To really dislike Bridget Phillipson?

[Sensiblyplease]

I just absolutely can’t stand the woman.

The lady seems to be making decisions based on personal prejudices and causing intentional division in our education system.
She’s not listening to anyone, and the consequences her decisions are having is far too impactful to ignore. As someone in her power she should model balanced politics, based on evidence, instead of in-sighting hate and division.

My children are in state school- we’ve had 3
more children come into their year group with SEN but no EHCPs as their previous independent schools could cope without one. The parents inform me it’ll take a few years and that’s if they get one- and then they can either go back to their previous independent school (as apparently they won’t have to pay VAT with an ECHP?) or have the help they need according to the results of the ECHP.

Im just so angry. I have nothing against these children and can understand they can’t afford the VAT increase and needed to move back into state schools, but it’s now really disrupted the class. The TA is apparently out the class all the time now and the class teacher has 32 children on her own. It appears that Bridget’s insistence and personal hate against the private sector is damaging to state school children. It’s really pissing me off - our children’s education is important and not to be messed around with.

I feel like the woman likes a good headline but is prepared to throw our children’s education away in order to meet her personal objectives / vendettas.

What is she actually doing for state schools? Her headline grabbing titles is deflecting from her actually trying to improve state education in any meaningful and impactful way. 6500 teachers - so my kids get 1/3 of a teacher for their school? That’s shocking. More children entering the state system now puts pressure on their school, and their teachers. What is she actually doing to address this. Where is she magic-ing these trained and qualified teachers from? What is she doing to retain teachers and help with their current work load?

I’m fed up with her agenda effecting normal people. We need someone with a level head to sort schools out. End of rant!

I am appalled there is no plan to improve state education for SEND kids. A lot of private school kids have SEND. Mine does after mainstream state school said it couldn’t meet her needs. I saw that MPs have voted 363 to 190, a majority of 173, to reject the Conservatives’ motion calling for an impact assessment on the policy of adding VAT.

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/vat-private-school-fees-destructive-hinds-warns#:~:text=MPs%20voted%20363%20to%20190,the%20budget%20on%2030%20October.

Very dodgy to refuse to do impact assessments. Governments should always want to know via impact evidence that their policies are sound. That refusal clearly means no new support for SEND kids in state either because the money raised from imposing VAT isn’t being ringfenced for them and no other new money is promised for SEND. So state schools should just absorb new SEND kids coming out of private schools even where state is known not to find alternative provision to meet needs within months/years because they are all full. It’s a complete mess.

Why aren’t you sounding off already about the dire state of state education?

Ok but it’s about children- it’s really not nice. A grown adult mocking them. My children aren’t any less that they don’t attend these private schools and their children are not Eton tories. They are probably parents who live in areas where the state schools are less than adequate, they might need the out of school and boarding to support their jobs like surgeons who I need in the middle of the night To save me.

The children who left my class to move into independent education did so because our school couldn’t fully meet their child’s needs. I prefer that these parents go all out for their children than some parents who I meet who could give zero fucks and let’s their kids grow up to not be great pillars of society. So I think we need to stop being prejudice against them and start thinking of all of us as in it together and support each other. Posts like this reminds me of school playground bullies and are similar to BP.

'You might want to read this article on mysteriously disappearing comments. Strangely, “Bridget Phillipson declined to comment.” Why did she decline to comment?'

There's no mystery, love. It's called having a SM and PR team.

to reject the Conservatives’ motion calling for an impact assessment on the policy of adding VAT.

Bloody hell. What is it with Labour and avoiding impact assessments?

Same for the WFA

This is a major policy and they prefer not to look into it. Madness

So bad for dc

Unpleasant response to me @Sensiblyplease but then totally expected because that's what happens with these types of threads. I am also a teacher and well versed in what happens in classrooms. Independent schools often take children with SN who would be unlikely to get an EHCP in the state sector. However these children do not disrupt classrooms because the independent sector would either not take them or quickly ask them to leave. So your description of a state school classroom being disrupted by more than one child from an independent school with SN is nonsense.

'Ok but it’s about children- it’s really not nice. A grown adult mocking them. '

I'm mocking the adults, not the children. Just to be clear on that. And as the alternative for the children seems to be either a bit more belt tightening in wealthy households ( kids still have a warm house, food etc) or going to normal schools ( the horror!) I have little sympathy for the adults going overboard on this one.

They should think of the money they'll be saving if VAT really the final straw and they stop paying 100's of thousands on schools.

TBH some of the privately educated children I know could really benefit with going to state school and mixing more with their peers - their REAL peers, not children from the top 10% of earners being bussed and flown in from al over.

My catchment school doesn’t even offer GCSE music or German, hardly minority subjects.

I have a DC at one of the highest performing state schools in the UK and the sport and music provision are not a patch on my other DC’s private school. That’s not a criticism, it’s just a fact.

My DC’s state school does offer an excellent range of subjects but many of those are not available at our local comps (e.g. Latin, Mandarin, Russian, economics…). In fact, one of my friend’s DC’s wanted to take DT GCSE but it wasn’t available at his school,
which I find pretty shocking.

And as for “out of touch” you were the one making stupid jokes about Mummy and Daddy giving private schools parents a couple of hundred thou…you clearly have no idea about private school parents. Many of us have no bank of mum and dad to fall back on, and I’m sure there are others like me who are actually having to supplement their parents income because their pensions are so low.

