To be glad that the VAT on school fees

[Shaketherombooga]

Is now going to be happening in January? what’s the point in stalling it? I think it’s one of many decisions that we just need to get in with.

YABU - it’s SO unfair. Labour hates ‘strivers’ etc etc

YANBU - Yup, Labour said they are taking away tax breaks for private schools, so let’s get on with it.

This has been a LONG time coming. Private parents putting their heads in the sand or schools not scenario planning will get little sympathy.

Private schools will have to cut their cloth accordingly, they have a lot more cloths too, more than state schools ever did and they’ve coped.

You think that once a person is a teacher, the only possible employment they can have is teaching? There are plenty of alternative sources of employment that an ex-private school teacher can take up. Most of which have far better pay and conditions than teaching in the state sector.

Do you understand that areas with falling rolls may not be where the extra places are needed? Or has that fairly obvious point missed you?

This

lots of private parents claiming they’re going to quit their jobs and spend more time with their families… that can only be a positive all round really.

I always found it odd that the people with the most disposable income in the U.K., well England really, chose to spend it having their children in boarding schools or in private schools with Long, long days where most of the parenting is done by school staff.

‘It's not a tax break. Education is exempt. Labour have just badged it up that way and idiots lap it up. Doesn't it worry you that it's against EU law?’

it is - it’s a luxury. And no, why would EU law bother me now we’re out of the EU???

Because obviously state school parents don't work hard and do the best they can for their children?

Do you really need to ask that question? Private schools may become unaffordable to anyone other than to the top 1% (global wealth not UK), whilst state schools become more oversubscribed and state school budgets are increasingly stretched. How amusing, we’ll be the home of internationally recognised elite school educating the Chinese and Indian middle classes

That's my only issue with it. It penalises the wrong people.

We need to scrap private schools entirely and overhaul our education system properly.

Maybe they prioritise foreign holidays and flash cars?

Can’t be done unless we leave the EHRC.

I think people who use private schools don't realize that for most people this issue just isn't an issue. It's like adding VAT to tickets to the moon. Saying you'll overcrowd state schools is like saying all the private school people will start booking up all the Spanish holidays if they can't go to the moon. We just aren't bothered as it seems so unnecessary.

👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋

This is what private schools /parents tell the rest of us!

If private schools didn't exist... The state sector would be excellent... As everyone would go and the monied people would have an interest in making sure good for everyone.

But even that wouldn't work. I still wouldn't send my children to public school in the state it is right now. I'd just send them overseas or get tutors in.

I was talking to the head of a department at one of the top UK boarding schools this weekend. He’s not remotely worried about VAT as they’ll just fill the places with Russians and chinese. Not That they expect many places to become available because feankly if you can afford his school 20% extra is still peanuts.

Another smaller local private school however that specializes in taking SEN kids who aren’t coping in state is a different matter. Those parents will feel the 20% and they’re the ones who are working nightshifts in A&E on a Saturday or GP on call every bank holiday to make things happen.

No it wouldn’t!! The wealthy would go abroad. The very rich would go to the grammar after tutoring. The quite rich would buy in the good leafy catchment. Those who can’t afford the houses in the good catchment would go to church.

People buy privilege for their kids in all sorts of ways.

So OP, you're champing at the bit for private schools to cut scholarships and bursaries which help less well off children to attend? And at the reality that many, many more special needs children will now have to enter the system to get an EHCP for their needs thereby overloading the already sinking system in that area?
And thrilled at the lessening of the valuable partnerships between private schools and state schools e.g specialist teachers who teach certain classes in the state system as part of their contract at a private school school or primary schools using the pool of their local private school at a low cost?
And you are clearly enjoying the idea that private school children will have their education disrupted. How unpleasant you are.

It will just make private schools even more elitest. It won’t impact the rich or the middle class doing whatever they can to pay fees. They will need to go to state schools so class sizes could increase

Well there wont be any funding for next academic year so don't be quoting that little fib. Funding is driven by the Autumn Census in early Oct. It literally is bums on seats on that day. So any student moving to a state school from next Jan will be a drain on that school's finance for the academic year 2024-25, not a financial benefit. Add to that if the smaller indep schools close and students with SEN without an EHCP move even more drain as the support they require will be funded out the state school's current budget.

It's a typical consultants proposal: overstate the benefits and significantly underestimate the costs. Just look at outsourcing and how much of that is now being unwound by companies.

Another fucking repetitive shit post about something that’s already been done to death, brilliant

So just scrap them altogether then.

Wonder where all these children will go.

Many of our local schools are full

I totally agree with it...
As long as they also put a huge tax on foreign holidays. Lots of people can't afford those and they're dreadful for the planet.
So it's not just unfair that lots of people can't do it, it's actively disadvantaging others.
If you can afford to pay three thousand for a foreign holiday, you can afford to pay another thousand on top to help climate change.

What do you mean, that's unfair? You can holiday in the UK or not have a holiday like others who can't afford it.*

I don't have dc at private schools.

Are you trying to suggest that the 94% of parents who currently send their kids to state schools are somehow incapable of improving the lot of the pupils there? And that a small number of parents transferring their kids across from private schools will have some kind of magical influence? If they had that sort of influence over government policy, do you think that this policy would be going ahead at all?

Some parents of private school kids have the ear of important people. But the Sunak kids and the children of the Prince of Wales are not going to be the ones transferring.