasty to those they perceive as well-off, i.e. the politics of envy, so I disagree with it. I doubt the VAT collected would be put into local schools.
On the other hand a few pushy parents in some state schools, who demand discipline, Latin, art and music on the time-table might do the state system a world of good.

If you call people self obsessed twats, you are not encouraging them to care about your situation.

No VAT will be raised for at least a year. It will not help your situation.