Choosing a school for your child is one of the toughest choicess we have to make a parents. You want a school with an outstranding Ofsted report and so many starts in exam results that it would make space jealous.
Back to reality, and sometimes that school is either not available in your catchment area, or you can only get those academic standards in a private school.
Those are all good reasons to consider a private school for your child. Some other questions you may have is whether your child your child will still face peer pressure in relation to drugs, alcohol, sex, and other teen pressures in a private school setting.
Private or state?
With class sizes between five and 13 pupils in private schools, this allows a stronger teacher-student relationship and higher exam results.
State schools easily have 30 children in one class, which means less one-to-one attention and also lower exam results.
One disadvantage of private education is cultural and social isolation. English multi-millionaire fashion designer, Stella McCartney, who was educated at a comprehensive school, has said she will pull her kids out of private education if they get too “posh”. She says she doesn’t want her children to become snooty, and will happily remove the from their private school if this happens. She attended a comprehensive school, despite her father being multimillionnaire Sir Paul McCartney.
Can you afford it?
Fees for independent tuition can be as much as £23,000 a year! Can you afford it?
If you are already paying high nursery fees, and are not struggling to pay them, then you could probably afford to send your child to a private school. You can also speak to the school to discuss payment options, and discounts for sending more than one child to the school.
If sending your child to a private school is not an option, Ofsted lists all the schools in the UK, and you can view their Ofsted reports to see how well they are doing.
Whatever your choice, take some time to determine the best school for your child. Remember that children will still be faced with the same temptations in life whichever school they go to. As parents, we need to make sure that our children know how to make the best decisions for themselves when we are not there with them, and to encourage them to speak to us when things get difficult – school is there to teach, we also have a duty of care to our children.
Remember to talk to your child, their teachers and your spouse.
Further information
Find out more about selectiong schools at www.fundingeducation.co.uk
