Calling all teachers.....

[GirlySwot]

....if money was no object would you send your kids state or private? (and why?!)

DD's private school reports are, so far, excellent. Very detailed, very accurate, teacher obviously knows DD very well. They set targets for improvements throughout, covering all curriculum areas. And we get 3 a year - once per term. We also have a formal parents evening which again is excellent - more allocated time that in the state schools I have taught at, which is IMO good.

Oh and as for all bright children will do well wherever they are - sorry, but having worked at a failing school I can't say that this is always the case. Some very bright children do not reach their potential if in a poor school (whichever sector that they may be) as the teachers end up doing crowd control, not teaching. Yes, they may get good grades, but in a better school they may well (IME they do) get even better grades/achievements.

State.

We are both teachers in the state system and are firmly committed to the idea of free education for all.
Dh is currently teaching in a very exclusive private school for the first time ever and it has been a very enlightening experience. He is looking forward to going back to his challenging comprehensive for lots of reasons.
Sadly there are good and bad state and private schools and crap and excellent teachers in both.
Has anyone pointed out that most teachers would struggle to afford the fees for 2 kids at decent private schools?

explosivescience- how do you know reports are accurate? lol- well, I guess you have to rely on the fact that teachers, whether in state or private, are professionals who aren't going to lie!! Disagree that smaller classes necessarily means the teacher will know the children better. A good teacher will ensure that they build up good relationships with their classes and will put in the effort to get to know each child and their abilities. I've known mediocre teachers in private schools who don't do a better job just because they have smaller classes. Sometimes teachers opt for private because they want an easier life. It's easier to be complacent if you have easier classes who aren't necessarily going to challenge less than inspiring teaching.

Ok, so I didn't read the OP about money being no object- tired! Anyway if money no object then state would still win hands down.
Is private about putting your child into a better social pool sometimes...

In a class where there are behaviour issues there cannot be much teaching of the actual subject rather as Hulababy said crowd control happens instead.

absolutely hercules. But state schools are not complete chaos with rioting kids who are out of control!! It's a pity that some people just believe in stereotypes - that state schools are awful and private schools are wonderful. That isn't the reality! As I said in my first post, theres good and bad in both. I suppose ultimately for me, an important factor is that 93% of the population are educated in the state system. Bearing in mind that schooldays are a relatively short part of one's life, and everyone ultimately has to live in the real world with real people, I think it's an important part of the learning process to be able to function within that world.

I have worked in two extremes of state schools.

One was top of the league, leafy Derbyshire suburb, highly over subscribed school (even from catchment), loads of parental support and contact, etc.

Other was near bottom of the league, failing in Special Measures, fail.ing on all areas inc management, pupil behaviour, etc. although did state many teachers were doing a good job in very difficult and unsupportive circumstances, many parents not bothered (3 out of a potential 80 or so of my Y9 pupils turned up to parent's evening for example).

The pressures on me as a teacher were very different.

The first school was good pressure though - very challenging academia wise, planning and prep, marking, challening the pupils work wise, keeping up with parent's demands, etc.

The pressures in the second school I found so demoralising - infact as many of you know, I left teaching for good after the experience. All my OFSTED and observartions were very good and excellent, yet I felt I did virtually no teaching. I controlled, with varying degrees of success, a class of children where a significant majority just didn't want to be there or be taught anything.

As a parent who does have the opportunity to choose, I would always select the school that best suits mine and my child's needs, wherever that may be.

similarly some people on MN think that all private schools are stuffed with the children of parents who send them there for snob values, and that all the staff in private schools are burn outs who could not come in the state sector.

Neither charachature is right, or helpful.

I teach in a state school. I have one year 7 class of 28, and one year 10 class of 16.

I know which class I can give more time and attention to individuals. Class sizes do matter

Caricature sheesh!

Most teachers I know send their kids privately.

Most teachers I know send their kids privately.

hulababy - that's really interesting hearing your two extremes of experience. If you were making a choice for your own children between the first school you describe, the Derbyshire one, and private - which would you choose and why?

i must say that most of my collegues don't, but would if money were no option. Not all of them, but most of them

If I could choose between a state school that met my kids needs, and a private one that did, I go for the state one!

I could shit can camping holidays (I wouldn't really I quite like camping!)

Well for me at this moment in time I would probably still go with my private school choice, but for other reasons - wrap around care, more varied curriculum not just stuck to NC, smaller class sizes, the right feel, etc.

But it is difficult for me to say properly as I worked at state secondary and DD is in private primary, so not able to compare fully. But I do have a very good state primary that we are in catchment for and DD did get into. But aftervisiting it it didn't feel right, in the same way one of the private primaries we visitied didn't either.

So, again - I'd have to visit all the options again, and do my research again to select which was best for us at the time. I couldn't say for definite until I had done that. I'd be looking out for that "feeling" again.

93% at state, gutter? - that is worth pointing out

The OP asked about 'if money was no object', which is an interesting discussion, but in some ways it's probably more relevant to question whether private schools are worth the money for people who have to struggle to afford the fees (i.e. most people!)
The question of 'meeting your child's needs' is the crucial one really. If any of us had a child in a school where they were clearly underachieving/unhappy etc, I'm sure we'd all move heaven and earth to find an alternative. But that's an extreme situation. A more pertinent question might be: ' If your child is happy and seems to be having most of their needs met at the local state school, would you feel it was worth forking out 20 k a year or whatever, for anything over and above this that a private school might be able to offer?'Because to my mind, private school fees are astronomical and bear no relation to what's actually being offered. There might be some advantages such as wrap around care, better facilities etc but does that justify what you're paying?

Our fees are a little over £6000 a year.

per child, that is

God thats cheap. Way below average.

helps that we live out in the arse end of beyond

It is aslo a school run by a real educational charity. It keeps our feeds down, and the organisation spends its surpus in supporting state run accadamies. and it isn't the mad Vardy lot!

mb that sounds interesting. I think the idea of private working in partnership with state has some mileage.

They have been doing this sort of stuff since the charity was set up (in victorian times, I think)

They have been involved with the building of a new accademy in London, I can't remember where, but the writer John O'farrel was involved in its organisation. At first he was worried at linking up with a Christian charity, but he must have been happy in the end, as i think he is now on the Charities board of directors.

Not a Teacher Alert - but read this with interest.

We chose a selective private school for ds1 when we moved here, because we knew he'd like it. Lots of enriched curriculum things, like philosophy from y3 and learning skills, strong emphasis on discipline. He has thrived there academically, which is very important to him - less so for me tbh. I'd like him to be climbing trees and knitting, but there you go.
BUT when it came to ds2 I had misgivings. I don't think their SEN is up to scratch, they seem lazy about it, and a bit ignorant. They took ds2 who is dyspraxic, because despite his difficulties - or because of them - he is very able and diverting. But they are PISSING ME OFF now. I think in some areas private schools can be very lazy and behind the times.

I'm going to look about, and lots of people have recommended to me a state primary which has excellent SEN person, and good, best practice policies for him.