Private schools will not have testing funded

[DrizzleandDamp]

Not sure where I sit on this one, state schools are obviously having the lateral flow tests funded by government.

Private schools have been told no funding, no help with extra staffing, ultimately a cost of around 12 extra members of staff who can’t teach (depending on size of school), and £20-30,000 a month on tests. That won’t encourage take up.

Not all private school parents are rich, some are just managing, some are on hardship bursaries and an awful lot right now are getting free schooling:help because their businesses have died from Covid or jobs lost and they can no longer afford fees. So the schools are at the moment subbing them, but it won’t last and they’ll be removed.

Around 6.5% of U.K. (c.600k+) pupils are in independents. Will the government provide those school places when parents have to pull them or private schools go under?

I’m just not sure it’s ethical when parents are paying into the NHS, and into schooling (twice) that they aren’t providing these tests.

Just wanted to have the debate!

Should be provided for private schools too.

The tax contributed by one or both of the children’s parents through PAYE Far exceeds the amount that they cost the public and the average salary.

• tenbob Poor people aren’t bailing anyone out. The point at which you become a net tax contributor is currently around £36k If you earn below that, you are costing the public purse more than you pay back in tax And I don’t consider anyone earning more than £36k to be ‘poor’*

You're forgetting that many essential workers, including junior doctors, nurses, care workers, teachers and police officers earn well below £36K. These are the people who are keeping the country going during the pandemic (and at other times), and irrespective of what they earn, make a massively bigger contribution country than someone who earns £100K+ in banking or sales.

Ah, so we are having tests provided by the government- free of charge.

The school already has a well-staffed medical centre so extra costs minimum.

We pay for the slower (more accurate?) tests not the lateral flow tests which are free.

So no extra costs to any parents at my dds school at least. Sorry to disappoint all the chippos.

The hatred for private school is very British. In Denmark, which has much higher tax rates them us, you only pay the difference between the state funding for a pupil at a school and the private school fee if you want to send your child to private school. There is none of this British anger and hatred.

It's just another indicator of the bitterness and jealousy so frequently displayed towards anyone with money. The thought that someone else's child may be offered an advantage in any way over their own brings out the very worst in people. Totally ridiculous.

I thought that people who went to private school/send their DC to private school were clever?

Taxation in a democracy 101 is needed. It's not pay as you go. We all chip in a little to pay for community services we don't use.

WRT education, the child-free, not yet parents, parents of independent adults still working and those that can afford to opt out all pay in.

Private schools have smaller classes and far more space and so can make SD, test and track work with the fall back of effective online teaching. The private financial contact means continued education is guaranteed.

Private schools do not need to snaffle the crumbs that state schools are legally entitled to as a minimum.

How many parents of privately educated DC are seriously considering state education to benefit from 'free' testing? Big, fat zero? Non issue.

Our large indy secondary school set up it's own testing facility months ago. Parents who want to make use of it pay a fee for consumables only (about £60). We have a lot of parents within NHS who are able to get tests elsewhere too. So far, we've had a handful of cases, and the handling of the whole situation has been very effective.

Our other very small junior prep is putting improvements to the school on hold because of funding shortages. Still, how they are managing things is fantastic.

We've been in a very low risk area for most of 2020, so we'll see how things pan out in the new term

The main thing is that isolated cases are identified quickly and steps taken to minimise transmission to others and the wider community.

It doesn't really matter to us where the funding comes from. Very happy with the way it's being handled by our schools and confident to send out students back.
So much basic hatred for private schooling here. Knock yourselves out.

It doesn't really matter to us where the funding comes from. Very happy with the way it's being handled by our schools and confident to send out students back. So much basic hatred for private schooling here. Knock yourselves out

Yup.

@Lumene I did make a point but you chose not to engage. Why is that?!

All I have seen is a post talking about the difficulties of the pandemic for you personally, and then saying I am bitter but not why you think that or even what you are suggesting I am bitter about?

