How's the Private School VAT increase impacting you?

[mumsthewordi]

To private fee paying ...are kids/s still in private ? Are you comfortably still able to afford and happy paying it ?

To state, how do you feel? Have you been impacted by more kids in class or would you expect that to play out this year? Or perhaps you weren't supportive ?
Do you think state schools will improve ?

Full disclosure
A struggling fee paying parent of one kid only other is at state and my oh is an amazing secondary school teacher - we are a divided household indeed at time, but we've made choices best for us.

In your opinion. Not factual data but hey ho.
You know the reality of how each of the 2500 indy schools in the UK operates? No of course you don't.
How dare you accuse all parents of hand wringing, who said kids with SEN aren't bright? Noone, you've just put those words into our mouths.

We have 2 consultant vacancies in our dept and have not managed to find anyone who wants to take the work on a substantive post so we are instead paying locums an extortionate rate to fill the gap. Who is going to fill the gap when we can’t even fill the current ones?!

Yes tutors and sports clubs pay taxes just like the staff at private school pay tax on their earnings. We will be paying far less to tutors and sports clubs than school fees and the balance will be going in our pensions.

We are not the only ones in this boat - this is to be replicated by many private school parents. As I said, we are doing what’s best for us, we never had an aversion to state sector. The large scale consequence for us is thankfully minimal

Our school is literally bursting at the seams.

4 new starters in to Year 1. 7 new starters in to year 2 for Sept.

They have a waiting list for Year 5.

You don’t like being called out do you? Tough. And how do you know how 2500 schools operate? Are you omnipresent yourself? How dare you use children like mine to score political points? Can you answer that?

Im sick of seeing this on threads. If anyone is allowed to complain about the VAT situation, it’s me. Or others who have children with SEN . Not people who are just pissed off because you don’t like having to pay more money. And then using disabled children to try and make people agree with you.

You must think we’re stupid….

My lived experience IS factual. If my daughter’s school closes then there isn’t another school in my town that I think will be able and willing to meet her needs. Whether state or private. I know this because I’ve had experience of the admissions processes and I have a friend who has just had to move her son twice in one term from two prep schools in our town because they were unwilling to meet his needs.

1pc on income tax, hypothecated for education, could have saved a lot of drama and shenanigans.

It's a shame Labour didn't have the balls.

Those presumptuous parents who want the best for their children! They should be grateful for what they get. Having taught in a number of state secondary schools in London, I can say that the quality of state schools varies massively. Parents and children have a lot more choice when choosing a suitable sixth form. Why shouldn’t they want the same choice when it comes to primary and secondary?

But these tiny school closures were happening well before this policy came into place. I know of several schools having closed simply because their numbers dropped to the point where they were not viable - it seems to be when they drop below 200 students its game over.
Many of the students just move to another of the small schools locally and in fact it can then secure the future of that other school which was likely also struggling for numbers.

Well, interestingly in our area. 2x heads have resigned from private schools.

Personally I know no one who's moved their kids since vat introduced. I know one couple that decided against private for secondary this September based on the fact finances were going to be too tight with the vat, and it would cause a great deal of stress. I also know another couple who moved their Year 3 and Year 5 children to state about 18 months ago, as finances were on a knife edge due to school fees and they decided better to do it sooner than later. This couple both attended private schools from 4-18 and loved the experience so wanted it for their kids, but had to accept they just couldn't do it. I swear the mum went through a grieving period but has now come to terms with it.

13 announced closures since Sept and 3 more since 1st Jan. This is unprecedented

You're not calling me out so don't worry

It has just accelerated something that was happening anyway. In recent years loads of small preps have had to merge with larger schools in order to continue operating.

Agree. Schools close all the time. Both independent schools and state schools.

Yes it's sad for the children who attend them, no it isn't a crisis

Ah so thata OK then the speeding up? Maybe tell that to the kids and parents

2 of my schools closed within a year while I was there, and that was well before VAT, so not unprecedented. I suspect it’ll just be the scapegoat for something that would’ve happened anyway.

Full disclosure
A struggling fee paying parent of one kid only other is at state and my oh is an amazing secondary school teacher - we are a divided household indeed at time, but we've made choices best for us.

Another divided household here, OP. 👋
I'm a state teacher, but my eldest starts private school later this year. No plans to change that - still going ahead with private school. Other kid still at nursery. We've already accounted for VAT and yearly fee hikes in our calculations of costing, otherwise we wouldn't consider it.

In my state school, 2 children left at Christmas to join the local private school starting this term. None have moved from private to our school (yet), we're slightly under PAN though. My school is heavily supported through a partnership with a local private secondary school however, so it will be interesting to see the trickle down effect of the VAT increase there. I expect we'll have less training invites, less use of their minibuses and facilities etc etc....

State schools aren't full here anyway so will welcome any new students, as of 11am, no enquiries at our attached school

School governors will be expecting so much more from Heads and parents will be demanding so much more for what they’re expected to pay. It will be a very tough time in private education.

I don't think we will see any impact right now. It will be further down the line

Could these staff members take up posts in the state sector? There are absolutely loads of teaching and support staff vacancies nationwide so I can't imagine it would be difficult to get a new job.

Why would they want to when the conditions for teaching in state is so bad. 44000 teachers left the profession last year.
Many indy teachers are ex-state and have no wish to go back.
Then youve got the issue of which state schools want Latin/Classics/music/art teachers? OK if you are maths or science but not so easy in subjects which aren't taught in state.

I'm sorry for this individual kids who will be disrupted but I can't help but see that an influx of passionate, motivated parents to lobby for the improved funding and teaching quality that forms the majority experience of UK children is anything but a bad thing. Help us to bring the state sector up to the standard you think you were getting in the private sector but do it for all kids now.

Why do 93% of parents need the help of 7%? Why are we going to be able to magically improve anything? Aren't there ambitious and sharp elbowed parents already in state sector?
I think you are doing a huge disservice to the majority of parents who currently use state schools.

Not one child has left in our (fee paying) year group.

No, we all work together to improve things for the majority because some of us have a more powerful voice than others to do that work. Because it's easier to do that sort of lobbying when you aren't scrimping for your last 20p for the bus (a parent of a child I taught who spent it coming to parents evening) or you aren't struggling with drug addiction and sending your kids in to school unwashed and unkempt because you don't notice (another child I taught). And yes, there are sharp-elbowed parents in the state sector, but we're always happy to have more fighting for the cause.

No body has ever said that we need fewer people to care about the quality of state education. I'm happy to have every person there and grateful to all those many parents who did vote, did lobby MPs, do contribute to PTA fundraisers, do help support their kids in class and do all those things that many many parents do regardless of income. I'm just saying, I'm always happy to have more in the fold!