How does your education system works?

[Laka]

In sweden our students have a pott of money for education..the pott is tax financed. they can choose which high school they like and they bring that pott of money in to the school. Higher education is free and tax financed, you have to pay for the litterature, living and so on.As a parent i dont have to put in any money for the childrens education. I can of course support them when they study on university with money for living and litterature, otherwise they can have parttime work and take studentloans.

As i understand it, in UK you can go in a public or private school. but how is it financed in a public versus a private school.. What kind of money shall parents put in to a public versus a private school? What does the state or tax payers contribute with?

 

[Karl102]

How long have you got......

Right here you go...... Quite simple for private education really. If you can afford it, you sit the entrance exam and if you score high enough and can afford the fees you can go. Some private schools offer bursaries for exceptionally bright students.

Public education is pretty screwed up at the moment largely due to Micael Gove (education secretary). Traditionally schools were run by local authorities who receive money from the government and paid it out to schools based on the number of pupils the school had. Some L A's still operate on a Grammar School system whereby they finish primary school and the pupils with the highest scores go to the ' better' grammar schools and the rest go to secondary modern schools. Some pupils go to faith school, catholic, Church of England and other religious denominated schools. However, Gove is slowly privatising education by creating Academy Schools which govern themselves and are separate from local authority control, so academy schools set different pay and conditions and local authorities are increasingly becoming redundant and people are becoming jobless.
All state education are scrutinised by Ofsted which are setting ridiculous targets for schools, judging data, teaching and curriculum. Hence schools are getting poor inspection results which initiates measures which eventually sees the school turning into an academy, so Gove gets what he wants....
This, plus changes to the recruitment of teachers, examinations (big issue at the moment) pay and conditions and pensions is reeking havoc on an already pressured education system.....

At 18 pupils now pay extortionately high tuition fees for university. The average student leaves university with circa £35'000 of debt only to struggle to find a job.... Some grants are available for some students....

I could go on longer, but will rest for now .

 

[In_The_Rough]

Most of the above is correct. All I will add is that I left school in 1995 and it was crap then. So to blame Gove for all failings is not entirely fair but yes he is incompetent at his ob. In sort if you can afford go private if you cant then keep your fingers crossed

 

[Laka]

You mention if you can afford it go private. Does it mean you pay all costs for private? Doesnt state pay anything if you go private?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Just to confuse things, private schools are often referred to as "public" schools for some strange reason. I went to private school but I'm an ex public schoolboy

 

[sawtooth]

In sweden our students have a pott of money for education..the pott is tax financed. they can choose which high school they like and they bring that pott of money in to the school. Higher education is free and tax financed, you have to pay for the litterature, living and so on.As a parent i dont have to put in any money for the childrens education. I can of course support them when they study on university with money for living and litterature, otherwise they can have parttime work and take studentloans.

As i understand it, in UK you can go in a public or private school. but how is it financed in a public versus a private school.. What kind of money shall parents put in to a public versus a private school? What does the state or tax payers contribute with?

In England most schools are state funded meaning that there are no fees to pay. Basically these are paid for by everyone's income tax. There are good schools and bad schools. Its common for people over here to move house to be in a catchment area for a good secondary school. There is a rating system, a sort of league table and OFSTED report that help you decide a good school from a bad one. I am talking about comprehensive , non-selective schools where pretty much anyone can attend.

If you are lucky (as we were) to be in a catchment for a grammar school your son/daughter can take an entrance exam and if they do well enough in the exam they can get offered a place. Competition is fierce though , in our case there were over 600 boys that sat the exam and only the top 100 boys got in. I think this year the numbers of applicants were even higher.

That said if you have the money you can go private but that is out of reach for the average person as the fees are high.

 

[CliveW]

To confuse things further, in Scotland we don't have Grammar Schools or Public Schools. We have State Schools, and Private Schools. State Schools are funded by the tax payer, whilst Private Schools are similar to the English Public Schools, ie. funded by charging fees. The cost of private education can be helped by bursaries, normally donated by wealthy ex-puplis, and is normally targeted at pupils who have a particular talent such as music etc. There also used to be a government "Assisted Places Scheme" which helped pay school fees for those whose parents fell into a lower income bracket. Over the years, Private Education has lost it's elite status. In the past most pupils came from wealthy families who were in the higher echelons of society, such as wealthy businessmen, doctors, lawyers etc. Nowadays, the pupils tend to be the offspring of the "Neuveau Riche" such as footballers, nightclub owners and the like with Range Rover Sports or Evoques blocking the roads round the schools.
Scottish university education remains free to those whose parents reside in Scotland.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

I have a wonderful example of how it does not work in Scotland.
Our Council have spent £2.3m building a snazzy new school and nursery in our village, due to open soon for 26 pupils.
The nursery opening will be delayed due to the council having insufficient funds to staff it.

 

[In_The_Rough]

You mention if you can afford it go private. Does it mean you pay all costs for private? Doesnt state pay anything if you go private?

No you pay all costs. Depending on which School you go to the cost varies, Eton/Harrow for example will run into tens of thousands of pounds

 

[SocketRocket]

How long have you got......