I will go back and have a look at you posts again maybe I’ve missed something?

[quote Rosehip10]@Momsincharge As private schools are charities they get significant savings on various taxes and don't have to pay VAT for example. The criteria for being a charity is "creating public benefit". For example, St Paul's school in London defines this as giving various fee reductions to boys from parents with an income of less than 120k.[/quote]
Not all private schools- so be careful with your blanket comments. The special school my child is in because the state sector couldn't meet their needs is not a charity and does pay VAT

@Getitdonesharpish DS1 attended a specialist indi - LA funded. Different issue.

@Lumene I have calculated for the costs associated with my children’s private education but this did not include having to find money for extra childcare when the £26k that I am already paying out to a school with wrap around hours is meant to be my childcare - I did not expect for them to be ordered to close as this had not previously happened in my lifetime, my parents lifetime or my grandparent’s lifetime. I am not rich. Like many other professional working women, I use my DC’s school so that I can continue to work. My clients are in the public sector and I help them to provide valuable services that you might just be receiving yourself. Furthermore, there are huge numbers of NHS staff that send their DCs to my DCs school. Many of those parents are women who would have otherwise stopped working. How do I know? They told me!

This post says you are facing unexpected costs due to the pandemic and work with public sector clients. Also that many parents (particularly women) rely on schools for childcare so they can do their jobs, including critical workers. Not arguing with any of that but why should that mean government should allocate additional scarce funds to private schools during a pandemic?

Also can you explain what makes you think I am bitter and what on earth you think I might be bitter about?

@Lumene I didn’t only refer to myself did I?! I made the point that private schools are used by many professional working women, like myself, as childcare. They are not the preserve of the rich.

Amused at all the people on this thread assuming those disagreeing with their viewpoint are ‘jealous’ a ‘chippo’ or ‘hates public schools’. 😂

I made the point that private schools are used by many professional working women, like myself, as childcare. They are not the preserve of the rich.

I agree with you here too. Why is that an argument for extra funds to go to private schools though?

It’s in the interests of society to have all children tested as much as possible.

Also @BunsyGirl I notice that you have not responded to this question yet:

Also can you explain what makes you think I am bitter and what on earth you think I might be bitter about?

My daughter is funded by the government to attend a specialist private school as are approx half the students.

They will get no help with testing.

@Lumene I'm certain BunsyGirl has more pressing calls on her time

Independent schools that are set up as charities DO have to pay VAT on their supplies but don’t charge VAT on fees. So this is an additional cost to them. They do currently benefit from 80% charitable rates relief and don’t have to pay corporation tax on any surplus (profit) they make.

I do think the government should provide the tests but not the staffing, since testing is beneficial to everyone but if you opt for private, you have to take the rough with the smooth.

Not happy with this. Private school pupils are UK children, their parents pay into the system that funds state education and pay separately for their own child's school place, thus freeing the state from some of the burden. Also, some of the parents funding their children through private schooling are high earners paying higher taxes - again, a greater contribution. The same healthcare should be provided to independent school pupils as to state school pupils.

@Lumene I'm certain BunsyGirl has more pressing calls on her time

Indeed it seems so.

Cry me a river.
This.

It's an interesting point - DD's private school has had the same access to HPC vaccine as the state sector where the community nurse administers them. As it's also a boarding school, have heard that the international students have had to pay the NHS.

@Lumene Because all you keep telling people is that they can choose to send their children to state school. To me, this suggests that you have an issue with people sending their children to private school in the first place. Maybe that isn’t the case, but that’s how it comes across to me.

Also, if you bothered to read the thread, you would see that I haven’t said that private schools should get extra money. My issue is with you suggesting that people can suddenly move their children to state schools if they cannot afford to pay for testing costs. That’s ridiculous. Not withstanding the childcare issue, local authorities cannot suddenly magic up state school places. I know a child that was out of the school system for weeks when his parents had to withdraw him from an independent school.