Following the US election result, internet searches for how to move away from soon-to-be president Donald Trump’s America have spiked.
From Australia to Canada, voters concerned about some of his more divisive policies appear to be putting some genuine thought into finding a new home.
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But back in the UK, there’s one concerned mother who thinks heading back to the States might be the best option for her children.
Liana Fricker, who lives in Surrey, having moved from California more than 20 years ago, has two sons who are diagnosed with ADHD.
Aged 14 and 10, they attend a private school – one “very good” at working with young people with the condition.
But with fees set to climb 15.4% in January when the government scraps the VAT exemption on private schools, she claims she’ll soon be “priced out”.
Liana says she’s been left with no option but to withdraw at least one of her sons from the school. It means sending him to a state school or heading back to the US, where she believes her family would have more choice.
“It’s ironic,” she says. “Because, yes, even with Donald Trump, I have to consider what’s the least bad option.”
In the US, she says the concept of government policy dictating her school choice is an alien one. Instead, there’s an idea “everyone is free to do what they want to do within the law and the Constitution”.
“If you send your children to private school, you get a tax rebate as a thank you for paying tax and not using the service.”
Liana is clear there are “great” state schools in her local area, but the trouble would be making sure her sons were accepted to one – ideally together.
Her 14-year-old is already studying for his GCSEs, and she’s concerned his education could be disrupted. He could have to study entirely new subjects if the same options aren’t offered.
He stands to be one of the thousands of private school pupils who critics fear may be displaced by the government’s policy.
Labour claim the change will fund around 6,500 new teachers in state schools, and the Treasury says it does “not expect this policy to have a significant impact on the number of pupils attending private schools overall”.
But Liana says it will make “everything a lot harder”.
“I think the long-term viability of private education goes out the window,” she says, as parents mull just how long they can afford to keep up with the fees.
And it’s not just private school pupils who stand to feel the impact.
She’s worried children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) – like her sons’ ADHD – who are “priced out of private school” will now “have to go overstretch the resources in the other schools”.
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“If I was a parent in a state school, I would be raging because that’s what’s going to happen.”
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Children with SEN are only exempt from VAT on private school fees if they have a local authority funded Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which places them in a particular school.
It does not account for children whose parents decide to enrol them in private schools due to their needs.
This is the case for Liana, who chose a particular school to suit her children.
“It’s not so much how the private school system helps you – it’s because it gives you choice,” she says.
Liana wants a “fair, impartial, transparent impact assessment across the country”, making sure ministers understand what the policy means for pupils and schools alike.
The government said an impact assessment has taken place, published with the budget at the end of October. It’s been accused of “rushing” the policy through, given the budget came just two months before it comes into effect.
But a source stressed the impact assessment used analysis from the Office for Budget Responsibility, which they consider fair, impartial, and transparent.
A government spokesperson added: “We want to ensure all children have the best chance in life to succeed. Ending tax breaks on private schools will help to raise the revenue needed to break down the barriers of opportunity for children and young people across the country.
“We do not expect this policy to have a significant impact on the number of pupils attending private schools overall. The number of pupils in private schools has remained steady since 2000, despite around a 75% real term increase in private school fees since that time.”
For Liana’s children, that “best chance in life” may now be across the Atlantic.
