Oh, this is a juicy one - council subsidising fee-payers

[UnquietDad]

here it be

"A Tory council has plans to subsidise private school places for parents who have lost their jobs. Bromley is considering diverting money from its education budget to fund the places, which cost an average of £12,000 a year, for families struggling to pay fees."

My heart bleeds.

presumably because it's easier that way than finding them state school places ... certainly way cheaper than building new schools which is what they'd have to do if all the kids in independent schools suddenly landed on the state system

Not going to happen, apparently

I saw the BBC version - I think they only said they would "consider it", then decided not to.

That'll teach me to post a story that happened while I was on holiday!

mimsum's interpretation is an amusingly altruistic one. Of course they wanted to do it to avoid the state schools being "swamped". It's nothing to do with a Tory council "looking after their own" at all...

Drat! I was ready to rant!

We had a child on our waiting list last year and the LA said if they couldn't find her a place they would be forced to pay for private education so it isn't unheard of (Labour controlled council)

oh fgs UQD as mrz says it isn't unheard of, is a practical short-term solution and I bet you anything the vast majority of Tory councillors send their kids to state school like 93% of the population

I've never heard of it happening. But then, in most parts of the country, mine included, it doesn't need to, as there's always a school somewhere in the authority with spare spaces. And you can usually see why that is.

don't nhs patients get private care paid for if they need it and it can't be supplied?

i mean, if state care can't supply their needs

duh..excuse please

If the idea was that by spending an amount similar to what would have to be spent anyway if the child had to move to a state school, then I'm not sure why it should be objectionable. The choice of school wasn't up to the child; if there's a way to avoid disruption of its education which costs the taxpayer the same then it seems rather inhumane not to consider it.

If the child had been given a place in my class another teacher would have had to be employed which would cost a great deal more than the £12000 mentioned. If she had to be transported to the nearest school with a place it would also have cost far more - taxi plus wage of a chaperone. As it was the family moved to an area with surplus places (nearly 30 miles away)

Just to note the proposed subsidy wasn't 12 K anyway, it was 4.7 which is (I think) much nearer the normal capitation.

Our council prefers to pay taxi fares. A lot of children who get through to grammar on appeal are shipped miles from home to attend grammar schools out of area. With going on for 1000 appeals per year, which take place after local grammar places have been allocated, this adds up to a tidy sum.

Many children switch from private to state at secondary level. There are very, very few private secondaries around here.

They also pay taxis for EBD children attending special schools (sometimes to neighbouring counties).