Vat on Independent school fees?

[SkyBlueFlux]

In an ideal world you’re absolutely right but if you have a shit state school in a particular area, some parents are going to stretch themselves to send their kids to a private school. The correct answer is to fund the state sector properly to improve quality so the demand for private education goes down but that takes time and doesn’t help an individual who needs to make a decision now.

I do understand my view is idealistic. And I’m aware that I’m somebody who went to a really shit comp which was so bad it’s now closed down, and yet I’ve done well enough that this is a decision I may have to make for my own future children in 5-10 years. So I don’t take it lightly and maybe my mind will change when met with reality.

My experience tells me that humility and hard work are the most important life skills somebody can have and you don’t need private schooling to learn those… I think more parents should be comfortable with the idea that your kid might never get the opportunity to be a millionaire through state school, but they can still be happy. On principle I would like to think I would send my kids to a comprehensive and be part of the push for improvements in comprehensive schooling because I think on balance that’s usually the right thing to do.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

Not only should we make these benefits-spongers pay their fair share of VAT on the school fees, but we actually should increase VAT on school fees to 100%, and make it law that any private schools should reimburse the state sector for the cost of training all their teachers and support staff.
If a private school employs a teacher who has come from, or even just been trained in, the state sector they must pay the local authority involved the entire cost of said training, and also pay back every penny the teacher they so want to employ earned whilst working there. And if that means paying back 20 years salary (adjusted for inflation too of course) to recruit an experienced teacher, so be it. Payment upfront and immediate upon offering a position thank you very much.
As a hard working, fighting age, tax payer I’m heartily sick of seeing my hard earned taxes being frittered away on scroungers who cannot survive a day without suckling on the teat of the state.
I’d do similar for private hospitals as well for the same reasons.

And if cancelling Netflix and drinking fewer lattes doesn’t cover the increased fees (which it surely would do as the daily mail have been telling us that it is the solution to all life’s financial challenges for years), then all that would happen is these spongers would simply have to have their kids educated in the state sector and you can be damned sure that if a sudden influx of a few thousand vociferous, and entitled, parents had to actually use the schools they so bitterly and regularly complain about, these schools would magically be funded a lot more appropriately.

These people who love state subsidies when it is they who benefit from them, to the tune of tens of thousands of pounds per year, for years on end, but complain noisily about giving pensioners and those in lower paid jobs a few pence extra per week to keep the lights on, need a very rude awakening.
And I pray that they soon receive one.

Furthermore I would not allow independent school teachers access to the teachers pension scheme.

 

[bluethrunthru]

Huge assumption that pupils at a fee paying school are not there because of their parents wealth but because they are incredibly intelligent - the ability to pay is just coincidental

 

[PragueBlue]

Huge assumption that pupils at a fee paying school are not there because of their parents wealth but because they are incredibly intelligent - the ability to pay is just coincidental

Depends largely on whether it is a selective private school or non-selective.

 

[The Future’s Blue!]

Let’s make all education of a good enough quality that independent schools are only a choice of not raising your children, yourself.

 

[Kompany Car]

Let’s make all education of a good enough quality that independent schools are only a choice of not raising your children, yourself.

To fix schools, you need to start by fixing societal problems first. Whilst society is as fractured as it is today you don't stand a chance. People need to value education; for that to happen it needs to start in the home and by ensuring that there is a decent future or dare i say a career for the students at the other side of their educational journey, rather than minimum or near minimum wage jobs in the much quoted zero hours, gig economy.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

Not only should we make these benefits-spongers pay their fair share of VAT on the school fees, but we actually should increase VAT on school fees to 100%, and make it law that any private schools should reimburse the state sector for the cost of training all their teachers and support staff.
If a private school employs a teacher who has come from, or even just been trained in, the state sector they must pay the local authority involved the entire cost of said training, and also pay back every penny the teacher they so want to employ earned whilst working there. And if that means paying back 20 years salary (adjusted for inflation too of course) to recruit an experienced teacher, so be it. Payment upfront and immediate upon offering a position thank you very much.

It's quite tricky to force everyone to pay their own tuition fees by getting into massive debt and then try and claim the money back you've "paid to train" them. The vast majority of teachers get fuck all help from the government to complete their training and so owe them nothing in return, I'm afraid.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

Huge assumption that pupils at a fee paying school are not there because of their parents wealth but because they are incredibly intelligent - the ability to pay is just coincidental

It's not that, it's that if you've spent 5 years in a private school, there's a good chance you're ahead of state school pupils already. There are plenty of 'best practices' that don't get followed in state schools because of a lack of money and resources. That does have an impact on performance.

 

[bluethrunthru]

It's not that, it's that if you've spent 5 years in a private school, there's a good chance you're ahead of state school pupils already. There are plenty of 'best practices' that don't get followed in state schools because of a lack of money and resources. That does have an impact on performance.

So? What you have said there proves the reasons they pay fees and how the govt - mostly the product of fee paying schools - don't care about my kids in the way I did

 

[The blue phantom]

I thought you were on a life ban from the Politics Sub forum because of constant wumming?