Private Schools- hear me out before you judge!

[Silverbook]

I'm a state school teacher in Scotland. Class sizes are - 25 for P1, 30 for P2-3 and 33 for P4-7. I currently have a class size of 25, most classes in the school are 25-28. Relatively small town- 2 primaries, 1 independent and 1 secondary. The next nearest independent is 45 mins away.

The local independent school is closing due to VAT, the pupils are largely coming here. This is pushing all our class sizes up. No extra funding or staff, obviously. My issue with independent schools closing is that is directly impacting the state sector and no extra funding, resources or infrastructure is in place to support it.

Yes, our classes are still within legal limits but it will always be the most disadvantaged children/those with greater need of support who are impacted most by larger class sizes as there is just less time to spend with them.

I really feel this has been a poorly thought through and knee jerk policy. Surely you invest and create capacity in existing resources before increasing pupil numbers?

Writing on a form isn’t the best was to converse. It can be hard to get the key point across without writing screeds. Thanks for apologising!

I know VAT in the main cause - I’m actually indifferent to the policy as it doesn’t pillage my family as such. Professionally I just wish more capacity was created in the state sector as we knew independent schools were already struggling.

It may have been a small school that was not profitable. And now we have VAT. So what happens? It really is the straw and camel as another poster said. It may have limped on for a bit, but for that bit it was serving a purpose. Now it can't. I my area our school costs £25 k a year. We have one single other indy that costs under £10 k. That indy does not have charitable status and is run by a wierd arse meglomaniac who does not have any educational quals and is rather hysterical. When I toured the school about 5 years back to see what options were out there it was a bit horrifying for a whole range of reasons which I will not go into.

It won’t just be the VAT impacting impacting costs, it’s the employers NI increase, some min wage increases. Already struggling prob can’t cope with extra costs.

Buyer taking on same costs. Deal now less attractive.

VAT on private schools plus the increased employer NI payments at the same time are too much for schools.
Many of which don’t make a lot of money.

Clearly Lamond parents are moving schools in the expectation that it will close due to new financial pressures on the school.

Many Indi schools however are able to claim back VAT elsewhere, that’s not going to help all schools, including Lamond, though.

They were due to be bought but the investor pulled out due to VAT. Straw and camels came to mind.

His biography.

Of course you have your doubts. It's called prejudice.

Still waiting for link.

Buy the biography. Who knows, it might open your mind!

I judge people and politicians on their actions not on their PR

This makes no sense. How are Starmer's actions going to make you understand the scale of his father's business?

This isn’t quite how it works in England. Schools are funded for the number of students in roll on census days. Mid term transfers can change that significantly and the school has to carry the cost. It’s very tricky to manage.

1 school is RC 1 is SN
Some are from outwith and will go elsewhere but the point is we would all be better prepared if funding came before the additional pupils.

If every child in the country left private education tomorrow that would be less than 2 extra per class.... and much less tahn half will. Some schools are being affected by falling rolls and will welcome more pupils

@Arran2024
LA specifically delay EHCP applications to save money. At every step of the process so they will inappropriately turn down the process, not stick to required timescales, name mainstream schools repeatedly. After all that tribunals are taking over a year. So kids are out of school or repeatedly trying inappropriate schools for years, that is all incredibly damaging and increases their needs when they develop behaviours to cope etc. our LA had not arranged any transport for the beginning of term, they’re expecting SEN kids to take public transport etc. special schools are full. Some LAs are moving kids in special schools back out of them
your assertion that anyone who is not in a special school does not have significant needs is just not the case. Education is not what it used to be!

where are these statistics from?

Just seen this on X. It would seem East Sussex is struggling to accommodate in year applications.
I can’t verify this, but if it is true then it’s very sad and a poor outcome for this policy.

https://x.com/lianafricker/status/1855240032954503386

Still waiting for some common sense. How difficult is it to understand that there are no links to specific text in a biography?

Hi all, we will be removing a few posts as they contain identifying details. While this may be a bit frustrating we have done this in order to let the thread stand.

I work in Edinburgh. We'd have huge problems if all the private schools shut. Even if you're right, averages are not how it works here. I have to go to your catchment school. Catchment schools for those in private are usually already full or very nearly full. You can't send two out to the small country school, two to the local Catholic school and two down to the one in the opposite side of the city etc
Some state schools won't be affected at all by the vat. Others will be hugely affected.