can state primary education plus tutoring = equivalent of private?

[wheelsonthebus]

we planned to privately educate dc, but dh lost his job and now dc is going to a state primary - downgraded from good to satisfactory by ofsted . if we have dc tutored from yr 1 say, can we get up to standard of a private school(with a view to moving dc if our finances improve - possibly at 7, but definitely at 11). Can an hour a week really achieve anything? Anyone done this from early on? Interested in any views. I now work f/t so doing lots of stuff with dc after school myself is not really an option (except at weekends). I'd be interested to know when tutoring shd really start. My friend said her primary school gets great league table results but that's because most parents pay tutors. Also; what do most people get tutors for - maths or English or both?

Greensleeves - each to their own. You can't help being grossly wrong-headed .

Someone asked what the difference is between a Y6 privately educated pupil and a Y6 state-educated pupil. The best way to find out is to go into the playground and talk to Y6 pupils at both kinds of schools. The difference even between children at an average independent and an excellent state primary is considerable and it's far more than academic (that's just scratching the surface) - but it's something you need to witness for yourself.

Really RortyDogOfTheRemove have you tried?

yes, private school pupils tend to have a nice veneer of social polish and bags of exterior confidence - that's what private schools offer

and that is what parents pay for - because they care more about appearances than real education

all the bleating about sports fields and bassoon lessons facilities is diversionary and.....wrong-headed

Idont beleive Araminta said tax payers did pay for the wii.

Maybe it was the PTA that payed for the consoles. I know my children have many recreational benefits at school payed for by the PTA. Including supporting some things which are solely educational.

I know a lot of year six pupils from our local prep school. Apart from the posh blazer (and teamcullen kids have those at state school) I can see no difference at all. They are all polite lovely kids as far as I can tell and so are the ones from the state school.

The only difference is that sadly some of their parents believe that they are superior.

It would be a mistake to assume that those of us here who have chosen state schools have never been inside a private school or met children from private schools.

That would certainly be a mistake.

teamcullen you are indeed wise it was PTA funded.

Only DD who is in secondary school has the posh blazer and that stinks of cat pee when it gets wet.

DSs have a lovely pale blue shirt, navy wool jumper with school badge embroided on, navy tie with gold stripe. Grey shorts (yr 6 can were long trousers), grey socks, black school shoes.

teamcullen,

How does the school manage laptops for all pupils? I assume they lend them out, and expect them back at some point.

Is there a deposit to be paid or a contract to be signed? What happens if they get lost or damaged, or affected by a virus?

I would be interested to know how this scheme worked. When I looked at the video clip that was posted earlier on this thread, all the students had a tablet PC, but I think they were left in school each day.

Vinblanc- All pupils are given a laptop for the duration of time that they are in school, and give them back when they leave. So that would be 5-7 years. However I think they update pupils with a new laptop if they stay on for 6th form.

There was no deposit to pay although parents and pupils sign a contract to say that they will care for the computers in the proper way.

If a laptop has a technical fault, pupils hand it in to the technitions at school at the beginning of the day and pick it up later when it is fixed.

A very few children have had their laptops stolen from home and the school have asked for parents to claim for it on their house insurance, although not all parents have house insurance in which case they are asked to provide the crime number they get from the police.

The school has told all the girls that if they are approached in the street and asked to hand over their laptop, that they should do so as pupils health and safety is paramount.

If a child breaks a laptop through being careless, such as spilling a drink over it, parents are asked to pay £100 deposit for the replacement of the laptop, although this is at the schools discretion. I think this has only happened a few times, usually the children are very careful.

The only other things that parents are asked to pay for is replacement chargers, if they become lost or damaged.

On the whole I think the scheme has been very sucessful and there have been very few problems. The children have thrived and teachers have been able to make lessons more creative.

Wireless technology is availible throughout the school and pupils are allowed in school an hour before school starts and when school finnishes for children who dont have access to the internet at home.

thank you

I know some secondary schools in my area are giving pupils minibooks (small 4G laptop) cost to the school is around £150 The size means they fit in a normal school bag so not such an obvious target for thieves/muggers they run all the basic software word-processing/spreadsheets/presentations/etc and give wireless internet access. Only limitation I can see is they don't have a built in DVD/CD drive (but that means they can't easily be used for games so perhaps it's a plus)

mrz - yep, I have!
(Hence I went for the private option ).
As it happens, Greensleeves, I care passionately about education (I worked in education once upon a time). This was yet another reason that I chose private.

Me too which is why I quickly left

I am passionate about education too

which is why I still work in it

firmly and happily in the state sector

Agreeing and bumping to the top of 'threads I'm on'.

I also care passionately about education, and work in the education sector. And I really don't think my children's futures will be very different if they go to the local below average comp, or if they went to one of the local private schools (which would be an option for us financially but we wouldn't consider it). I am quite sure that if they have the ability and drive to follow a particular course or career they'll be able to achieve it whichever system they go through.

We are all useless at team sports in this family anyway so lots of compulsory sport would be my idea of school hell.

I'm not particularly sporty, but I do think that sport is a good thing. I would love if my DCs' primary had a more effective sport program, where they were forced to take part. I'm sure they would enjoy it, even if they weren't particularly talented, and it would relieve me of making sure they were well exercised

I've been mulling over this personal laptop thing. I can't see how the finances work out without totally neglecting things like textbooks. I know how hard I am on laptops for just my personal use, I don't see how a kid can move them around and back and forth to home without serious maintenance requirements. I cannot see how this comes out of the school capitation budget. Some kids are just so bad about their possessions, and I hope that they don't treat school laptops like their PE kits.

What textbooks do children need at primary school, vinblanc?

Sounds like they can't afford them

I think the laptop weilding children are in secondary, btw.

vinblanc the average state secondary schools spends £90 000+ a year on ICT equipment
in addition to obvious standards fund there are a number of initiatives such as Tools for Schools and Microsoft Anytime Anywhere Learning
A primary school budget will be somewhere around £20 000 depending on size

No vinblanc primary schools provide free laptops too

Laptops for each child to keep and take home?

I am shocked.

Actually the free laptops are for children who don't have access to one at home.
Something I need to chase up with my head in Sept.