Right here you go...... Quite simple for private education really. If you can afford it, you sit the entrance exam and if you score high enough and can afford the fees you can go. Some private schools offer bursaries for exceptionally bright students.

Public education is pretty screwed up at the moment largely due to Micael Gove (education secretary). Traditionally schools were run by local authorities who receive money from the government and paid it out to schools based on the number of pupils the school had. Some L A's still operate on a Grammar School system whereby they finish primary school and the pupils with the highest scores go to the ' better' grammar schools and the rest go to secondary modern schools. Some pupils go to faith school, catholic, Church of England and other religious denominated schools. However, Gove is slowly privatising education by creating Academy Schools which govern themselves and are separate from local authority control, so academy schools set different pay and conditions and local authorities are increasingly becoming redundant and people are becoming jobless.
All state education are scrutinised by Ofsted which are setting ridiculous targets for schools, judging data, teaching and curriculum. Hence schools are getting poor inspection results which initiates measures which eventually sees the school turning into an academy, so Gove gets what he wants....
This, plus changes to the recruitment of teachers, examinations (big issue at the moment) pay and conditions and pensions is reeking havoc on an already pressured education system.....

At 18 pupils now pay extortionately high tuition fees for university. The average student leaves university with circa £35'000 of debt only to struggle to find a job.... Some grants are available for some students....

I could go on longer, but will rest for now .

Can I take it you have a Teacher in the family?

 

[SocketRocket]

To the OP.

You should ignore the Political replies as they are subjective and misleading.

To clarify we have State Schools and Private Schools, Private schools are called 'Public Schools' as they are not financed by the state. Children in State Schools dont pay anything for their education, it comes out of local Government taxes. In Public Schools their education is paid for by the family.

 

[Laka]

Ok thank you,, i think your answers have clearified how it works.

 

[Karl102]

Yep... Me...

 

[Karl102]

To the OP.

You should ignore the Political replies as they are subjective and misleading.

To clarify we have State Schools and Private Schools, Private schools are called 'Public Schools' as they are not financed by the state. Children in State Schools dont pay anything for their education, it comes out of local Government taxes. In Public Schools their education is paid for by the family.

Nothing subjective or misleading my friend, just facts.....

 

[Hacker Khan]

Nothing subjective or misleading my friend, just facts.....

I'm a school governor. So how do you feel about the introduction of performance related pay then? Is it: -

a) yet another attack on teachers conditions by Gove who will not be satisfied until the education system has been privatised the national curriculum resembles what is was in the 50s. Or
b) a sensible scheme that brings teachers in line with just about every other worker in the country? I mean, would you really want your child being taught by someone who gets a pay rise no matter how rubbish or lazy they are?

 

[Foxholer]

To the OP.

You should ignore the Political replies as they are subjective and misleading.

To clarify we have State Schools and Private Schools, Private schools are called 'Public Schools' as they are not financed by the state. Children in State Schools dont pay anything for their education, it comes out of local Government taxes. In Public Schools their education is paid for by the family.

That's about as simple an explanation as you can get, though Public Schools are funded to some extent by government for each pupil (on a State School equivalent cost basis).

Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to take the 'political' aspect of this subject out of the equation. It's one of the fundamental differences between Labour and the Conservatives! And, imo, the more politicians get involved (ie make changes) the more chaotic the system becomes. There's more 'wastage' of resources created by changes than any supposed 'benefits' imo!

 

[chrisd]

Just to confuse things, private schools are often referred to as "public" schools for some strange reason. I went to private school but I'm an ex public schoolboy

Coo I played golf with a toff last week then!

 

[Laka]

That's about as simple an explanation as you can get, though Public Schools are funded to some extent by government for each pupil (on a State School equivalent cost basis).

Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to take the 'political' aspect of this subject out of the equation. It's one of the fundamental differences between Labour and the Conservatives! And, imo, the more politicians get involved (ie make changes) the more chaotic the system becomes. There's more 'wastage' of resources created by changes than any supposed 'benefits' imo!

As i interpret it with my poor skills in english......as a parent, you pay for the different between the public school term fee and the funded money giving from the state for your child.

 

[Karl102]

I'm a school governor. So how do you feel about the introduction of performance related pay then? Is it: -

a) yet another attack on teachers conditions by Gove who will not be satisfied until the education system has been privatised the national curriculum resembles what is was in the 50s. Or
b) a sensible scheme that brings teachers in line with just about every other worker in the country? I mean, would you really want your child being taught by someone who gets a pay rise no matter how rubbish or lazy they are?

Haha! Prp has always been there in some form of inception. It is now just a lot more rigorous and thorough.... It's now up to schools to make sure teachers prp targets are fair and consistent. I for one, if it's managed properly am all for it.....

 

[Hacker Khan]

Haha! Prp has always been there in some form of inception. It is now just a lot more rigorous and thorough.... It's now up to schools to make sure teachers prp targets are fair and consistent. I for one, if it's managed properly am all for it.....

Cheers, was genuinely interested. As a governor I've spent a few hours getting my head around the new LA pay and appraisal policies as I have to explain them to the rest of the governing body. And I was curious how teachers viewed it, as I was a bit confused if the last round of national strikes were specifically about this or were something more general.