I just want to start by saying this is by no means a private bashing post.
It seems daily I see another private school announce their closure (although it is nearing the end of the academic year, so I appreciate that there will be more regular at the moment). It’s always due to financial difficulties, and I find it really sad for the current students and staff.
What I don’t get is why these schools don’t consider changing to state funding, probably as a ‘free school’. As surely this would be more beneficial to both the students and families as it means that they would be able to stay in a school that they know and with less of a disruption to their education.
Yes, it would mean that certain things would have to be scaled back as the state budget would likely be less than what they previously had. But the state budget (as pitiful as it is—but that’s a completely separate discussion) would at least cover the basic costs such as maintenance and teaching (apparently staff wages are similar in both sectors).
For me there would be many pros to this. Most importantly the kids wouldn’t have to transfer at an awkward moment (during GCSES, Y6 if from a prep etc) which would not only disrupt their education, but could also make it hard to integrate into life at a new school. It would take the load off of nearby state schools (more choice for parents, less overcrowding in primary and comps).
For what it’s worth: I don’t have any children and I was fully state educated, so I don’t really have any skin in the game. But I just wonder why few rarely do, when to me it’s an obvious idea for these schools to look into.
Would be interested to hear from people who have experienced their school shutting.