What would convince you to send your children to private school?

[MistyFied]

Ok, I'm applying for a new job and it's in a private school. The main objectives are to recruit new pupils (from age 0 in nursery to 18 in 6th form) and to increase donations from alumni and parents alike.
I know some people would never ever go private and that's fine but what I would like to know is are there anythings private schools could, or should do, that might make some of you consider it for your children?
Thanks for your help!

UQD I think the OP is asking what would distinguish one private school facilities from another, not comparing private and state. People look at private schools the same way they look at state. Money is not a deciding factor in choosing one private school over another.

Is that the case? I didn't get that impression from the OP. I thought she was asking what would convince people to "switch".

My children are at private school. I come from a very anti private school family and so does dh, in fact he used to be quite socialist!

I guess I am exactly your target audience becasue we hadn't really considered private education and I wouodn;t consider any of the others in the area.

1. Very important was I rememebred my own secondary education. I knew kids who went to this private school and was impressed by how they talked about the school, the stuff they did, music, drama and sports wise. How they were encouraged to fast track subjects if they had an aptitude and seemed to be very well taught. My own experience was a non existent choir and orchetra, no drama facilities and havoing to buy A REVISE GUIDE FOR SCIENCE AS WE HADN'T COVERED MOST OF THE SYLLABUS.

Thrn the general feel of the school, dh teaches and I had seen lots of kids around both from this school and from other local schools. The state school kids seemed to be wearing skirts up their backside snd the boys were really scruffy. In fact for the last two days I have seen a girl at the bus stop aged around 15 or so in school uniform smoking whilst waiting for her bus.

The private school kids were always smart and courteous. There is a big thing made of when you are in uniform you represent us and the school take sanctions if they are not well behaved and smart even out of school.

Thirdly I couldn't get a nurserty place for dd and saw an open day advertised for the newly opened nursery and pre-prep department. The fees on the leaflet were broken down to so much per week which seemed just about managable. We wnet for a visit and fell in love. We only inteneded to use the school for nursery, then transfer to state primary then consider it again for secondary. The reality was we couldn't bear to take them out.

I wanted a school that was not SATS driven and valued the arts as much as academics.

Oh you are funny.

Sadly most people who put me in a bracket have no sense of humour. I like you.

She's asking from the POV of a marketing person for said school, UQD, so either, really.

I can't help but hear that in a Dick Emery voice, bigfoot.

"Ooh, you are awful, UQD"

I'm totally with UQD on this one; and motherinferior and GetOrfMoiLand, Rexrabbit etc. Perpetuating division and inequality is only part of it - the notion of being superior to state school students is one that comes with the territory - so I would offer the same advice of Runoutofideas - "the children may exist in a bubble, overly sheltered from a wide range of people, who they will need to learn to interact effectively with later in life. I would regard things like joint drama productions with other schools including state, sports competitions with other schools, options for volunteering with less fortunate people, links with schools with fewer facilities, possibly overseas etc as a very positive thing."

Haven't read all thread so apologies if this has been said, but for the 0-11 age group I would want a mixed sex education, preferably a school that is also a 'daycare' ie has the option to have the children 8-6 each day, and also during (some of) the holidays, with enough mix and match options so that you could use the 8-6 say 3 days a week and pay less than if you used it 5 days.

I would also look for one that offered scholarships/bursaries so that it was socially mixed.

Habbibu I was actually being sincere. He made me laugh with a joke about carrots.

And he didn't make fun of my spellings either.

It was the "I like you" bit that tickled me. And come on - you opened the door for the spelling jibe, with your post about superior education...

For nursery and primary, class sizes and individual care. Not that it would necessarily help with your interview, but the personnel turnover is often a selling point.

I would adjust my interview technique to the specific school set-up - if the school is very academic, I'd go into more detail there, whereas for some schools, especially at the early stages, the fact that children get to have a "homely" learning experience is exactly what parents like. We chose ds's school on the basis that the class sizes were so small that the teachers were able to spend individual time with each child, regardless of their ability. E.g., every reception child has 20mins individual reading time with a teacher every day. Also, the children were so proud of showing their little writing books - a varied range of abilities without anyone being left behind in a bigger group.

Obviously, except for the richest parents, a substantial part of families both have to work to afford these fees, so good wraparound care is essential, with good quality meals.

To summarise my feeling on schools: At primary, it needs to be a happy place. Once you love school and actually like learning, it's easier. And yes, yes, some state schools can offer the same. But OP asked specifically re private. Good luck with your interview, btw.

Minimal homework pre aged 11.

UQD you are quite right! Serves me right for trying to read MN on my phone.

Phew! Just read all that and it is really really really useful!
Just to say that I understand the views about state schools and I don't think this thread has bashed state schools - maybe just some individual ones that people have had poor experiences of.
I have no experience of independent schools and so my views are not based on any real knowledge. That's why I posted.
I now feel I have a better understanding of what people would expect if they sent their child to an independent school and so, I know what to say in my interview.
I'm not trying to change the world, and if I was, state v independent schools would be a fair bit further down the list!
Thanks again all - you have been very kind to spend so much time helping me. xx

I went to private schools myself and am now a primary school teacher. I have taught in state and private sectors. My kids go to the local primary. If I could move them to private school I wouldn't hesitate for one second. It is a superior education without a doubt. The main difference being the expectations of everyone involved (children, parents, staff) are higher therefore achievemnet is higher. The other major advantage is smaller class sizes which have a huge impact on educational outcomes.

