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!

If the testing is compulsory it should be funded.
There is no way the vast majority of independent schools other than the very richest could afford this.
Are we going to make people with private health insurance (which is often via their workplace) pay for their covid jabs?
I don’t think forcing schools into closing, people losing their jobs and kids having no school places (not enough spaces in state sector) is helpful at the best of times but definitely not now!

@DoubleTweenQueen Yes, I am working on a weekend. What is funny about that?!

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.

If people can no longer afford to send their children to private schools because of the pandemic, they will have to move them. That’s not an issue caused by me.

@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

Why on earth do you think this would suggest I have an issue with people sending their children to private schools? What sort of ‘issue’ do you imagine this might be?

@Lumene

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

Why on earth would you resent children getting tested for Covid otherwise? 🤔

Why on earth would you resent children getting tested for Covid otherwise?

Agree with this.

@BunsyGirl Absolutely nothing. I was being sincere. I thought it ridiculous that Lumene was trying to be goady. I beg your pardon.

@Lumene Because you disagree with their existence as clearly a number of other people do on this thread. That’s what your comments suggest to me.

@DoubleTweenQueen Sorry if I jumped at you.

@SoftSheen

* 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.

What does that have to do with testing, and the suggestion that ‘the poor’ are subsiding the cost of tests for private schools though..?

Because you disagree with their existence as clearly a number of other people do on this thread. That’s what your comments suggest to me.

I absolutely don’t disagree with private schools existence as it happens, which comments suggest this?

@Lumene You resent children getting tested for Covid?!!

I'm not a fan of private schools in general, but this is a public health issue, so if lateral flow testing in schools is considered to be an important part of our response, then the tests should be funded in private schools as well. I don't think extra staff should be provided, though - all schools are having to do their best with the resources that they have.

I'm not yet convinced though, that lateral flow testing is accurate enough to be effective, and I'm therefore unclear as to whether this is a good investment of government funds in either the state or the private sector.

@Lumene Because if you supported private schools, you wouldn’t tell people to put their kids in state schools because they couldn’t afford Covid testing! They’re not asking for the fees to paid are they?!!!

No, of course not I was agreeing with the poster who said who would?

If this is about a public health issue, which of course it is, then all children should have the test free of charge.

@FuckOffBorisYouTwat

I keep hoping for private schools are going to collapse and disappear so I have no sympathy

Why ? What would happen to all the staff who would be jobless And where would all the children go ? I work in a private school but my children went to state so I'm no biased

@notevenat20

Private schools were able to furlough staff but state schools were not.

Doesn't that mean that state school teachers were on 100% pay throughout but furloughed private school teachers were on only 80%?

Yes !!!!

I think morally I disagree with private schools but aside from that there must be lots of areas they can cut back on and self fund these tests.

Its never been a level playing field from the start so really struggling to have any sympathy for this argument.

@Lumene Because if you supported private schools, you wouldn’t tell people to put their kids in state schools because they couldn’t afford Covid testing! They’re not asking for the fees to paid are they?!!!

I have no problem with private schools, why would I?

If people can’t afford to send their children to private schools they do have to move them - that’s just a fact.

I think the government’s funds are better spent elsewhere in a pandemic, as apparently does the government. That doesn’t mean that either I or the government have an issue with/don’t support/don’t agree with the existence of private schools!

So you think the go

Indeed. I think private schools account for about 7 percent of school places, so there wouldn't even be places available for all the kids that need them anyway. Heck, my own Sen child can't get a bloody school place, the pressure on those state school places would be even worse if the private schools collapsed.

Sorry about the ‘ So you think the go’ not sure where that came from.

the £26k that I am already paying out to a school ...... I am not rich

I think it’s fair to say that anyone who can afford to pay that much money on school fees in addition to the ordinary cost of living is in a privileged position.

Not all private school parents are rich, some are just managing. Average private school fees are c£6000 a term, most families don’t have that kind of spare money so the fact is that private school parents do have more money than most other parents.

the pressure on those state school places would be even worse if the private schools collapsed.

Fortunately they are not.

So basically we have established that private schools are getting the tests funded so the original post was a goady attempt to refuel the ever present loathing and hatred for private schools... Nice one OP,
No thought for parents you may have scared,