Fallen in love with a school, no idea how to afford it

duchy

It really depends on your long term plans-I assume as you're at college presently you are expecting your earnings long term to increase.

As someone said if the primary schools aren't great -the secondaries won't be either usually -where we live we still have grammer schools and what a lot of parents do is educate privately at primary where they are actively coached for the 11 plus and then move to grammer schools.

That said a house move might in the long term be the better financial move. My son's primary (CoE) was small and fantastic -I'd looked around the private schools too and he honestly wouldn't have done better there. Most of his ex classmates are currently at good uni's including Oxbridge after going the 11 plus route I described.

Lunar_Eclipse

One thought that crossed my mind is I'm fairly sure you 'only' get credits/help with childcare costs until the child is of school age. So I think that means you would not get any credit for the 15 hours free childcare for your eldest from September (or Easter?)

I'm sorry I can't really help with financial wisdom, I don't know what help could be available, but suggest trying Citizens Advice, the yougov website perhaps?

In terms of the broader decision, it's very personal and in your fortunate position (many really do not have a choice) about priorities and what you are prepared to do/sacrifice for this school. Working 16 hours/week does not sound like a major lifestyle sacrifice to me, although I also agree with other posters saying it's a downhill, stressful and very costly route to take. You need to be realistic about what will be involved in choosing this option, should you opt for the school.

Eldest was due to start at a Montessori pre-school until we moved areas. It is very well suited to some children.

property.advert

Caroline_a wrote: »

I think OP that, lottery wins excepting, that unfortunately you can't afford it. We all want the best for our children, schooling, clothes, toys, but unless you've unlimited money there will be caps on what you spend.

Moving to another area has been suggested - possibly a good idea, because if the schools for little ones aren't good then the secondary schools are unlikely to be better. If you feel that your children need private education then you have to be very sure that you can afford it for a long long time, because moving them because you have run out of money is far more damaging.

Moving is going to become the norm for those able to plan ahead and even with the greatest respect, you have at least 4 years to move within the catchment area of a decent school. If that isn't long enough, then I don't see what more could be done.

In the OP's case, one of her children is 4. Where has this child been schooled up until now ? If unsatisfactory, then why does the child go there ? and if good, then why the need to move for the second child ?

We all day dream from time to time but I tend not to with my kids' education.

grey_lady

I reackon you could do it, with a part-time job think you'll probably need to do about 20 hours though and get paid £10 an hour (you could always do self-employed cleaning if care work doesnt pay very well - I doubt your college course will be 40 hours a week so you might have some hours free in the day) - claim what help you can and maybe ask the school/nursery for a sibling discount?

I'm guess it would only be for a couple of years until you've done your college course and got a job in whatever it is you want to do?

FBaby

You need to take into consideration the long term picture. What happens if circumstances change and you can't afford it any longer, but your kids have settled well, make close friends, and would be quite affected with having to change and go to a school where they could be quite vulnerable as not prepared to that environment?

I had the same questions when I moved to my area. I couldn't get a place into my local school for my boy (because people in other area manipulated the system by putting their kids to local infant school that gave them priority to senior school regardless of their address.....), so was only offered a place in a school on remedial measures. I wasn't happy with this at all and the only alternative was private school. I could afford it....but at a sacrifice I wasn't sure I was prepared to make long term. In the end, I visited the school and to my surprise really liked it. Being on remedial measures gave them the chance to make radical changes, to get rid of the headmaster to start with. 6 months later, the school was awarded a 2 by Ofsted. Still I was worried as their previous school was excellent (a 2 by Ofsted, but 1 by my standards!), and I knew I would find it hard not to compare...well, my boy has been there since Sept and I couldn't praise the school any better...I find it an even better school than the other. My boy is progressing amazingly, the teachers are lovely, the provision good, the kids lovely and the food excellent. I am so glad I gave it a chance.

I think it is much safer to try the state school and then consider private if you are very dissatisfied than doing it the other way round.

