Whitehall “braced for private schools collapse” 3

[ICouldBeVioletSky]

Starting a third thread to discuss impact of VAT on private school fees, as the topic looks likely to run (and run). Though probably best to finish off the second thread before posting here, thx.

So your children are currently in school.

I get that you want certainty, but you chose to remove your children from the usual calendar of state school applications and school offers.

Enjoying it? No. Trying to.point out the level of privilege and obfuscation on these threads? Yes.

Your child is in education. Once they are out of education the LA has a responsibility towards them, and if you are not rapidly given a place you have every right to complain.

As I said, it was only a couple of months ago there was a thread here encouraging all private school parents to contact their LA saying their child would need a place, even if they were planning to keep their child in the private school.

Plus, people's plans change. Once you are out of the usual application/offers of places system in state schools you have to take what you are offered.

But once your child is out of school you should be offered a place.

@Baital do you not understand? There aren't enough spots available. You are clearly enjoying this, disgusting,

@Baital I'm not enjoying it at all. LEAs have an obligation to provide a school place for every child who needs one. Are your children still without a place?

Sorry- my last post was to @RedRidingGood .

Maybe tell that to the parent with a child with a brain injury, forced out of school by VAT and 0 response from her MP. In fact, she blocked her! Labour MP Jayne Kirkham.

@Baital we did not expect the school to close, also I felt bad taking up a state school spot if I didn't need it (or so I thought).
Look, it's not political for me. I'm a mother worried about my DC. That's it.
If you think this is great, then fair enough. I really do suspect you're from the Labour Party.
But Im struggling as you can imagine. This is my DC. If you think it's silly for me to worry about my DC then that's fine, we have different ways of parenting and how we dare about our DC maybe, All I'm stating in this thread is an impact that I've seen.

I don't belong to any political party.

You didn't apply for state schools in time, so all you can do at this point is join a waiting list.

Once your children's school closes, they are no.longer in school. They should rapidly be given a place at a state school, as that is their legal right.

If they aren't, get your MP involved.

But for now your children are in school so there is nothing to be done. You ignored the process and deadlines for planned state school applications.

@CurlewKate are you @Baital too? Wonder if you're using two usernames.
Yes. My DC who starts reception in Sep does not have a spot.
Look I'm not looking for you to solve my issue, given this is my DC I hope people appreciate I've exhausted and spoken to as many people as possible,

@Baital yes I didn't apply for a state school as I did not want to deny a child a state school spot as I thought I had a place in my private school. Why would I intentionally not apply?

@Baital I've spoken to my MP I can't tell you how disinterested he is. I suspect he hears my foreign accent, and doesn't care about my situation TBH. I'm not important enough.

@Baital I think you're not here to listen, we will have to disagree. I can understand the lack of concern if it's not your DC.

The cost of collecting this data would be negligible. It would take a junior analyst a few hours at most to come up with a fully automated system to check the number of private school children against the number of state school children in an area year on year, as corresponds to the total population. You could also map it against earnings, mortgage rates etc to isolate the probable cause to VAT. All these figures are already available, you would only need a very basic tool to put them into a single dataset. It wouldn't be exact, but it would give a very strong indication, and would cost next to nothing. If you are as eager for the money raised to go to state school children, surely you want to know how much there is so it can be used effectively? The government obviously can't plan how best to distribute it if they don't even know how much there is, or how much there is likely to be in the future.

I worry about my DD, I understand that.

As I said, I don't belong to any political party.

We moved back to the UK at the end of 2019 because DD's additional needs were not being recognised.

It was past the standard application time for secondary.

By the time DD's citizenship was sorted COVID had hit. Schools weren't taking applications (understandably). Then it was summer holidays, and they weren't processing applications. Then they were returning to school while organising bubbles...

By then DD had been out of school for 9/10 months.

And then I got our MP involved, because my application for a school place wasn't being dealt with.

Yes, as parents we worry, we want certainty. But there is a system for allocating state school places. If you aren't part of it, from choice or circumstances, then you don't get advance notice.

But the moment your child is out of school and is legally entitled to a place, they are legally entitled to a place.

Before then it is your issue if you haven't taken part in the application system and met the deadlines.

@MNHQ please respond

As I understand it is impossible to take part in one thread under two names.

I am sorry you find it Impossible that two different posters would disagree with you. Maybe you live in an echo chamber.

@Baital in this instance the state needs to accommodate 160 students. So it's a different situation to your DC with additional needs. You can't compare your situation with mine, it's completely different so you can't sympathize. The same way I can't understand why you would need to move country for a school - lots of countries can accommodate children with additional needs lol so I think you're lying.

@Baital because she responded to a reply meant for you so I thought she was playing with two user names. Maybe I'm wrong then.

@RedRidingGood I'm sorry the PP are giving you a hard time alongside a good old gloat. You are in a difficult position, and you will be one of thousands over the next few months and years. I feel for you, and hope your child does get a suitable place with minimal stress to you. Good luck.

The state system where we were didn't support additional needs.

I couldn't afford private.

So we moved back to the UK, where she has since got an EHCP.

Are 160 pupils going into state provision? Or are 160 pupils losing a school place?

Can you see the difference?

@RedRidingGood from me too. Labour policies tend to bring out the worst wrt interrupting children's education.

@Baital state provision, no other private school in our area.

Thank you, I'm incredibly distressed in my situation.

That doesn't make it reasonable to accuse other posters of being sock.puppets or lying

You said the next nearest private school was 40 minutes away, which was too far for you.

It's probably not too far for many other families.

@SoaringKitty but im beginning to suspect that im being trollled by @Baital as they're getting immense pleasure from the closure of my DC private school and that as a private school parent im suffering and that my DC will suffer. Given this is my DC I'm sickened by the thought of someone enjoying seeing me on distress so I'll bow out of this thread now to give myself some dignity.
I hope this situation improves as no child should suffer - private or state.

Gosh this one runs and runs doesn’t it?

Less financially solvent private schools probably would have gone to the wall anyway, even without this policy change. The middle classes have been completely stung with the cost of living and private education is one of the things that people cut back on. It is one reason why property in my area has been selling so well (in the catchment of an outstanding state secondary school).

Anyway, feel sorry for all individual children affected. But in general it is a popular policy with the voting public.