To want to move to England because of Scottish tax.

[Nogg]

Is anyone else thinking of moving to England because of tax. I’m a single parent and I am paying 7k extra tax a year. The place I live is run down. I really want to move but the only issue kids settled in ( failing) Scottish education system. I wonder if anything will change at next election? Hate SNP and what they have done to Scotland.

Not really, no. The Scottish budget is derived from various sources, taxes raised here and our share of the redistribution of the vast taxes raised by economic powerhouse that is the London / south east of England. This redistribution is calculated via the Barnett formula. That’s how the budget is derived. The spending of the budget is set according to the priorities of the Scottish government. Currently the spending differs via more money allocated to benefits and ‘freebies’. Make of these spending decisions what you will.

No way would I move down south, much as I love to visit. I live in central Scotland, we have friends and family in England and we defo seem better off here. I earn a decent salary but don’t grudge a little extra tax as it means free prescriptions (which I benefit from), and various other things (that I don’t). I don’t live in a run down area though, but they exist everywhere in the UK.

Degrees are three years in England vs four in Scotland making the cost pretty much the same despite fees in England - if you are earning in your fourth year in England that offsets the cost of fees compared to the additional year of study in Scotland.

Prescriptions in England cost a max of about £140 a year... You almost certainly pay a lot more extra tax than that.

And uni places are rationed, and often socially restricted to kids with high deprivation index scores rather than the highest school grades, meaning that a stream of youngsters are moving to England or elsewhere every year.

just look at the border - where people could
live 5 miles away and if they earned enough they could pay less tax
people don’t - even those who are most definitely earning big bucks

there is more to life than maximising the money you take at the expense of others less well off than yourself

i mean if you are earning so much that paying your moving taxes seems worthwhile to reduce income tax then You really need to learn chill about money and enjoy life

How many high earners live just five miles north of the border who could live just south of it? You don’t seem very familiar with the border landscape. However we do know 241 Scottish Government employers avoid paying tax in Scotland, including at least seven in the highest pay grade.

If you are earning £200k (based on your 7k figure) you probably can afford to live somewhere not "really run down" in Scotland tbh.

The borders does have a lot of below average incomes and isn’t as rich as Edinburgh- but it also have its share of higher tax payers

Across Scotland as a whole it’s only around 11% that pay higher rates and i would say that sounds right for this area also although it is complicated by the fact that some of those do work in Edinburgh ( often a mix of home and office based ) where the extra travelling does affect where they chose to live

but there are others who work local and stay this side and I shouldn’t have to go around posting their names for you to believe me !

You were not talking about ‘the borders’, you were talking about within five miles of the border. Where are you referring to? Gretna? Coldstream? And for both of those towns where would they live just over the border?

As a scot i will say elderly care is a nightmare. Its in real short supply with elderly people stuck in hospital for up to a year. All pensioners dont get heating benefit plus our heating bills are higher because its colder in Scotland especially in the north.

Education is failing terribly. Its really underfunded and the curriculum for excellence is nonsense. Play based learning is shocking and has caused huge regression and behaviour issues in kids. The overall standard of behaviour in schools is terrible to as the Scottish government will not let staff exclude kids no matter how much they abuse other kids or staff.

Free prescriptions are fantastic but paid for with higher taxes. Free dental care is pretty much non existent as there are virtually no NHS dentists left. I pay £32 a month for a private dentist.

No student fees are good but their is no guarantee they will continue.

Coldstream would be Cornhill for example

you can get your own map out for the rest

Given Cornhill on Tweed has a population under 350 we are not exactly talking about huge numbers of high earners having the opportunity to slink five miles over the border are we?

Curriculum for Excellence and play based learning is not the problem. There is excellent research into why both of these are well thought out and a great way to produce independent thinkers and collaborative workers. However, in order to scaffold children's learning (particularly in the early years when it is crucial for children to have play modelled and guided) there is a shortage of staff which comes from councils not wanting to pay and reallocating money to other areas (which for some bizarre reason they are perfectly within their rights to do). I cannot speak for secondary, but play based learning and curriculum for Excellence in primary schools is not the problem. It is the fact that the service and under valued and under funded.

