Letting go of private school reception place amid fear of recession when we are not affected yet

[anyoneconsidering]

DS due to start reception at a private school. Deposit and the first term's fee paid.

I do wonder if we should let go of that place and start him in a state school instead, amid the fear of recession looming and the potential uncertainty of our financial situation in the future.

Our jobs are not affected currently. Hence DH thinks that this change of plan is unnecessary especially as we've made financial commitment to the school already.

But I worry what recession (and maybe world wide depression) might bring to us that we can't predict right now.

Am I the only one considering this? Anyone in similar situation - what are your thoughts?

A lot of this sounds like you weren't convinced by your decision to go private in the first place?

It sounds like you don't actually have to make a decision right now. You will be able to accept your state school place next week and make a decision at a later date if needed. Not v considerate to others but plenty of people do it.

I personally would never consider private education (siblings and I all went to a mixture and the financial sacrifices my parents made to fund independent were not at all worth it imo). Unless you are supremely comfortable financially I wouldn't start something that I'd have to change based on financial considerations. Any advantage that is bought by private education can be bought in other ways - extra curricular tutoring, resources and activities - if you so choose, at a fraction of the price.

If you're worried about finances, live close to and liked a good state school, why wouldn't you take the place there?

Put them in state, the standard of teaching is often hire as private schools can hire unqualified teachers. Also they will learn better values, be more inclusive, diverse and adaptable, all of which will stand them in good stead for post 2035 work life.

Seeing the private school kids flounder when they hit 25 and suddenly they are need to step up and display different skills in their careers makes me angry, they are being cheated.

The future of work needs so much more than nice accents and hot houses grades.

Higher not hire. Autocorrect!

It’s really difficult to judge that! Having been involved in state education for years as a governor, I do find that we weather all the troughs but it’s hard. However state schools have already had big budget cuts (not in all areas as there has been a levelling out of expenditure too) and many couldn’t take much more. Class sizes are limited to 30 in KS1. Classroom size can also limit classes and many schools try and stick to their allocated class sizes in KS2 and reject appeals for entry.

Regarding private schools: this will cause big financial holes. It’s just inevitable. People won’t feel they can commit if they don’t have substantial savings or can call on other money eg from grandparents or remortgaging. The schools will also have to deal with mounting bad debts from existing parents. It’s inevitable and parents who are just about managing the fees will find there are problems with any diminution of income, eg reduced by 20% or a job loss/loss of self employment. There are plenty of parents without savings.

If a school intends to survive with diminished fee income they have to look at overheads. The biggest overhead is teaching costs. So what class sizes are they running? Do they need to be that small? My DDs old prep ran classes of between 16-20 x 3. If your school has around 12-14 x 1 class per year group, I would be worried because that’s not sustainable if parents pull out in any number. If it’s a bigger, well established school, I think it could weather a storm. Look up it’s finances on the Charity Commission web site if it’s a charity. In a financial storm it would be difficult to see how they wouldn’t be affected unless it’s uber posh with lots of very rich parents.

Just to add: DD 2 at state school did dancing, piano, brownies and swimming after school. She absolutely was not too tired. None of these in YR but by the age of 6 she was flying! She had added junior strings and choir at the music centre by the time she was 8 (but had dropped the dancing). Some DC are full of energy and busy). Other dc did loads of sport outside school: judo, football, tennis, cross country running, rugby etc.

Me again: DD2 became a barrister after her private education. She “steps up” every day of her working life on beheld of others!

Unfortunately it all depends on the specific schools. Don’t want to out myself so apologies for sketchy details but one local outstanding state near us (in national newspaper top 100) recently suspended entire teaching staff and is subject to an unprecedented investigation due to fake SATS results and financial irregularities. Two local independent schools: one has superb facilities and great teaching, other has poor teaching and atmosphere is strict and lots of pupils unhappy. You probably won’t know which school is right until child gets there but as others have said you can move easily from State to independent just make sure if you give up independent place you do so on good terms and indicate your desire to return later so you don’t burn bridges.

