To be gleeful that most of us were right

[Wranglestar]

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/adding-vat-to-private-school-fees-has-had-no-obvious-impact-on-state-sector-applications-390546/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2ATdaVlNkJsbtC-KizuW4Fw41obnpvezxnFv4IAFwzJPHXmU90Awr5eqAaem9tMIsn9I0vHSC4jrdYONIA#0rd9makyd4264nstc4us9j77yk5kaoswtLondon Economic

And that private schools has had no impact on state school places. The rich have simply - paid more. Excellent news!

me too.

i’m also curious to see how long people are willing to wait until they admit whether they see a change in their state school or not.

Most private school parents have always applied for a state place as well. Question is whether they take those places come September.

And being "gleeful' about the upset caused to a lot of children's lives - especially those with SEN (over 20% of private school students) doesn't paint you in a very good light OP.

Perhaps take some time to look in the mirror and ask if you might need to work on a few things.

(State school parent of a SEN child here).

Wow OP, you are an empathetic compassionate being with great understandings of economics and education 👏

Private education is not 'banned' in Finland.

The private schools just don't charge for the core education - they charge for the extra curriculars. The state pays for the core part so in fact they are taxpayer subsidised.

Greece put VAT on education - until it was such a financial disaster they had to back track.

It has barely been long enough to reach any meaningful conclusion. It would never have made a difference in such a short timeframe anyway. Make this post again in a few years then compare the results.

Except it's unlikely to make any money at all.

So far the only people who have made money are the big name public schools like Eton who have been able to reclaim millions from the taxpayer in input VAT for all their expensive theatres and boarding houses and sports facilities.

Oh, and the FOUR KCs that Starmer has hired to fight the upcoming court case.

Otherwise, I am still waiting for DD's school to announce the extra 1/3 of a teacher that is apparently being funded by this.

ETA: In terms of healthcare, access to good private schools is a big thing for attracting GPs and other professionals to come and work in areas of the country that aren't the most attractive. Ooops, Labour just priced them out of that option.

You need to expalin your glee.

1. Gleeful because PS kids haven't had to move schools and unsettle them.
2. Gleeful because state school kids haven't had class numbers increased, thus making schools suffer.
3. What?

Most schools have absorbed the VAT costs and only put their fees up between 7-12%.

The 2025 intake hasn't begun yet. VAT was only rolled out in January.

For parents in financial distress with a child already at a private school - support is forthcoming.

I don't think we're going to feel the direct effects of this for some time. So I think it's difficult to call it.

I have noticed a huge uptick in private schools advertising. Posts around 'year 7 spaces still available' etc are everywhere at the moment. Parents may have accepted places while waiting on secondary school outcomes, or even infants. For infants it won't be until Mid-April when parents find out what the LA place is.

I just think it's far too soon to make a judgment call. If you can afford private school - you can likely find an extra £1-2k for fees for a child to finish off their year.

So I think starting from Sept 2025 and each consecutive year in take over the next 5yrs will be when we can measure the impact and have statistical evidence to support whether less children are attending private school, and what the impact to the state school system is (if at all).

I think it's fairly idiotic to think you can judge the impact 2 mths after it's implementation. All you can summarise is that there hasn't been a massive exodus as yet - but as I say many private schools are trying to absorb the costs.

I think most parents with a child happy and settled in school will try to find a way to make it work where they can, along with support from the schools. It's the parents who were considering private but where it's now out of budget - will be the telling sign. That won't be known until Sept 2025.

Maybe wait until the outcome of the court case OP? Which is costing the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds to defend.

Private education is not banned in Finland, there is a private school in Helsinki which my grandchildren attend.

This is contradictory.

Are people going to be so hard hit by this that they end up spending less and hitting the economy?

Or are they going to withdraw in sufficient numbers to have an impact on demand for school places?

If the latter, by your own logic, the money that they would have spent on private school fees will now be spent in the wider economy, so that's a good outcome, right?

What a dipshit. It's definitely too early to tell. The education system is broken, even if the money raised is spent in state schools it's not going to fix that. But I'm glad you're happy.

Goady nonsense.

Not this again. It’s not banned in Finland. What is banned is making a profit from the basic element of education. The state actually funds that part. The Finnish taxpayer actually gives money to private schools.

Tax should be based on need and ability to pay, not envy and spite. For that reason alone you are wrong.

I think the OP’s use of the word “gleeful” sums up the ideology of this policy perfectly. These people are spiteful and petty. How on earth can any human with even a shred of compassion or decency delight in a policy which negatively affects children and hardworking families?

This is why I find left-wing people unpleasant. It's the glee.

I worked in museum education for a national museum in London. We did outreach around the country for schools which couldn't get to us easily and when I arrived to spend a week in a north-western city, the LEA man was rubbing his hands in glee that the (state) schools in the more affluent areas had been denied booking the experience by his ruling.

If he'd put it this way: 'We decided that since sessions are limited we'd focus our publicity on schools in the more deprived areas', I'd have been 100% with him. But instead he was just nasty and spiteful and relishing having told the more affluent schools 'NO!'.

I'm not an apologist for private education particularly - I just don't like nasty-minded people, especially where education is concerned. Oh - I've also encountered actors in Theatre-in-Education who, when told the visiting group was from a private school, responded that they'd make things unpleasant for the little snobs. Yes - really!

At least one of the big Edinburgh schools is now fundraising due to financial difficulties.

As mentioned by a PP we won't know the real impact until we see how many pupils take up their state places in September

I would see that as a pretty damning indictement of the state schools, that even with the price going up, those parents who can even just about afford it, will not resort to state....

The bigger question is whether state schools will ever see any of that money. Unfortunately I doubt it.

A lot of schools have phased in any additional hikes they’ve had to make. And one round of school applications doesn’t offer meaningful data by anyone’s stretch.

Yes. Let's be happy they're even more elite

Cringe...

Well aren't you just lovely @Wranglestar? Sadly too many now have this bitterness towards people having something they don't. How about pulling yourself up, rather than wanting to drag others down to your level.

Gloating is a very ugly trait.

I actually feel sorry for these people. To carry such hatred and spite for children whose parents have made a certain educational choice is, quite frankly, pitiful. It must be a horrible feeling to have such bitterness against people you don’t even know.