Summary of Education News January 2008

School choice “for all parents” impossible …

Comments by Schools Minister Jim Knight that parental choice for those living in rural areas will become “impossible” will ring loud alarm bells for thousands of parents coming, as it does, at the same time as it has emerged that many schools are “covertly” selecting more able pupils, in contravention of the rules.

Calls have been made for a lottery system to reduce inequalities, but this is hardly likely to reassure parents that their children will receive the most suitable education for their individual needs. Indeed, a lottery seems the very antithesis of meeting the requirements of individual students.

This brings into sharp relief the importance of independent education for parents who wish to ensure that their children receive the very best start in life; but with fees expected to continue rising, funding them can be a challenge. Fortunately, SFIA has many years experience of helping clients to cut the effective cost of school fees by as much as 50%, through careful planning.

Charity Commission insists schools must demonstrate “public benefit” …

Many independent schools are already able to demonstrate that they provide facilities to disadvantaged children as well as sharing resources with the community. It is, however, somewhat disingenuous of the government, through the Charities Commission, to conveniently forget that the tax benefits enjoyed by independent schools (which enable them to keep a lid on fees) are probably more than outweighed by the savings made by the state sector in not having to finance the education of the half million young people who are educated privately, at their parents expense.

Families who send their children to private schools are likely to be paying well above average tax and national insurance contributions; yet the cost of their children’s education is not paid for by the state. It therefore seems a reasonable ‘trade-off’ that the institutions relieving the state of this burden should be entitled to charitable status and the tax breaks that this offers.

Sixth form boarding is an ‘ideal path to university’ …

A belief that the focus available from being in school ‘24x7’ (at least in term time) is beneficial to university entry prospects has apparently resulted in sixth form places being oversubscribed in the country’s 34 state boarding schools. This, coming at the same time as news that examination board Edexcel expects the independent sector to dominate the new A* grade, makes it likely that more and more parents will opt for switching children to independent schools at least for their sixth form. Even late entry into the independent sector can have massive educational benefits and the costs are more manageable than if started earlier.

Reports that universities are tightening up on admissions criteria to include tests on basic grammar, reinforce the need for a first class secondary education, if places are sought at the leading universities to read popular courses.

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