How long ago was the Outstanding attained. If recently, great, but if 8 years ago it might be a very different school now but that’s where checking their web pages comes in. What is the school offering? I would still be inclined to take it as you did like it when you visited.

i’d accept the state place. What was already happening at our prep is that admissions were down so they moved to 3 larger classes per year rather than 4x 16-18. I suspect a lot of private schools will have to do the same and if class size was the driving factor, you may not get the benefit

In the flip side - if you’re both working, presumably the longer school hours/ guaranteed breakfast club and afternoon school activities in private would have been important- so how will you cover that?

A few of our friends are stuck paying out £1000s in fees for schools that are currently closed. In this current climate, with no idea when normal life might resume (and no I don’t mean lockdown for months, I just mean that there are likely to be periods of disruption and uncertainty around the peaks until a vaccine/treatment is found), I wouldn’t entertain the private sector. But that might be linked to my belief that private primary is unnecessary if you have access to high quality state education. Indeed, all our friends at private primary are there because their catchment schools are poor. No getting around the fact that a well performing primary in a ‘naice’ catchment will be full of kids whose parents could afford private if they wanted to (even if that’s not true of all children).

Getting off to a good start in education is so important. I would keep them in private for as long as possible and then beg for a bursary if necessary before moving them to state. If you are concerned that the school might collapse I suppose you could hold on to the state place until August when things are a big clearer.

State schools get the vast majority of DC off to a good start too! They now even send the majority of DC to Oxford and Cambridge! Any parent who can get into a good state school won’t be short changed in the “good start” stakes. As a parent you will hear your DC read and do the phonics wherever you go. You can do all sorts of learning at home to complement school provision. Good starts need excellent teachers. Not so good starts might include outdated reading schemes, unqualified teachers and a dull curriculum. I’ve seen all three in my local tiny prep. You cannot always assume private gives you everything!

@Grobagsforever surely you mean private? I’ve never seen the kind of discriminatory behaviour (in particular class or race/nationality based) from people who’ve been privately educated as I have in the general population. I also know of only a handful of privately educated people that haven’t been acceptably successful after university (all but one it was a result of mental health problems). I know a lot of privately educated people so I might know them a bit better perhaps.

@BubblesBuddy it’s not realistic to get your average child off to a good start in a class of thirty. Confident and able children will be fine of course but many children need extra attention at that early stage and that requires resources. It’s certainly more useful at that stage than in later years where learning is fairly self directed. It’s a large generalisation of course but it’s usually true the exception being for exceptionally crap teachers which of course happens in the private sector occasionally.

For those saying private education offers no more, it definitely does.

I don't know a state school I've worked in that teachers you the sort of manners/respect my school did (stand up behind your chair when a teacher enters etc)

And I also don't know a single state school with facilities that could come anywhere close to what my school had.

OP, if it were me I would go for the private school, and as a PP has said, just ask for a helping hand if things get tough.

@Reginabambina yes! Many super bright kids will do well in state school (although a friend had to move her 2 sons from our local ofsted outstanding state school to private as they got bullied mercilessly for being bright, and school couldn’t be bothered to intervene). But more average kids or kids with mild SENDs really benefit from the small classes and better facilities of a GOOD private school ( there are some horrible ones, no discussion!)
Plus in the moment private schools can put a lot more resources into supporting kids than state - and the gap between the kids will get bigger every week that these kids get still get their lessons and support, and many (not all!) state schools send some worksheets home.
In summary, it depends on your child, and the specific schools

There is a big difference between a top prep and an average little private school. I have seen little private schools with dire facilities virtually no sport because they are too small to have teams and unqualified teachers who wouldn’t be able to be teachers in the state sector. Not all private schools are temples to privilege and excellence. Some are crammers with very competitive parents.

