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!

'This is why you can’t see the issue with the VAT. '

I don't see an issue with VAT because 1. private school is a luxury and should be taxed properly 2. There is an alternative - state school 3. I'm WC though now a high earner so have little sympathy for people whoa re also high earning and are well off but trying to paint themselves as victims

That simple. My Dc go to a completely run of the mill comp. Our choice. Private schooling is also a choice for some - fine. But tax needs to be paid.

TBH - I have more issue with charity status of these schools. That should have been the thing that changed

Seriously? Have you ever heard of budgeting for the future?

I’m just warming up ! … to be fair my kids are bright and I’ve been able so far to help them with subjects they struggle on so they’ve not been poorly impacted so far . I’m not a lot of use though now they’re GCSE level !

Agreed OP

My Dc go to a completely run of the mill comp.

A run of the mill comp which offers 8 languages?

When some of us want to access a similar provision, it becomes a luxury?

As a “high earner” you don’t think you should contribute more to your children’s education, a level of education which some of us can only access by paying for it?

The concept of PS is evidently impossible for many posters on here to accept. Where they are extremely disingenuous is their motives however -
masquerading as guardians of the exchequer etc.
All of which is completely false.

The truth is - private schooling holds a mirror up to them as parents - their fears, their caprices, their success, and their perceived or real failures.

Big houses, luxury cars etc. whilst they may attract envy, don’t come anywhere near to the opprobrium reserved for private schooling.

The UK has always had a toxic relationship with those who aspire to get on, but Labour have really exploited it.

Its all very ugly.

though now a high earner

Ok so you could pay more

I think you’re giving me far too much credit… I’m far to selfish to spend my money on independent schools when I have a good school I can get for free

I absolutely could, but I sure as hell don't want to pay it towards subsidising private school parents in any way. Pay your tax. I pay mine.

Fully expecting to pay more tax soon, and hoping that this new government put it towards education, NHS, public services rather than bailing out their rich banker-wanker mates.

towards subsidising private school parents in any way

You're not. Pay more tax for the sector you use. Why not?

It’s better than this woeful policy based on prejudice and juvenile rhetoric

'A run of the mill comp which offers 8 languages?'

It's called heritage languages... so actually probably more than 7. On top of the usual MFL ( French, German, Spanish) our LA - like many LA support heritage GCSE's through schools.
It's what happens when you have a diverse school population made of children who's parents don't have English as a 1st language.
DS mate - Slovenia parents - doing Slovenian. DS mate who's dad is French - has just passed the French one etc.
They're generally a higher level than MFL standard GCSE because the kids who take them can already chitchat in their parents languages...

Your tax liability will increase for sure, but you won’t see any meaningful return on it. Government spending will be met by borrowing (whisper it). And guess what, higher borrowing equals higher interest (7.3% of total public spending and rising).

You wanted them in - you’ve got them - now own it.

The funny thing is BP went to a Catholic school and then studied at Oxford. Talk about privilege!

Honestly, I'll take my chances. Better than those immoral, greedy, self-serving Tories who have left this country in an absolute shambles.

You’ve described German as “usual”. Earlier on you suggested it wasn’t a problem that my catchment school doesn’t offer it because it’s no longer popular/mainstream.

It must be very nice for some children to have such a wide choice. Many of us don’t have that option.

You do remember 14 years ago when labour left the tories a note saying there’s no money left?!!

5000 odd days of Tories vs 100 days of Labour.

I’d say Labour are well on track to seriously fuck it up.

What did you expect? If you had started a thread saying “What can Labour do to improve state education?” and didn’t spend two thirds of it whining about VAT, you might have got a better response.

I agree. But it’s popular with the type of Labour voter who buys their way into the catchment of the best state school whilst complaining that buying your way into private schools is a terrible form of inequality. This type of Labour voter is also outraged at their children having to pay inheritance tax, even though inherited wealth is the largest driver of inequality, whilst decrying the driver of inequality they claim private schools to be. I have met LOADS of Labour voters who think and act like this. Utterly incoherent thinking.

Wait what? You lost your job as a teacher because Gove decided you were too expensive but you agree with him so that’s fine.

And now you’re angry that nothing is being done about state schools not having enough teachers?

But classes of 30 are the world standard average. Without TAs. Why are people expecting miracles? People seem to expect individualised education plans and one-to-one attention. This is literally impossible and completely utopian. And also imo, entitled.
Can't we just accept that our darlings won't get the ultimate perfect education for them, but will get the best that can be delivered to the largest number at an affordable cost? Not every style covered, not every SEND met. That's just not possible, never has been, never will be anywhere. Certainly not in a country like the UK with extremely variable needs. It all feels so selfish. Every time you meet one child's best interests, you rob another group of adequate provision.
I wish we'd all go back to accepting that our own children can't be the center of each policy and any public provision is going to be best effort. That ultimately public education has to be collective and to some extent, standard.
That we can have multiple standard offerings for different types of needs but individual EHCPs just can't be handled for every child. I literally can't see how people expect it to work, I suspect many only think of their own child without caring how it impacts the other 29 in the classroom or the poor teacher.

We have the largest average class sizes in Europe so, no, I don’t think 30 is the World standard. It’s one of the reasons that a NZ friend of mine moved back home after her son started school in the UK. She was horrified about our class sizes. I have a DC at one of the most selective state schools in the country and they have forms of 25 from year 10 onwards so clearly they recognise the importance of smaller classes and they are not even dealing with a very wide range of abilities like most schools. Our state education is not up to scratch, it needs more funding and we all need to pay for it.

we all need to pay for it.

Exactly the point many of us have been making. At the moment though, there is no Labour policy suggesting that state funding is coming from anywhere other than the 7% who don’t use the system.

I agree completely and I have made that point many times.

The national debt is now double what it was then, immediately after the world financial crisis.