Is Bridget Phillipson's tweet accurate?

[Seriouslyy]

VAT debate aside - can someone please explain to me why Bridget Phillipson has linked more teachers to embossed stationary or more mental health support to pools?

My first thought was its just propaganda, but surely the Minister for Education would post something that is accurate so I am wondering what I have misunderstood?

I thought private school parents themselves are paying the VAT rather than the private schools? Bridget's tweet seems to be suggesting private school parents are paying for pools and stationary but now instead will be paying for teachers and mental health support? I'm very confused.

Bridget Phillipson's twitter post
"Our state schools need teachers more than private schools need embossed stationery.
Our children need mental health support more than private schools need new pools.
Our students need careers advice more than private schools need AstroTurf pitches."

Education Secretary’s private schools tweet ‘propagates class war’, says Tory MP | Evening Standard

Oh and I should add, our parents have paid tax on the money they pay us as school fees already, when they earned it!

And I'll add in my class of 16, six children a that of doctor parents, who send their children private because of the long hours they work providing healthcare to us all through the NHS.

@twistyizzy I don't care what the French and German say.

The vast majority of state school teachers are excited by Phillipson.

@LovingCritic I've paid tax on the money I spend on myself. But I still pay VAT. I've paid tax on the money I put into my savings but above a certain point I pay taxes on the interest.

Sadly no we arent becuse Labour couldnt do it if we were however it doesn't discount the fundamental logic of the principle of not taxing education. Do you also want nurseries taxing? Because once you accept that it is OK to tax education then you shouldn't single out 1 sector, it should be applied across all sectors.

It's also crazy that they're saying from January.

Not everything at private schools has to have VAT added. It much more complex than that.

They should delay until at least September to get the system up and running.

Some nurseries are going to have to pay VAT.
If they have a class of mixed age kids (eg 3-5 yr olds) then every child in that class will have VAT added.

What about teaching unions and head teacher unions? Because they are also recommending a pause to the plan. It had zero credible research carried out.
Do you care whether it generates any money or is this just a principle of punishing indy sector? Because ot sounds like the latter

Yep, wait until that becomes public knowledge and starts impacting people

What about state boarding schools being exempt? Very interested to hear your take on this one

@twistyizzy they should also have to pay VAT. I'm not sure any of these are the gotchas you think they are as I'm in favour for increased taxes on the richest in society in general.

In terms of headteachers etc., they're panicked by the number of spiteful parents who have written to their local schools to say they want a place - despite not actually intending to leave the private school. I'm sure a few will, but that's life.

Not sure I follow as "bulk use" is the first time I've seen used as an argument against private schools. Not sure which of my posts you are replying to either.

"Despite not intending to". Do you actually know how many are leaving/have left? 10 in DDs year group so far. You are just peddling lazy Labour assumptions that we can afford to suck it up!

You should never tax education. That's the end of it as far as I'm concerned.

@Nordione1 the point about private schools being used by state pupils in order to ease the strain, like the NHS does with private hospitals.

Education should never have been made into a commodity that was sold to generate profit and buy opportunities, that's the end of it.

I'm not using "gotchas" I'm pointing out the faults with the policy however I stand by my original stance that you should never tax education and that it is a poor look on Labour that their legacy will be the only Europeam country to do so.

Oh I see.
No, state school pupils coming to private schools to assist with the strain do not get a "bulk use" discount. The tax payer needs go pay the same as all other parents. Equality, you see. No advantage for any child over the other.

Is BP going to celebrate her pet policy by putting it on the side of a bus?

@itwasnevermine seems to think that all private school parents are very rich, and don't want their kids mixing with state school kids.
I have a friend who moved house mid year. Not a single state school within a 30 mile radius had a place for her daughter. No public transport to the nearest state school, and parents not able to drive her each day.
So she's at private school 10 mins walk from home. They can't really afford it but it was that or home schooling. Their other 2 kids got places in local state schools. They are still waiting for a state school place for her.

It is because some school are foolishly reported to have said that they are going to offset some of the tax by delaying upgrading their pool and other by by removing some of the touches like giving pupils logo embrossed folders rather than normal folders. It the schools really said that talk about not reading the room.

That's an ideological viewpoint.

It’s a policy of hate. It doesn’t make financial sense and state ed won’t benefit from the tax as state school numbers will increase and state schools will lose their opportunities of using indie school facilities. After all, why should indies offer their facilities for free now? I imagine many indie parents won’t want their tax and fees subsidising state schools any further.

So the tax anticipated isn’t going to materialise - and will end up costing the government as indie pupil numbers will drop; state schools will have to absorb additional pupil and the government will have to start funding additional pupils who have migrated over to state.

I don’t think many indie teachers are going to be in a rush to return to state ed teaching (classes of 32+ with no support for SEN) and no one wants to be a teacher today so just where are the 6500 extra teachers coming from that to is VAT increase will fund?

It’s a shit policy borne out of class hatred. Rather than look at what needs to be done to improve state ed Labour have gone for, what they think of as, an easy win.

Only it’s not.

There are also a lot of parents who have wealth who don’t contribute to the state education for their child other than in their taxes (just like indie parents but of course they aren’t then taking their school place they paid for). shouldn’t they contribute more?

Maybe it’s time that parents of state school kids started to pay something by towards their education? A wealthy family on c£200k with 3 kids in state ed could surely stump up a couple of thousand pounds a year? Maybe contributions should be means tested like the WFA?

It’s a thorny issue the Labour Party has decided to address but their limited imagination and poor financial literacy means it cannot be the success they hope it will be.

Oh you mean that every child gets an equally poor education. Because we know that it never means each child getting an amazing eduction.
There is not the money or political will to make each state school amazing so instead the plan is to pull down indy schools.
Your view usually ends up with the ruling group getting all the privilege and everyone else fighting for crumbs. See Russia/China etc. I have friends from Russia and trust me, they have seen the result of "levelling".

Think you've got the wrong end of the stick with my post. The PP was suggesting that state school pupils using private should get a "bulk discount". I suggest that state schools pupils would be getting an unfair advantage over private school that way. Which as we know is against socialist principles of "equality"

There's a real problem with Scottish schools too due to the different age cut off. Some pupils will end up in an exam year where before they were in the year below. BP doesn't care obviously as private Scottish school children aren't "our children" so don't count.

Astroturf is very bad for the environment whomsoever is using it!
I doubt any school about to be VATd uses embossed paper: just another dig at the perceived wealth that people have
If she said that poor people use Izal paper in their outside lavatory, there would be such a hue and cry about 'poor-bashing', yet everyone seems to think having a pop at those who are perceived to have money, is socially acceptable.
Indeed, it's a favourite sport on MN too