I remember Cof E was getting introduced:
all achievements/objectives at each level were much less defined which makes it easier for those struggling to slip through the cracks.
Nice and fun when in primary school but not so good for secondary, but learn exactly the right words to spout and you’ll be fine.
when implemented in our area head honcho at the council thought it was a great idea to get rid of all texts books.
it doesn’t produce superior critical thinking individuals,
independent thinkers or great collaborators and no amount of staff will make this better-still cant believe you can be a primary school teacher without higher maths.

Why do you need higher maths to be a primary teacher?

What is your job, if you don't mind me asking?

I find it shocking you don’t need higher maths too. Why do you think you need higher English?

Are you asking me why I think you need higher English?

If so, I don't particularly as you can show a secure understanding of the English language through history and modern studies at the same level.

I actually work in schools and think a huge part of the reason its failing is because it's not properly staffed. They have a ratio of about 1 to 4 kids in most other countries that do it.

However as a parent I have had 3 kids go through it. My oldest child I moved to a different school that didn't do it as the school he was in was making such a huge mess of it. Imagine 60 kids running feral in between 2 classes and he was miserable and refusing to go to school. The new school hadn't started playbased yet so he loved P1. My 2nd child had a teacher who thought playbased meant the kids junk modelled all year and ran riot. The whole year regressed and had to catch up in P2. My youngest child had 2 teachers who really understood playbased learning plus had class rules and discipline and he thrived. His learning was rapid, his class well behaved and they all ended P1 way further on than they started.

Higher maths and higher English should be basic requirements for primary school teachers.
They are rigorous disciplines to grasp, but greatly enhances and elevates a child’s life long learning.

one of the fundamental ethos of c of e was that everything is connected: project on Romans? Ok, we can link together history English, maths, science, music, art, PE….
without a good grasp of maths and an enthusiasm for it, the maths element will probably be omitted or at the most very basic.
Even if you have a simple knowledge of calculus or matrices this can filter down to your pupils and you can shine a light on why it is important in our everyday lives. If you truly understand a concept you will be able to communicate in a way that any level of understanding will learn.

Each new generation has the potential to exceed our knowledge and understanding; surely that’s what we want for society, to be continually striving for better future, not dumbing down and regressing.

indpendent learners of the c of e are in charge of their learning so what happens when a child is very enthusiastic about maths and the teacher has only the basic of a C at Nat 5 (a D grade can be classed as a pass in some instances).

maths is all around us and is amazing. When you get it wrong it can be catastrophic (bridges falling down) and essential in many aspects of life:
advancements of using maths in predicting tumour growth,
pensions, mortgages and household budgeting.

Yes we do a disservice to our children with maths education in Scotland and one example of this is reflected in the market place for graduate jobs.

English is harder and hones more important life skills than modern studies and history, which can be learnt in some level from reading books or watching election results night tv coverage or get yourself on your community council (16 year olds are very welcome and council
would love to have some youth representative).
Off the top of my head…
reading for understanding: helps to critically assess what is actually being written or spoken.
Persuasive essay: helps to children to properly articulate their opinions and feelings.

I thought there were too many primary school teachers for the jobs available anyway? Perhaps making higher maths as compulsory for candidates would elevate standards and correct the imbalance.

You sound like you know a lot about this. Are you a teacher with a wealth of research and experience in this field?

Totally agree. I think it shows a lack of understanding of the importance of maths. Apart from anything else, a bright mathematical inclined P7 could be well on their way to Nat 5 - sufficiently so to overtake a teacher who got a C at Nat 5 a decade earlier. My DC primary had to bring in a secondary teacher to teach a child in my DC year by P6 (she moved to private in P7 as wasn’t challenged enough). But I also remember in lockdown the teacher trying to introduce algebra whilst clearly struggling to properly grasp it. Fortunately we were able to set aside her work and I taught it instead but loads of children really struggled with it ongoing as they did not properly understand the basic concepts.

That doesn't sound like someone who hasn't achieved higher maths. That sounds like someone who was unprepared. Not appropriate in any job.

The PISA results have fallen off a cliff since CfE was introduced. I thought it was widely acknowledged that it is a total and utter disaster. There’s no point having the ability to take decisions when you have no knowledge on which to base those decisions.