If you’re charged VAT will you remove your child from their private school? I’m v stressed!

[Liikklu]

We won’t be able to pay the increase. Only hope is asking grandparents for the shortfall which we don’t want to do. Anyone else in a similar boat? Do you think it will literally be a 20% increase on fees or will schools absorb some of it? Our school has said they will address the matter ‘if and when’ it applies.

Agreed, I think it stems from those not being able to afford it which in turn makes it bitter.

I feel like in the UK we have a culture of hating anybody that has more than us and festering in resentment, instead of striving to achieve more. In the US where earning more and going up the ladder in life and having financial security/success is celebrated. Here it seems frowned upon and I can’t understand why.

Maybe those categories are a bit crude - but how does a school 'fail' someone - it can not be a good fit maybe, but the same pertains to private schools surely?

@Annabel28 er no, I don't have to accept every policy of a party (my party or otherwise) simply because the nation voted them in, that is NOT what democracy means.

SEN stats for 2013:
SEN 12.8% - against a national figure of 18.8%, so lower, but still 4 children per class.
EHCP / Statement: 2.1% against a national average of 2.8%

Neither in 2013 nor in 2023 (latest data) is the school an outlier, containing only the children of the rich.

Well in terms of schools failing - a good friend of mine had her son with SEN and autism be expelled from his state school after he tried to commit suicide.

That was a bit of a failure IMO.

(He is now at my sons' school and she was telling me today when we bumped into each other at Sainsbos that he actually was able to physically get into the exam room last week for an A-level exam. Two years ago that would have been unthinkable. )

Yes, absolutely with regards to fit which is why I have my DC in two different schools, one private, one state. The point is that there are a lot of DC who were previously in state schools who have been moved to private because the state was failing them and for whom moving back would definitely not be a good “fit”. It really isn’t as easy as finding an outstanding state school and securing a place.

I hear you OP. Dc is finishing his A Levels this summer - thank goodness - as we would struggle to find the VAT. In the 5 years he’s been at the school the fees have gone up by 25%. We don’t have expensive trainers, streaming subscriptions etc and we take camping holidays in the UK - but I know we are fortunate to have the choice of private. My younger two are at grammar schools so they won’t be affected, except that I expect the pass mark for entry in Y7 and Y12 will go up.

It's pretty egotistical and wishful thinking to see debates about private schools only in terms of bitterness. It's clear that many parents prefer their children to be educated within their local community and with a broader range of children, and decent state education certainly is a very fundamental way of addressing inequalities - so if money can be found to fund it, then why not in the usual way, which is via increased taxation, in this case from the proposed VAT.

Private education is classed as a luxury (i.e. goods and services) in most countries, and as 93% of children don't attend private schools it's really a very minority interest.

@ThereAreNoSloesOnThere

would you consider having one child in state and one in private if they both have different needs?

There's an article in the Telegraph today suggesting that almost half of private school pupils may transfer to state in the event of additional taxation.

It's a figure escalating wildly as each day passes. I wonder how many it will be come the general election?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's cheap, we pay £40 for 50 mins and its worth it. But given OP currently spends 7 to 8k for a term per child it's very very unlikely a tutor will charge £500 per hour isn't it. Around here a lot of people do a good state secondary alongside additional private tutoring and it works out about a quarter of the price of private school and academically they have fantastic results.
It's an option for her, if they can no longer afford their private school and are worried about academics. I'm sure if they are comfortable with their current education bill, they will find £150 a week for a couple of sessions an absolute breeze in comparison to fees going up to potentially 9-10k a term if they pay VAT
The waiting list should be fine for them, they have time, they're pre planning for the future and (for example) if we can't afford fees we will have my son on a special needs gcse tutors list for a long while so it's all in place for him come year 7. No change will be immediate and they'll have some space to figure out their options, research state schools and tutors, find out who had space and what the waiting times are etc.

