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Happy Thursday, Wentyl! Top-tier private schools are important businesses with massive budgets and lofty reputations to protect. A growing number are charging more than $40,000 a year, making school investment one of the biggest decisions parents make after buying a home.
So while we dutifully report their latest results and achievements, every now and then we like to have a gentle laugh at life within the private school bubble. And let's be honest, the rarefied world of Australia's private school mums is ripe for parody.
While they share similarities across the nation – such as a fondness for luxury SUVs that cost even more than Phoebe and Sebastian's year 11 ski trip to Japan – there are also distinct differences between the various tribes.
So we've channelled our inner David Attenborough to produce this tongue-in-cheek guide to the private school mums of our capital cities. Let us know if we failed it or nailed it!
Private school mums: A field guide
On a more serious note, we’re now just under two years from the next federal election, and already school funding is shaping up as an election issue.
Independent Schools Australia – the peak national body for private schools – is wielding its political clout by targeting politicians in key electorates with a new billboard campaign.
Its message is that politicians need to respect what they call "school choice", which is the right of parents to choose the school they want for their children, and be financially supported by governments regardless of whether it’s private or public.
ISA points out that governments spend around $26,000 per student on public school students, compared to $16,000 for Catholic students and $13,000 for private students.
It's a counterpoint to the narrative about private schools being overfunded, given that parents paying more means the government pays less.
But it could be a tough sell given new Australia Institute polling shows around half of all people think public schools are underfunded, and 52% say private schools are overfunded – including 19% of people who had a private education. I'm guessing you won’t see that on a billboard funded by Independent Schools Australia any time soon.
Other great stories for you this week look at the impact of gentle parenting on kids’ behaviour, the new
WFH trend that's great for workers but has some bosses worried, and whether children just starting school are ready for concepts like gender fluidity.
And my favourite – a story from our colleague Lucy Crock in Geelong about a school that’s started electronically tracking the amount of time individual students are spending in the toilet.
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