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.

So the tax payer has already lost out because those parents would have paid 40 or 45 per cent tax on those savings?

Exactly this.

Last paragraph hits the nail on the head.

Privste schooling is a distraction - and possibly won’t even yield much.

And weirdly, even though the private school community is being taxed for its choices, I’m sure it will make people even more anti them ( look how rich they were all along) thereby instilling deeper societal rift at a time when we need to be pulling together for the big issues.

Totally agree doiexist. The energy expended by this topic when there is a huge great elephant in the room - ie effects of climate change and large rogue states (Russia and China) gearing up. When one of those two hits here what type of fucking school you went to will be the last thing on anyone’s mind 🙄

The energy expended by this topic when there is a huge great elephant in the room - ie effects of climate change and large rogue states (Russia and China) gearing up.

TheaBrandt I agree with you about rogue states, but I don’t know what we can do to stop them gearing up. One way obviously would be for a total boycott on goods made in China, but I honestly can’t see that happening.

I think I said on another thread that this policy has distracted voters from the real issues facing our little island! Cos in this big wide world that’s what we are! A financially diminishing little island, with a small island attitude.

This VAT idea is a small island attitude, we are not competing against Mr and Mrs Patel next door (or Mr and Mrs Jones) were competing against China, South Korea etc etc trust me! I’ve had plenty of family emigrate to other countries including those just mentioned and we are so so behind. And policies like this will set us even further behind.

Eh?
how did you get that from my post.

im going to assume you’ve not read my posts and have quoted the wrong person.

@AirportObs

I’ve had plenty of family emigrate to other countries including those just mentioned and we are so so behind.

Do your relations have Korean or Chinese passports? I ask as I thought it was difficult to emigrate there as they are very strict about immigration.
Also I thought permanent residency in China was very difficult to obtain for non Chinese nationals though my information might be out of date.

‘I think I said on another thread that this policy has distracted voters from the real issues facing our little island’

its not distracting me, I’m voting to improve the state of the U.K. for everyone, myself included. Health, schools - the normal ones, and cost of living are my priority.

Tangentially: rather bewildered by the couple of people who have said on here and on the website formerly known as Twitter that they were "lifelong Labour voters until now" because of this. Everyone's vote is their own choice, but I'm confused at this being the point at which you choose to stop. I can't imagine Jeremy Corbyn in 2017 or 2019 having been particularly good for private education (or a whole raft of other things!) should he have been elected. Why does Starmer push you over the edge?

I find those who claim to have been "lifelong labour voters" and have been put off at any policy tend not to have been.

@Barbadossunset no they don’t. My cousin is teaching in South Korea and will move to China to teach too. I’m not sure what his visa situation is, but he’s getting jobs through an agency. There is a real desire for English speaking Maths and Science teachers. I have other cousins who have moved to Dubai, Canada. These are our country’s graduates. They don’t see the future in England.

But @Captainmycaptains ffs it’s going to cost more overall!!!!

AirportObs thank you for answering my question.
Imwish I’d been more adventurous when young and done something like teach in Korea or China.

Very simple. We weren't using private education at that point.

Me too @Barbadossunset I only asked my cousin recently if he planned on returning and he said no chance!

Three cousins in Dubai are doing well, one moved with his current company the other two have gone there and found new roles/set up businesses.

In Canada my cousin a qualified electrician has set up a business and now hires about 15 other electricians.

None of them feel these opportunities were available to them in England.

This ‘issue’ didn’t even come up in the debate last night… nice to see the focus being on topics that affect the majority of the country, and not a minority of wealthy Brits, for once.

At the moment 90% of private school costs and 92% of state boarding costs, up to a ceiling are covered (parents can opt for a school that is more expensive than the ceiling, but they must pay everything above it). Those limits can easily be revalorised.

And yes, Forces and other qualifying Crown/civil servants get priority for state boarding schools.

The CEA scheme currently costs about £180m out of a defence budget of £54b.

Surely people apply both to private and state and then decide, which is why there’s loads of movement in the second round of allocations. It’s always been like that where I am.

We might have seen different instances (which is amazing in itself) because I don’t think that’s the one I saw

“At the moment 90% of private school costs and 92% of state boarding costs, up to a ceiling are covered (parents can opt for a school that is more expensive than the ceiling, but they must pay everything above it). Those limits can easily be revalorised.

And yes, Forces and other qualifying Crown/civil servants get priority for state boarding schools.

The CEA scheme currently costs about £180m out of a defence budget of £54b.“

So this is why there will be a state boarding exemption? Those families are being pushed into the state boarding route. So some of their kids may have to change course from private to state boarding. Obviously, if it is a military family, disruption for that kind of child is not good!
Are there enough state boarding places? And schools and dotted around the country evenly?

Because state boarding schools do not charge tuition fees, so there will nothing on which to pay VAT.

They're simply outside the scope of it.

The fees they do charge are for the "hotel" aspects of boarding.

I don't think they have yet clarified how they expect other boarding schools to deal with this. As most offer day places, then they have a built-in comparison IYSWIM, and there are not many full-boarding only schools left.

No there are not enough state boarding places for the number of forces/OGD families that require one, nor are they found in every part of the country. That's why families can opt for private schools if they prefer; both sheer numbers and also because proximity to extended family, ethos of school and style of pastoral care all matter significantly when parents are away. They're have avoided a "one-size-must-fit-all" approach, because it obviously won't work. And families won't entrust their DC to somewhere that's a poor fit, and so people may well leave.

Yup. They’re in for a shock when their kids experience some real competition.

The OP is one goady so and so. I doubt you are a teacher. I’m yet to meet a teacher who would talk in such an unprofessional way.

I am not concerned about competition for my DC. That’s not why I sent them to a private school. Even if I was, I’m sure my DC who is just about to go to a great Uni will be just fine. They have top GCSE’s, are predicted 3A*’s in Maths and Sciences, was Headboy at his school, set up his own business at 16 and has another job too, clearing £1K a month.

I lived and worked in 4 other countries, often working 6 days a week, and came back here with a lot of savings enabling me to send my DC to a private school.

What have you done OP to better your family’s situation? Or are you one of these people who do nothing themselves, but don’t like others getting ahead, so try and drag them back down to your level to make yourself feel better?

They can. People whole I know who went private mostly applied for local schools as a ‘backup’ until they were certain they wanted to pay instead… it’s always a bit stressful for state parents that time of year between the places allocated and people accepting them.
you don’t initially get your 1st or 2nd place school in but then a couple of months later the unaccepted state places - by private parents or for other reasons- come free and you then get offered your preferences.

By Aug it all shakes out…

‘What have you done OP to better your family’s situation?’

Nothing obviously, as I’m not a ‘striver’ who’s ‘sacrificing’ everything for private school fees or investing in their child’s education…