My children mix with state school pupils outside school. Children’s social interactions do not just happen at school.

No my children aren’t in private education. Instead I spend my money on the two rentals we have. We own them out right and we use the rent to go on lovely holidays. Then my kids will have them. I spend my money on a lovely big house , social events and large cars. Instead of being judged on this , people say how lovely my house is or car. I also realise how lucky I have been that I don’t work so my children are in the local state school. I cost the tax payer. They’ll then go to the grammar school near us for high school - I feel pretty lucky we haven’t had to spend money on my child’s education but only because of the post code lottery of where we live and my ability to not need to work and I can pick up and drop them off.

Oh and the Grammar school
They’ll be going to be high school has a swimming pool - no idea on the stationary though but I’m pretty chuffed they get these facilities for free!

👍

Ok quick figure from private school near me - terms fees £7095 . Extra VAT to be found in January £1419 … I’ve just worked it out on my phone … you need a pretty huge income to just ‘ tighten your belt ‘ and find that surely ?!

However these children do not disrupt classrooms because the independent sector would either not take them or quickly ask them to leave

They are supported. I don’t get your claims that the op is nonsense

A child can be supported in private but find it harder in state without that in place

Yes especially with more than 1 children . I started this post annoyed about BP and how she’s not considering expanding class sizes and the impact to now questioning the private school haters motives and assumptions. Again another thread derailed by these bitter people it appears? Instead of concrete action about the lack of state school resources that really will impact our children .

That term will only cover around 3 months, before the next invoice is due. To find extra income of £1419, a higher rate taxpayer will have to find spare gross income of £2500 just to cover that 3 months. A couple of children takes that to £5k.

'My catchment school doesn’t even offer GCSE music or German, hardly minority subjects.'

Not to be picky but German is a declining language across the board - only one of the private schools in our city offer it. My DC state school does offer German - along with 7 other languages.
German is less than 30% nationally now and dropping.
Spanish has grown hugely, French stays steady, Chinese is increasing.

Languages goes in trends, but also from a practical POV Spanish also has many more speakers... When I was at school it was Japanese and German that were the trend languages

The Woman on woman hostility your refer to is because we will do whatever it takes to protect our children.

This government have got some of us at each others throats- and it won’t be the only area in which they create division.

Reprehensible behaviour from Labour.

Perfectly articulated!

My DC state school does offer German - along with 7 other languages.

This is why you can’t see the issue with the VAT. You are one of very few people who can access that provision through the state and clearly don’t appreciate just how poor much of the state provision is. So you get it at no cost, and yet I can’t access that despite being subject to the same UK wide tax regime. This demonstrates the inequality across the state sector.

Do you honestly think it’s ok that you are offered a choice of 7 languages when our state school offers just 2? So not only am I penalised and forced to pay school fees if I want a similar provision, I should now be hit with a tax penalty as well?

It’s not for you to make that judgement thankfully - it’s a decision best made by their parents/guardians.

'Ok quick figure from private school near me - terms fees £7095 . Extra VAT to be found in January £1419 … I’ve just worked it out on my phone … you need a pretty huge income to just ‘ tighten your belt ‘ and find that surely ?!'

Your talking about people already paying over £21 PER child. Plus, how much extra for transport, uniform, music lessons, extra subject tuition, sports kit, school trips... those people aren't poor.

DF pays fees of £24k per child but says the actual cost is close to £30k with extras like the school transport ( £2k per year per kid) and now they'll be paying 20% VAT. She's unusual in that although they don't want to pay more they think VAT should prob be on fees. Grandparents are helping now.
And yes, they are posh - on both sides of the family.

I suspect none of this policy BP's idea, though she may be naive enough to think it's a good one, and might be supporting it because she has no ideas of her own.

In the interests of clarifying where the VAT on private schools idea did come from: it was in Michael Foot's election manifesto in the early 80's. It was then largely made impossible to implement by the UK's EU membership as it would've been against EU law. It was then resurrected post-Brexit by the hard-left of the labour party . Specifically, the idea was championed by members of the Fabian society and put in Corbyn's 2017 manifesto. So it's an idea of the hard left Corbyn wing.
As for why Labour are now supporting it: it's a sop to the hard left wing, that Starmer & co are happy to make in the interests of party unity, and it polls well with those who are prepared to indulge in the politics of envy, and who haven't thought through the large number of adverse consequences.

The costs associated with the policy (more state school places, benefits for staff made redundant at closing schools etc) will mean it raises far less than they anticipate and probably nothing at all. The 6500 teachers it'll supposedly fund in the state sector don't exist. It'll cause huge disruption, and the attention spent on implementing it and dealing with the fallout could better have been spent on many other things. i.e. there is an opportunity cost. The money they claim it would raise still wouldn't be enough to effect meaningful change - it amounts to less than 3% of the schools budget. A far larger increase in the schools budget is needed, funded from general taxation, which they are too cowardly to do. It's a regressive tax - it won't affect the likes of Eton, who are too rich to care, but will affect a lot of far less rich schools and parents who have nothing left to cut in their budgets. It discriminates against the tens of thousands of families who removed their children from the state sector after it failed to meet SEN or DME, and it will drive thousands of them into non-elective home education.

Grandparents are helping now.

On the plus side, that potentially saves IHT. The IHT saving can be offset against the additional VAT. Many families don’t have the luxury of grandparents chipping in.