Private schooling

Person_one

emsywoo123 wrote: »

I believe this to be highly unusual.

Makes you wonder though, the parents aren't aware of the issues, how many other schools cut corners for profit? Private schools are businesses after all.

emsywoo123

Person_one wrote: »

Makes you wonder though, the parents aren't aware of the issues, how many other schools cut corners for profit? Private schools are businesses after all.

Aware of what issues? And cutting what corners? If they don't do SATS they will do NFERs.

Person_one

emsywoo123 wrote: »

Aware of what issues? And cutting what corners? If they don't do SATS they will do NFERs.

Employing TAs as teachers.

emsywoo123

Person_one wrote: »

Employing TAs as teachers.

I am not convinced by that tbh.

We have a fully published list of all our teaching staff and their qualifications. All of ours are more than qualified to teach.

I can obviously only speak from my direct experiences - I am not a fan of "he said, I heard, my cousin's pet hamster's previous owner..."

GobbledyGook

Person_one wrote: »

Employing TAs as teachers.

In some cases that's not necessarily a bad thing as long as the person they employ is capable of doing the job. Especially for specific subjects - one of the schools I work in has the most fantastic TA who is amazing at ICT. She really is fantastic and is miles better than any of the teachers. There's no way in the world she could afford to go to uni and train in teaching though. In some cases a really good TA is a better option than an average teacher.


It's more of an issue in the state sector (imo) when schools end up with qualified teachers who are, quite frankly, awful and they struggle then to get rid of them.

Person_one

emsywoo123 wrote: »

I am not convinced by that tbh.

We have a fully published list of all our teaching staff and their qualifications. All of ours are more than qualified to teach.

I can obviously only speak from my direct experiences - I am not a fan of "he said, I heard, my cousin's pet hamster's previous owner..."

Not convinced? I assure you I'm not lying! I was shocked too.

GobbledyGook

It's most certainly legal for them to employ non-qualified teachers. See here http://www.new2teaching.org.uk/tzone/jobs/vacancies/independent.asp

There is also the opportunity for non-qualified teachers to obtain a teaching post, as independent schools are free to recruit unqualified teachers, who will often have relevant experience in a subject, for instance someone who has worked in industry.

So it's not likely to actively be TA's they employ, just people who can teach a subject well, but don't have teaching quals.

adelight

Always visit and extensively research any school you think about sending your kids too, try to talk to recent alumni and their family if possible.
My experience of grammar school is just an example but it's quite a common experience. Most people at the school had been to prep/boarding school and/or had years of tutoring to get in so most came from wealthy families who would otherwise have sent them to private schools. This instantly alienated me and a few others who weren't from that background and we couldn't take part in expensive activies, sports tours, didn't have the right clothes etc.

The school I went to achieved the highest GCSE grades in the country my year with loads of people getting 14 A*s. However we were spoon fed and trained to pass exams, this meant a lot of people had tonnes of A*s but actually knew very little. A lot of people struggled with A levels and left the school to study at private sixth forms with classes of 3 or 4 or had extra private tuition. Even more people struggled at university, lots dropped out or got poor grades. Some schools just seem to train people to sit exams and you don't learn how to work independently. Also really research what a grammar school does for G&T. I had started sitting GCSEs before starting grammar school (my parents did not push me i was approached by some council scheme for certain areas) and my parents hoped the school would let me carry on doing that but they didn't. Instead of being allowed to join A level classes I had to resit five years of subjects that I'd already done the GCSE in and even stopped me doing A levels early externally! They had one goal and that was as many A*s as possible and it's the same as a lot of grammar schools in the city.

ETA: I genuinely think being in noisy classrooms helps you learn to focus and work in unfavourable conditions. The odd disruptive pupil can be a good thing sometimes!

thegirlintheattic

angelil wrote: »

I would have to be VERY sure about the individual school, and absolutely certain my child wasn't receiving an adequate state education.

Some independent schools are excellent. Others are appalling. I have worked in some dreadful ones (not for long though! I left sharpish). I currently work in a "middling" one (working my way up to the "excellent" ones as you can see!).

Tread carefully so that you are very sure it will be money well spent. Look in detail into each school you are considering individually. Consult current/past students, current/past staff and current/past parents if possible. The idea that all private schools are automatically better than state schools is a complete error. The state comprehensive I attended is better than the private school I currently work in.



Not *quite* true It's often the case that private school teachers are better educated than state school ones (more have master's degrees or PhDs) but this is often because they are failed academics! Even if this weren't true, you are still going to need at least a bachelor's degree no matter what you teach or where you teach it. It is true, however, that you often don't need teaching qualifications to get a post as a teacher in independent schools.

Nope. No law says you need ANY qualification to teach in a private school, although in my original post I was talking about a teaching quantification. I know of at least two private schools with teachers without a degree on the payroll. Private schools, when challenged, will often say this is bringing real-world experience (in some cases it is), however in one of the cases I know this is untrue and is simply an excuse to save money.

OP - it really depends on the child. Don't believe the hype that private schools mean great teaching, great resources and guaranteed exam results. That's not how it works. Whilst some private schools are excellent, as are some state schools, there are also really bad private schools - with teachers who have not changed their practice in 30 years and a taught to the test culture.

Skinto_7

Even if i was the richest man in the world i would not send my kids (i dont have any but if i did :-) ) to a private school.

IMO seperate schools, of which i would class private schools, of any nature, (sex, religion, wealth) do not stand you in good stead for the realities of life.

State schools have a mix of rich, poor, white, black, muslim, catholic, protestant, boys, girls etc and teach you to interact with and accept people who may be different to yourself.

As some have said before many people have gone to private schools and came away with no qualifications, the same as happens at state schools, IMO good academic results is more down to the individual and the parents than the actual school, however school does play a major part in a persons social and interaction skills (purely due to the length of time they are there) and i feel these are better developed by mixing with "all types" rather than just those who happen to have money.