Request a state school place if you want it or not

[clarkkentsglasses]

This email is doing the rounds aimed at private school parents:

"The idea is to try to flood the Council with requests for urgent school places from September. If they get tens of thousands of emails like this we may see them under pressure."

Basically request a state school place if you want it or not.

675k children at private school in UK
137 local authorities. If half of private school parents do this (which they won’t) it’ll be about 500 kids per authority on average. Not tens of thousands

If you’re going to pay for education pay for it and stop trying to fuck around with others who aren’t. Its like fucking Veruca Salt stamping her feet

From your first post:

“Frankly, it boils my blood how people who’ve never had to deal with any kind of financial adversity are now throwing all their toys out of the pram because they are greedy and want to keep all their wealth for themselves. It’s about time they had to contribute something instead of sitting back with an I’m alright Jack attitude.”

That was a pretty big assumption from the word go that all private school parents had never faced financial adversity. And yes, as someone that grew up in poverty, I do find it insulting.

I have no them and us attitude. And that is laughable given your assumptions about private school parents and their attitude towards those that are worse off then then.

Where is your evidence of my them and us attitude? Because I challenge people about stereotypical opinions about private school parents and call out their name calling?

Do you also believe that because I have continued with private school for one of my children I haven’t been impacted by the cost of living crisis? In fact, if it wasn’t for the cost of living crisis I don’t think this would have been such a big deal for some private school parents. We (DH and I) had baked the VAT increase into our figures since the policy was first mooted in 2019. What we didn’t bake in is our mortgage going up by £600, our car and home insurances doubling, the massive increase in energy costs etc etc. About a third of my DC’s current year 6 are transferring to state this September. Far more than usual and the school is reducing it’s reception capacity by a third. And that’s a big, successful private school. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t believe this policy will raise much (if any) revenue.

But you don’t seem to be focused on revenue raising, you seem to be focused on fairness. But how is forcing some children to move schools fair?!

It doesn’t matter what I earn, it’s your assumption that private school parents have all benefited from Conservative policies. You clearly have a very skewed idea of private school parents because pretty much everyone who is paid PAYE is worse off now. And that’s before you take into account all those that have not had proper pay rises for a long time. You said that you went to private school, it must have been a very elite one there were no parents working in the public sector.

That was a pretty big assumption from the word go that all private school parents had never faced financial adversity. And yes, as someone that grew up in poverty, I do find it insulting.

Except, that’s not actually what I said. I did not say that all PS parents have never faced financial adversity. I am talking about the people who haven’t faced financial adversity who are now having tantrums because some haven’t! That’s just a fact.

So stop assuming that all of my posts are personally directed at you. I’m not going to respond to you any further because you are making things up and being unreasonable.

Policies always impact someone. If parents with children in private school can’t afford to keep them there then if it’s a top priority for them then why don’t they downsize to a smaller house or buy a cheaper car or something? Or have fewer holidays? It’s a choice where you spend your money and why. That’s what people on low incomes have been told to do or ‘get a second job or a higher paying job’.

I have quite often over the years seen and heard people say that private schools are only worth the money if you wouldn’t miss it.

The problem here is that the numbers of kids in private education isn’t evenly spread across the authorities- some will have a much greater concentration than others. The state schools in areas with more independent schools will potentially face a larger intake than those with less.

Im not sure how anyone benefits. The VAT will go on educating those that have moved in to the state system and the bureaucracy attached. Plus there’ll be a lot fewer bursaries around. Im not sure we will see any net improvements to education, but as the Lib Dem’s don’t stand a chance….

And did you ever think that the people who are complaining about this the most may not have those options? Maybe they already have second jobs - my DH did two jobs for years. My contract actually prohibits me from being employed elsewhere. Even if 90% of parents have those options (and I would dispute that anyone is going to be able to downsize by September in a stagnant property market) if 10% can’t and they move their children to state, this policy won’t raise any revenue at all.

Yes, it’s a choice, which is fine for people who are deciding whether to use private education but it’s not a reasonable choice for those who are already using it.

Yes, some people do say that. Not everyone though, some people put education above everything particulary where their DC have been failed by the State system.

Another example of how the very privileged in this country are determined to protect that privilege, and stuff the impact on the rest of the population.

Another great example of how private school parents are really covering themselves in glory and actually making the rest of the country lose sympathy for them. I've show friends and family the threads here, their opinion of our "betters" has gone right down.

When You’re Accustomed to Privilege, Equality Feels Like Oppression.

Is this a rumor? I've not received any letters.