FatVonD

I moved house to get my DS into a 'nice' school with good SATS results only to find that the reason their SATS were so good was not because of superior teaching but because most of the parents had their children tutored outside of school hours to get them into the independent schools at age 11.

One of my friends from playgroup sent her DD to a school that had such a bad reputation/was so under subscribed they only had 15 children in her class and her DD thrived on double the amount of attention from the teacher/TA. Don't dismiss the schools just by area and SATS results, there's much more than meets the eye.

Mupette

We are in a recession, its not the time to be yummy mymmy, etc.

Getting your child into the best of the best pre school isn't going to help when they turn into some feeble teen that doesn't know how to cope in the real world.

If the local school isn't brilliant, help make a difference, usually with parents input it helps turn it around.

JodyBPM

Have you got a longer term plan in place for what you would like to consider for secondary school? If £5k ish pa seems steep to you for primary fees, then I think you will have a shock coming when you look at private secondary education. In our area, you are looking at about £5k per TERM for secondary private, which for two children equates to £30K pa out of taxed income just to pay the school fees, before uniform, books, lunches, equipment, travel etc

Using the tax credits childcare funding doesn't seem a viable option to me. Firstly, it stops at school age, so for your eldest, you will have a maximum of one years help. How are you planning to then find the money when it stops? Secondly, AFAIK, the cut offs for help are quite low, and I would think that if you earn little enough to get a significant contribution from tax credits, that its quite likely that you simply won't have enough spare to pay the fees once it stops.

Obviously only you know your financial situation and what you can and can't stretch to. But honestly if you think £5k per YEAR is high for school fees and you are having to look to help to afford them, then I would respectfully say that private education is likely something that you can't afford on an ongoing basis

pinkclouds

mygirllollypop wrote: »

I've read that people can claim Childcare costs against the school fees up untill the children are 5, is this true?

I think you are referring to the "free" 15 hours per week of nursery funding, for kids aged 3-4 years old. The nursery needs to do the paperwork for you and you just need to sign the forms each term. The funding starts from the term after the child's 3rd birthday and continues until the end of nursery school. It will not necessarily cover the full fees - the "free" is a misnomer. Last academic year, I estimate it was worth about £1600* ish and I topped up with another £1100* - and that was for 15 hours per week, for one academic year. (*Those figures are off the top of my head so don't rely on them too heavily. Plus school fees rise every year and I'm not sure whether the government funding is at all likely to keep pace with similar inflation rates.)

mygirllollypop wrote: »

Does anyone on here have their children in a Montosorri?

I use a Montessori nursery school. One child has already finished and another child is currently there. Younger child is 2 years old so is not currently eligible for the government funding. I am a fan of the Montessori method and find it suits/suited both of my kids very well. It was, probably, my main criterion in choosing a nursery school.

It sounds like the school you are considering is a combined nursery and junior/primary/prep school? You can get the 3-4 year old funding at any nursery setting, not just standalone nursery schools. However, for your immediate situation (where neither child is eligible, unless by "start school" you mean nursery rather than junior/primary) you might be better off enquiring about bursaries and scholarships. Contact the school's bursar or secretary. You generally need to apply *before* the child starts school, although some scholarships may be awarded later on - it really depends on the award criteria, so you will have to find out quickly as a priority issue. I also have to say... that £5.5k per *year* sounds very reasonable and should be snapped up, assuming it is a good school! It is difficult to find a good school at such a low price point. (My jaw is all but dropping!)

Finally... one last idea to throw into the mix. If you are going back to work, it would be worth keeping an eye on the school's own vacancies. Schools often give substantial discounts to staff, so a job there might be very worthwhile even at a lower salary for something non-career related. Plus, you'd have the advantage of working to the same hols as your kids so you wouldn't have childcare issues.

Seanymph

I am left wondering if the OP said 'I've fallen in love with a brand new land rover but I can't afford it, perhaps if I claimed mobility allowance I could' - would she get quite so much support.

If you can't afford something then generally you don't get to have it. That's the MSE way.