Confident, unpretentious pupils who wre encouraged to play to their strengths and be kind to each other about thier efforts. Not over sophisticated. To generalise - state school girls looking like hookers and private school girls who think it's normal to have Stella McCartney bags and their own flat. A school which allows them to stay young as long as possible but foster social and civic repsonsibility too.

Reduce the fees!! or provide uniform!

Habbibu - you've confused me as not once in any of my posts here have I mentioned "superior education".

I have mentioned:

• Maths/English instead of gardening? Don't I have a right to expect that?

• Teachers teaching instead of children? Ditto.

• Learning that not everyone can win all the time and being encouraged to try your hardest - well if that's a superior education, I'm all for it.

You seem to have taken a dislike to me. I'm not sure why. The OP asked for reasons to use when persuading or encouraging people to consider private over state. I gave her my personal reasons as requested. They are 100% true, whether you like it or not or whether you like me or not.

Adios.

ok I realise you need to get a job, OP, and sympathise, but I would love you to suggest the following to your prospective employers, and let me know their reaction: Will Hutton's idea that ALL private schools remove the financial barriers to entry: make them open to all regardless of which family they happened to be born into. (and I'd like the reaction too of all those on this thread who are simply displaying good old-fashioned snobbery (as if private school kids are automatically better behaved, brighter, etc etc : not it's just their parents are richer! round us it's the arrogant privately educated kids who are the bullies and cheats, headed straight for the City, they don't smoke at bus stops having never caught a bus in their life, they smoke in their own attic dens,they get crammed to pass exams they'd have no hope of passing on their own. And this is fair? Dave)

Even when my employer offered to pay for private we chose state.

I would possibly be interested in buying into specific services over and above the normal education:

music lessons
extra coaching
language lessons

Other than that it is state for me every time

Rexrabbit - the facilities etc they have are funded in large part by the fees. I went to private school aged 11 on a half scholarship and when my Dad lost his job the school covered the fees for two years. There are many bursaries, scholarships and awards that cover sport, art, music, general all round hard work and financial circunstances of parents - there are ways round 'financial barriers'. Just as there are ways round things in the state systerm - moving house, private tutors etc. Not possible for everyoen but my parents were the sort of working class who put education above everything else - you know the sort - no car, no holidays, no TV, second hand uniform. That's the family I was born into. Proud, hard-working, aspiring to a better life with more choices for the next generation, inspirational. I was lucky too of course, but I worked very hard not to let my parents down. Traditional working class values. Private ed attracts that type too, don't you know?

Good UK private schools are undoubtedly the best in the world. That is why people send DCs there form overseas. There are some bad ones but they close because people stop sending DCs there. It is a tough world running a UK private school and quite Darwinian and only the best have survived.

No one needs convincing UK private schools are better on average than UK state schools and the best UK state school copy many of the attributes of good UK private schools.

As for getting donations from alumni and parents in the current environemnt - well goood luck with that. Many parents are extremley cash strapped that send DCs to private schools. There is no magic pot of money to dig into - fees are being met only because of sacrifices elsewhere in many cases. Parents paying fees late is very common. In the end it is about costs and results compared to local state schools.

One thing that may attract new parents to a private school is if it is a boarding school and it suddenly opens up to day pupils from the local area and makes it accessible to parents who can afford a day fee but not a boardng fee.

Is it mixed or single sex? That is a factor in our decision-making.

We have taken both DC out of state and sent to private over last couple of years. Reasosns for this were:
DC1:
Very bright but was hiding abilities at state school as otherwise got teased and physically assaulted by other boys in his year (this at outstanding OFSTED school so shows how much OFSTED know!)I could see the same thing happening throughout secondary so moved him to selective all-boys where it's cool to work hard. He's now thriving and doing very well academically and socially whereas at the other school he was becoming very withdrawn and school weren't interested in the bullying.
DC2:
Dyslexic and various other issues - no progress at same school DC1 went to - they didn't acknowledge she had any SPld and basically said there were no funds left to support her. So she moved to a non-selective private school and is thriving, achieving her potential and generally enjoying school again after years of feeling rubbish at everything.

The common thread seems to be that the private schools provided an environment that has boosted my children's confidence and enabled them to achieve their academic potential, in a nutshell.

rummerragged - yes an excellent website is key Its how new parents most commonly look at a new school. It has to have a lot of up to date info. Not just a potted advert but real stuff about what is actually hapening in the school today and updated every day.

Our DSs school had a rubish website and me and DW constantly banged on about it to anyone that would listen and now they have responded. Also make sure plenty of posters at railway stations if you are in a commuter area up and down the rail lines for about 50 miles in either direction. Getting people to actually look at the school is the first step.

Getting the school mini buses and coaches printed up with the school name, colours, website and phone number is also a good mobile billboard.

Reasons stated by Thirtysomething are why I was taken out of state by my parents. My brother and I were very unhappy, bullied and undermined by teaching methods. I thrived in private education - not boarding - a day London school although not as posh as Nick Clegg's - my brother less so academically but he was much hapiier socially and no bullying. My parents weren't seeking staus - as BeenBeta says they were typical of many parents struggling to put their children through private education because the state system failed.