The following was posted up thread. That really seems like privilege to me

”Exactly and my child with a disability goes to private school because she couldn’t cope in state. I’ve tried to get her back into state for 6th form but she cannot cope with this. She has now developed anorexia as a direct result of not coping with having a disability. As is idk if she will be mentally or physically well enough to even attend her current private school next year. And I am disabled myself.

The fees are already a stretch and coming out of savings. We were supposed to use that money to move house to get a downstairs bedroom for me. That now won’t be happening. Dd wouldn’t have been educated at all had it not been for paying fees as I’m far too ill to homeschool.”

Screenshot or it never happened!

In fact, even if you concocted a screenshot I won't believe you. I mean sure, you get arseholes everywhere, including private schools. But they're also a minority everywhere, including private schools.

The response from the majority of other parents would be so negative that I can't imagine anyone actually sending that out.

I don't want to get too personal about individual circumstances, but that's pretty much a textbook example of privilege - that in adverse circumstances, that person had resources that meant meant her situation wasn't as bad as it would be for someone who didn't have advantage. If the 4.3 million children living in poverty in the UK, many are disabled or ill and have ill or disabled parents. Sickness and disability are factors which push people into poverty. The poster said it herself - without those resources, her child would not be educated.

but if you apply for a state school place, then don't take it up, then NEED a state school place, I don't think the local authority is obliged to offer you one, are they?

The poster also said that it means that they can no longer afford a suitable house to meet their needs as a disabled person. You clearly have a very low bar as to what is privilege.

Wow, really? How horrible.

@TheaBrandt · Today 06:38.

Please can we have a separate private schools section? This is getting g ridiculous now.

It’s obvious what the topic is from the thread’s title - if you’re not interested then scroll on by.
However you post numerous times on every thread about private education so I can’t imagine why a separate section would make any difference to you.

Or even worse perhaps some of the pupils that are now in independent specialists funded at £80k to £100k per annum per child by the taxpayer could have had their needs met in mainstream if support had been put in place earlier rather than ehcp assessments being turned down and parents having to spend years going to tribunal while child deteriorates to a level where the school can no longer meet need

The examples given illustrate the range of circumstances illustrating that not everyone who send children to private schools are the same - as is true of those who send their children to state schools. Given the possibilities that fees may increase immediately applying for a place just in case is reasonable if people fear that they will not be able to afford the fees. if they have the money and know they will not need place under any circumstance then yes it is immoral to apply but bot everyone has that luxury. The problem with elections is that they create uncertainty and no-one really knows how they will be impacted ie mortgage, other taxes etc

I don't agree with you. I have seen posts on several of the gazillion VAT threads calling posters to apply for state school places when they don't need them just to cause chaos. I was shocked to read them but nobody batted an eyelid in the VAT echo chamber. The general degree of self-absorption is quite something.

@Paradoxygen I agree, having had it explained to me on other threads that people who have 2,500 discretionary income after school fees and mortage at 2000 each whilst also saving 500 a month couldn't possibly find flex in their budget to cover a fee increase for VAT, my mind boggled.

I think this is the "rishi mindset" where you can be sent to an elite private school (or send your children there) but whine about not having had sky TV

Mine go to private school and I fully accept that means I might have to go without other luxuries. It doesn't mean I am deprived, it means I made a choice.

Yes, I have been appalled by the way some of my fellow private school parents have described state schools/ the children that attend them.

I went to a day school and if there was bad behaviour I was fairly oblivious (I was a nerd!) buy my some of my friends at university were at boarding school and they had eye watering stories about drug taking and drinking and sneaking out to see boys

And I remember there was a huge drugs problem at my brother's private school, my parents ended up moving him to state school for a while because he was finding the train ride to school so stressful as a result.

I still sent my children private because of work /where we live logistics. But I certainly don't subscribe to the view that private schools are perfect and state schools are just violent anarchy. It's really weird black and white thinking

Yes I agree @WindsurfingDreams - I went to an all girls school and loads of the girls in my year were having sex at 13 and quite a few also took drugs. Affluent kids have access to money that can buy that stuff.

The private schools in my town are now all co-Ed and I hear tales of 14 year olds from one particular school having cocaine fuelled parties and filming each other having threesomes etc.,

@Onomatofear I would take some of that with a pinch of salt, its a fairly common trope regarding private school kids and parties.

I do know from friends at one exclusive London grammar that when the police have come to do drug dog sweeps and knife arches (like they do at many schools), they also swabbed the 6th form toilets and found significant traces of cocaine in both the boys and the girls.

So its a trope if it relates to private school and a fact if it relates to a grammar?

@WindsurfingDreams

This was a report from staff at the grammar, I've not heard such a specific story with details about other schools in the past.

I've heard stuff about private school kids and cocaine fuelled orgies for a long time. Different schools, different cities, same stories.

But you are right, both could be made up.