I’m so sorry, I also had a suicide attempt when I was in my state school. A huge, noisy comprehensive was like torture for me. It would be the same for my youngest son.

Tutor - who pays vat on a tutor? A lot of tutors are offshore.
None of this Labour tax shambles makes sense - just cheap trick for votes.
A class-based distraction from the real issues - economy, immigration

It shocks me that any party can champion a policy that is so harmful to CHILDREN. After all this is all it will achieve. For no discernible benefit whatsoever beyond spite. And expect anyone to actually vote for them.

Just cancel Netflix and don’t buy avocados

Yes because that’s the only way I see this debate… in terms of bitterness. What a daft comment. And name calling really adds grounds to your argument…
I am sure some parents living in inner city London like Tower Hamlets like I do probably don’t want to send their children to the local state school. This sense of community varies enormously around the country, whilst it might be relevant in a rural village in central London it is not the case.
You cannot say many parents prefer it when many parent don’t have a choice except to send their children there.

You don't have to accept it emotionally/politically but in the short term you still need to role with the consequences somehow.

I will never accept Brexit, that doesn't mean I could escape the consequences. When I say "accept", I didn't mean don't fight it - if this is an area you're passionate about by all means speak to your MP, sign petitions etc. But I don't think putting your arguments on a Mumsnet post is going to change the reality of the current situation.

cantkeepawayforever
Just for interest, I have looked up the primary school Starmer sends/sent his children to.

19% Free School Meals

Other primary schools closest to the school have FSM rates of 42%, 44% (x 2) and 61%.

Exactly, it is far easier to move your child from state school to a private school or from one private to another then it is to find another state school place for your child. If said child is suffering from MH issues then this is pivotal.
Quantmum’s argument is over simplified and has a total disregard for the wellbeing of children

In answer to the OP’s original Q….

Short term we will suck it up and see how our school and other local independent schools respond (current silence is deafening) to the introduction.

Depending on this we may decide to move to state either because 1) it’s affordable but changes in the offering make it no longer value for money in our opinion or 2) it’s no longer affordable in the long term as youngest is in pre-prep so it’s a long road ahead.

My expectation is we will either be in scenario 1 or 2 so we are preparing to move at the next natural break point in their education and to avoid disruption as far as possible.

I’m happy with our decision and have no concerns over moving to state.

I appreciate that this is very much area dependent and also different kids have very different needs so some families may feel more “wedded” to the private sector.

'Fee assisted' could mean a whole range of things in terms of how much that actually costs the school.
I do appreciate you answering though.

Well the Tories capping child benefits (leading to marked increase in child poverty), raising tuition fees and underfunding state education and the NHS hasn't exactly been good for children either - with respect, I worry more about the recent underinvestment of children as a whole (which cannot be good for long-term economic prospects) than for a much smaller group of children who will still have access to state education and, one would presume, a loving home with parents who care about their future/wellbing.

For me the bigger question is why aren't the state schools safe to start with - private has provided a solution for this family, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are many, many others not able to access a safe state environment and who aren't lucky enough to have secured such bursaries!

I'm wondering this same thing. My concern would be that DS2 would then grow resentful that his brother got special treatment- again. Already so much of our lives revolve around Ds1s care and medical needs, and this causes a strain and means that our lives are very limited in many ways.

So I'm not at all sure.

Really? As late as 2019, Sarah Chapman was forced to resign as an MP for Labour in Rotherham for having the temerity to speak about race in the mass grooming of working class girls. In a Labour Council that ignored the grooming of working class girls by Pakistani men for decades. An issue they wouldn't touch because of cultural sensitivities.

More lately, they have dragged their heels on accepting that gender discourses have thrown children under the bus with untested and radical medicalization with a cascade of medical harms so they can remain culturally pure and demonise women as dinosaurs and bigots.

Do you really think that they would stop short of harming private school children because the practical implications of the policy didn't meet the ideological narrative?