Private school parents - why don’t you take collective action?

[Rocketspam]

Lots of private school staff are striking.

Head teachers are enjoying extraordinary hikes in their salaries. And there appears to be some kind of arms race over who can spend the most on facilities. Even bursary programmes rarely assist children where families have below average income or who might be eligible for free school meals.

The VAT increases bother parents on MN, but why don’t you take collective action as fee payers and challenge the HMC, GSA, ISBA or ISA on where your money has gone up to this point? Are you comfortable with so many independent schools using ‘fire / rehire’ for example. Is the level of stress this incurs conducive to the wellbeing of your children?

What do you think is going on inside a school when you see that teachers are taking industrial action against their employer?

Teachers in independents have been striking over TPS.

This is nothing to do with what you are complaining about though

Parents send their kids to an independent school which they trust. They trust the leadership at that school to make decisions about school policies, facilities, staffing, etc. They are also motivated to maintain a good relationship with the school their kids go to every day.

If they lose faith in the school's decisionmaking and no longer feel that it's right for their kid, then they have the option of moving schools. If a school goes downhill, then it attracts fewer pupils in the long term.

Ultimately the parents are customers. The concept of collective action is not really relevant to a group of disparate customers who have the freedom to move from one provider to another. We vote with our feet, on an individual basis.

The schools are also normally independent entities, separately owned and operated. It seems bizarre to me to talk about parents at different schools taking "collective action." Parents at one school might choose to make a collective complaint to that particular school (although ultimately the only actual sanction open to parents is to move their kids to other schools, as above). But there is no Great Authority which owns or controls all the independent schools in the country. They are literally independent.

I understand that you are very angry about the way things are going in some schools. But vaguely imagined "collective action" by parents is not going to be a solution here.

Yes but not the issue that the OP has her knickers in a twist over

@Spirallingdownwards you said that you hadn’t heard of any private schools striking, in response to me mentioning that private schools were striking in my OP.

So I have offered you links to Winchester College, The Royal Grammar School Guildford, the whole of the GDST, King’s Canterbury, St Catherine’s, Twickenham, Cardiff Cathedral School, St Mary’s, Ascot…

And instead of saying: sorry, no, I see that I might not be completely informed about this issue, you have decided that this isn’t what I am talking about at all, and have brought up my knickers which are, frankly, off-limits.

Mainly Southern schools and you are aware that there are schools above the Midlands? So no I won't get hot and bothered about something that doesn't affect the school my child goes to.

No striking teachers at DC’s school, or their last school. Staff are happy and stable and been there for a long time. Most have their own DC in the school.

Your opening post was framed to mislead. You said private schools are striking but didn't say why. You then went on your strange rant over one issue and asked why more weren't striking. So instead of saying yes I appreciate no one is striking over this one issue I have a bee in my bonnet about you want to point score.

I hadn't heard of private schools striking but can now see they are over TPS issues.

However literally noone seems to care about this consultancy issue which I still believe you ranted about before and got nowhere that time too.

My child’s school is planning to strike within the next four weeks. No communication about this has gone to parents. (It’s relating to TPS).
I’ve written to the head and CoG about it and had a really good response from the head - but nothing from the CoG.

I knew you were from the Midlands!!! Something about your tone. East?

Sorry - forgot the relevant bit: our school is significantly north of the midlands, not GDST.

Yes apparently I wasn't clear enough about no one is striking in relation to the issue OP is mithering on about.

I've worked in the independent sector for a decade, and have many friends working in other independent schools in the area (London).

The only strikes I've heard about have been threatened due to schools withdrawing from the TPS.

TPS strikes are the only ones that have really been prevalent across the sector, but in all of these cases, the schools have created comparable alternate schemes for teachers to pay into. Many of us understand that the government-mandated hike in employer contributions is unsustainable and that we do have to accept our schools can't afford it on top of all the other increases in costs - I know our school's energy bills have doubled in the past couple of years - and the declining numbers of pupils. London independent secondaries are being hit now with the year groups that were low birth rate years, and many that aren't big name competitive schools are struggling to fill all their places. That means something has to give if we still want jobs in the next few years. We have to be realistic - most private schools don't have Eton-size endowments and we are in difficult financial times.

By and large, as independent school teachers, we have better working conditions and better pay. I've not heard of any schools doing fire/rehire schemes as some kind of widespread strategy that should be a concern to parents. I'm not sure where you've got this impression from.

Of course there are strikes in the independent sector in the North. The North-East and the North-West. Newcastle High School had a very high-profile strike for about 5 days, was it?

I think OP is a bit bored.. a good old MN private school convo is a good way to pass the time if that’s what floats ones boat.. 😂

There is an issue with independents not choosing to continue with the TPS. But not all. Also, this is a 2year old link so this isn't new! St Mary's Ascot is recent but same old pension issue.

Keep up with the ad hominem, but I happy to give you evidence where you are incorrect @567839Y and @twistyizzy

@EnidSpyton fire and rehire was served by the GDST and King’s School, Canterbury to their staff … it is in widespread use across the sector. Section 118 is served at the beginning of the consultation process around the TPS. You can see ‘Fire / Rehire’ written clearly on the placards in the pictures where people are striking in front of their schools.

Do you have more information on the type of things the consultancy recommends to schools and how this impact on fees.

OK I'm going to bite. Other than Newcastle High please tell me which schools in the NE are striking or using fire/re-hire?

You are taking about 90% Southern schools which have zero impact on DDs school.

Obviously you have an axe to grind but to answer your question yet again: I'm not taking collective action because it doesn't affect DDs school. You seem to be unable to grasp that very simple statement.

If I didn’t think the school was well-run, I’d move them to another one. I wouldn’t be getting involved in any collective action, thanks. I’m busy working, I have my own battles to fight.

But I have not heard of any private schools with striking staff.

St Mary’s is current @swishswashswoosh. (Not recent).

@twistyizzy Durham! https://edcentral.uk/ednews/schools/11982-teachers-at-durham-high-school-take-action-over-bullying

Again, not DDs school. In any case they aren't striking about TPS or fire/re-hire are they?
Durham and Newcastle are close together geographically, they don't cover more than 25 miles of the NE.

Sorry yes, multitasking! I have always thought and known that the schools have colluded to price fix and even remember a few years ago when a couple of schools were penalised. It amazed me that nothing further was done. However, they are market driven and, certainly in my area, it's aggressively oversubscribed.