If you send your child to private school…

[Quej]

Do you genuinely think it’s worth it or do you regret it… and why?

It’s definitely worth it. You choose the school. Classes are smaller. There are better facilities. e.g science labs in primary school.

I just looked up tbr data for our local schools :
Primary 1 (closest) : just over 50% of children reach expected in english and maths, 3% higher standard (i.e. one child)
Primary 2 (second closest): 55% of children expected, also 1 child above expected
these children then go into the local secondary with a negative progress 8 number, results a lot lower than english average. This is not a deprived area!

On the other hand, there are 2 primaries and a small secondary surrounded by houses that are all around 2 million worth, i.e much more expensive than private school for 2-3 kids.
Primaries: over 70% of children expected, around 5% above expected
Secondary has a strong positive progress 8, results above average.
Take home message: in our area, you only get a good state education if you are properly rich - most private school parents cannot afford a good state education.
This is wrong on so many levels…..

I suspect all those figures show is that if you have a school full of bright children from affluent, professional families who value education, that the school will get better results than one with a more mixed demographic.

Don't mix up causation and correlation.

I don’t think your interpretation of the results is necessarily correct…

My DC is AUDHD, and whilst not struggling currently at primary (they are very academically capable), I fear they may struggle in our large state secondary. The private option has a maximum of 50 per year group and is very well known for SEND, their cohort is approximately 40% neurodiverse.

Neither me nor DH were privately educated, so we are unsure whether the level of commitment - excess of £100k to take them through to Year 11 - is worth it.

The thing is, no one can really answer that for you. It will depend on the child and the schools in question. And you wont actually ever know if it was worth it, because you wont know what will have happened if you had take the alternative route.
All I can say is that so far, we don’t regret it. My children are so happy, and I really don’t think they would have been at our local state secondary. I won’t ever know though!

my DC is in an indepedent school . We have a local comprehensive with a good reputation but it is still night and day in terms of the everyday experience. My husband teaches in independent and myself in state so we know each system. DC has autism with a PDA profile. Academically able but very difficult to motivate. The relentlessly high expectations and culture of aspiration have lifted them. Absolutely don't reget it for them despite the sacrifices. My younger DC will probably have to attend the state school for financial reasons, but they are NT and very self motivated and i think (hope) will be ok

I explained this too in my post further up. It’s about the whole school experience. not just the grades. That’s what makes it worth it

This is a lot more valuable context. I think in this case, for your child’s comfort levels alone it would be worth it. I have worked in both educational settings, state and private (including a private school which has a high SEND intake) and the smaller school environment makes school so much easier and more relaxed / accessible for those not able to cope with larger, busier environments. Alongside the presumed other benefits of better facilities, opportunities etc, I’d definitely go for it. You only get to do your child’s schooling once.

So someone asked about catchments and schools. Objectively my state primary is good (but still had problems in my daughter’s year that made us move). National average for England is 62% reaching expected, ours is in the 80s. 20% of kids get the higher for all three areas, generally 50% higher for maths. I think that if I see issues in what is objectively an excellent primary, there must be some bloody awful schools out there.

I am also close to some outstanding state secondary schools but am not in catchment. For my catchment secondary, results seem to be ok ish. Attainment 8 is 53% compared to national average of 46%. You’re looking at around 54% getting a 5 in English and Maths.However, the progress score is negative for high achievers. The school doesn’t set for anything other than maths from year 8 which I suspect is a factor in this. My eldest has a place at a private school where the results are 80% 9-7. The state school doesn’t have good facilities, until last year they didn’t run gcse music or drama, no option to take more than one language and by all accounts it has to run a bit like a military camp to manage behaviour. Some kids do very well there and some really don’t.

So for primary - the issue for me is behaviour and not results. For secondary, a decision to go private is very much driven by results as well as environment and facilities.

For us, it isn’t about grades or academic attainment (which a lot of people on this thread have discussed), it’s about the happiness of DC through their teen years and being able to access education. Far too often we hear about HFA children not being able to cope at secondary school.

Our catchment secondary is also about 50% for getting a 5 in maths and English, which is apparently good. I feel like 50% is a bit disappointing.

If you can afford it, alongside all the extras or trips, uniform, iPad (presumably) then I would 100% go for it. Particularly with the circumstances you’ve mentioned for your child. Good luck!

What is incorrect about it?
for comparison, I also looked up the secondary in a mostly deprived part of town (too far away from us to consider), and while their results aren’t great, progress 8 is positive. That is a good school - they help the children to achieve closer to their potential.
A school in a solid middle class area with a (very) negative progress 8 (starting from less than stellar sats results as well) and close to no high achievers is not a good school. A different school which still has a positive progress 8, has literally had to close their science/technology building as it is falling down. They are now doing the bare minimum in these subjects, because they don’t have facilities. It won’t stay a good school for long!