Some do take the children whose parents don’t think they will flourish in a state school. However the prep DD went to was big and busy. It wouldn’t have suited an ultra quiet child. The “haven” type of school is the most vulnerable in this situation because the rich don’t tend to choose them.

The vast majority of DC at this age (KS1) are state educated. Facilities for YR are a moot point anyway. What do 4/5 year olds really need over and above the facilities in a state school? The state schools around me were all better than the private school with poor teachers and even worse facilities, even if it did have small classes. (Retention of staff was poor too and music and drama were not as developed as the state schools). Facilities really are not the most important factor in KS1. Quality teaching is the main factor.

Secondary, and to some extent KS2, is different. Facilities are then more important but only if your DC takes advantage of them. If they don’t care for sport, music, drama and anything else beyond the curriculum, then you won’t use the facilities very much! But you will be paying them. So the best advice is to choose wisely and within your budget but don’t expect the world.

The extra support at DDs was prep had to be paid for! It wasn’t part of the standard fees. So yes, it’s available but at a price and it was required if DDs were assessed as needing it. Hopefully, op, you won’t be in this position! Also factor in uniform, trips, parties, extras and your fee payments are just the start of expenditure.

My children go to / went to private schools. My stepsons started at an 'outstanding' state school but were moved to private as they didn't progress.
Only you know your child and the schools you are deciding between. There must be a reason you looked at private when you had the choice of an outstanding state school. If you think your child will thrive at the particular private school then why not stay with that (also as you have paid a terms fees and there's usually a terms notice will you lose that if you wait after the Easter break to give notice)? Depending on the school it may have a long waiting list so if a number drop out for whatever reason they may not suffer as much financially.
In our current local area I would not send my children to the state schools - they are not good. The private school has really stepped up distance learning (do not know about the very youngest children as mine are in the secondary part of the school) and I believe that their progress will be maintained - not ideal of course but the school started running a full schedule of classes remotely before the Easter break (even PE!) and will resume for summer term, which they have also extended for two weeks.
Is your concern state vs private, or simply the unknown financial future? I think you should stick with your current choice for now, and if things change over the next year it is not too much upheaval to move your child to state at such a young age.

I’ve had my dds in both prep and state. The education at private is often no better than a good state. The extras - swimming, art etc you can provide at home.

We are staying in prep as the girls are settled but I wouldn’t do it again if I knew what I know now and at this time of financial uncertainty we really regret our move

If you think she will thrive at the state I would go for that school.

@reginabambina

No I meant state schools are superior. You have the reassurance of knowing teachers are properly trained. You have students from all walks of life there. You have students who are exceptionally resourceful because they are raised with very little.

Around half my profession are privately educated. I see them flounder all the time as their resilience and adaptability is lower and their sense of entitlement is higher, I work in early talent and I see the private school kids simply not coping with the multi-faceted demands of working life.

Private school for the post 2030 workforce simply isn't anything like the advantage it used to be as the old boys network means less and less, which was always the key differentiator.

Of course some private school kids do well. But they'd have done just as well at state school. Private school is about status, not education.

I’m state school, dp is private. Many privately educated kids in our profession. I think resilience and creativity are often (not always) higher in state educated kids, as not spoon fed. However, private educated kids usually more confident which can help career wise

@pentium85

It's genuinely hilarious that you think standing up behind a chair just because a (possibility unqualified anyway) teacher enters the room has anything to do with getting a good education. I assure you, this kind sheep like obedience absolutely does not predict performance at work. And yes, it is my job to measure that. Conformity has a negative correlation with reaching leadership roles.

@Onceuponatimethen I agree private schools give confidence (or entitled behaviour in many cases). But parents can also provide that.

Also the world of work is changing to value quiet confidence more, less attention is being paid to the showier types. Performance metrics are slowly changing to recognise this.

Not always I’m afraid. Fake it til you make it is very defective and people are often very happy to take people at their own estimation