Are you now considering private school?

[Effup]

That's it really - if you can afford it - and we can with some cuts. Are you considering private school?

Nope, and we can afford it.

I wouldn't want to move my son from his (very good) state primary because he has lots of friends there and it's in our village. He's only Y1 though.

We may consider private for secondary but not because of coronavirus. More because I think my son would benefit from smaller classes.

Our kids are privately educated. It’s still a shit show, just of a different variety.

Yes - was considering it anyway for Yr 7, this has just pushed things forward a bit. DD is just finishing Yr 5 and her school has been hopeless.

We can afford it, but no.

Briefly ( For a about a day) for year 8 DS.

Then I spoke to someone using a local private school who wasn't too impressed with the value for.money they are getting at the moment. As a plus point mentioning it to DS led to a whole week of him getting up at a reasonable time and being a model student. He doesn't want to move and lose his friends, so we're not going to persue it.

No though we could afford it with a bit of budgeting.

Our state school has been fab though and dc are really happy there. I’m also not convinced that full days of zoom lessons are actually all that.

Our state primary is very good - but I guess partly cos of covid (they're not doing daily zoom lessons just registration - maths and English) I think we are thinking from Sept if school is part time they are more likely to accommodate due to smaller class sizes

PS The private school is doing daily zoom but not long

Not the state school

Sorry I should slow down:

Private doing registration - maths and English via zoom. Plus a 25% discount in fees

State school - is sending work for the week and we speak with the teacher every two weeks.

I don't think Zoom is necessarily the gold standard, but regular contact and feedback is. DD's teacher is basically ignoring the kids - they can email work but they don't get any feedback.

No. Unlike the good local state school which my dc attend (which has provided excellent non-live distance learning), a nearby private school is in dire financial straits and looking at making teachers redundant. Zoom lessons are not the be-all and end-all, and imo private schools are mostly doing them as a 'Please keep paying the fees' dance.

I've taught in private schools and state schools. Some private schools really do offer a lot for the money, but lots don't imo.

We can have as much contact and feedback as we like - emails get responded to in the day.

I guess our change is it's something we intended to do - DD is Year 3 now going into year 4 so we looking into it - we may not get a place Sept at such short notice anyway - but I imagine they might not have Sept returners

No.
We’re very happy with our state school. They’ve made the best provision possible in the circumstances.

Last weeks have been getting ads here on MN on the phone from a local prep school saying they are open and have small classes etc

Find it a bit annoying that they are trying to capitalise on this right now

I have 3 in a private school - the provision has been excellent and we got 20% off fees for this term. We have always considered it a worthwhile investment - we have chosen schools where the primary focus is pastoral care, although everything else has been fantastic too.

I think it depends what you have to sacrifice to some degree - we have to factor school fees into every financial decision - it is a big commitment. But we are still able to travel, we have a nice house, etc. I am self-employed and have a lot of control over how much I do - I aim to earn a set of school fees as a minimum - it does make you think like that a bit! If you’re sacrificing a lot of the fun stuff then I would think carefully. Also remember fees go up every year by roughly 5% (although hoping they will freeze them this year) - make sure you can afford it longer term before committing, as you won’t want to pull them out once they start!

We would be sacrificing some of what I've been saving for a new house. But we live in a nice area for top state schools so could move to get a bigger house for the same price - but to be honest this is a big house we don't need to move.

Our school is a large school 90 a year - I would say in Year 2 they have about 11 leavers for private school.

We can still do holidays - etc it won't be a huge sacrifice. the school does pride itself on pastoral care - music and sport. The state school is good but only for the talented cohort - so not everyone gets access to team sports

No. My dd's primary school have been amazing. They are doing videos for literacy, maths and topic each day, lots of contact with the children, verbal feedback for work, providing access to a variety of paid apps and websites (a very active PTA has enabled them to fund this), the website is full of learning opportunities and activities in a range of subjects, class assemblies via zoom, a headteacher assembly video each week and so on. They have been amazing and I can't fault them at all during this time. This isn't some amazing 'outstanding' school either- they were downgraded to 'requires improvement' last year and I had been considering moving my dd to another school due to some issues I had with the school earlier this year.

No but one of my children has SEN which our local small state school supports extremely well. I’ve yet to come across a member of staff there I didn’t think was great. Child is happy and settled with a great group of friends, with parents that accommodate my child’s idiosyncrasies without a murmur and are inclusive, friendly and generally lovely. I know that’s quite rare, I couldn’t “buy” it and I wouldn’t jeopardise it for something short term - sporadic phone calls and dull worksheets over lockdown pale into complete insignificance compared to what that school has poured into my child over previous years. Other child would probably be easy enough to move and we could afford it, but we’re just very fortunate to have a good state school so don’t see the need. As a SAHM I don’t need to consider the childcare aspect, although for their sake I’d like them back full time.

Not until there's no chance of subsequent waves and closures. The last thing I want is to pay for that 💰

Already chosen it. Very happy that we did. DS1 (year 5) went back to school last week and DS2 (year 2) goes back tomorrow.

I have been wavering. The fab local state school DS is in had an Ofsted just before lockdown and was rated Outstanding in all areas. I’ve been pleased with what they’ve done - work set daily and very comprehensive. Emails responded to quickly, phone calls to parents about three times, phone call to DS once. They’re starting a weekly half hour class zoom from next week. They have a virtual theatre club, music club..
Before schools closed he was thriving but I’m worried about what happens in Sept if it’s still part time and I’m worried about the lack of funding that will hit state schools when the covid economic shit show hits...
But equally if that shit show hits I’m not sure we’d be able to afford private school anyway so it’s a moot point!

Ps not very relevant but with two other small children (DS1 only one being homeschooled as the others are younger) I’ve only been able to keep up with the school work because my parents have been zooming DS and working through most of it with him! It’s not sustainable for too much longer. Although I’m sure they’re learning lots about right angles and acrostic poems

Yes already moved the older two. One to a private school (having carefully looked into their online teaching) and one (who is clinically vulnerable) to an online only school. Both are doing a great job. The online only school has the edge, but then they are experts in effective online teaching.

The boys were getting no feedback from their normal schools, just worksheets uploaded. And had had zero contact from their teachers. It was a final straw after toying with the idea for a couple of years really

Well I'm currently furloughed so I can get through it but the youngest age 5 is having daily grandparent calls too.

Not overly impressed by DSs private school on how they have handled this. Thankfully GPs pay the fees.
I'd use the money to pay for tutors instead of moving school if DS was at state, in fact I'm thinking of hiring tutors anyway if he's struggling at the start of next term.