Private Schools

[X-13]

I have to say that our food is excellent too

Nothing beats fried chicken and chips.

[elsiegee40]

There is no such thing as a free lunch. If I want to eat the boys' food, I have to sit at a table with them, and try to engage them in conversation... OK, if they are interested/ing, but a bunch of sulky 15/16 year olds... Nah, happy to buy my lunch!

That said, the food can be very good indeed!

That's the upside of preps... fewer hormonal kids!

[enjay]

There is no such thing as a free lunch. If I want to eat the boys' food, I have to sit at a table with them, and try to engage them in conversation... OK, if they are interested/ing, but a bunch of sulky 15/16 year olds... Nah, happy to buy my lunch!

We can buy ours from the Canteen and then take it back to the Staff Room to eat. Best of both worlds :-)

[sidewinder]

Doesn't that make it taxable? Just a thought...

Don't know, nothing is sold at all though so it's not 'free' as such, just included, the same as it is for the pupils in their school fees.

[enjay]

Don't know, nothing is sold at all though so it's not 'free' as such, just included, the same as it is for the pupils in their school fees.

Yes, but the difference between you and the pupils is that they are paying for it bundled in with their fees, you are being given it for free.

[sidewinder]

Yes, but the difference between you and the pupils is that they are paying for it bundled in with their fees, you are being given it for free.

Well I have no idea how it works. Whether there is a portion taken out of everyones wages before tax, or whether it is covered in some other way, whatever it may be, it isn't my concern and I'm sure the bursar has it all above board.

[enjay]

Well I have no idea how it works. Whether there is a portion taken out of everyones wages before tax, or whether it is covered in some other way, whatever it may be, it isn't my concern and I'm sure the bursar has it all above board.

It should only come out of everyone's wages if everyone takes the free lunch - anyone who brings their own shouldn't take a tax hit for a benefit they don't use. If I were you, I would check it with the Bursar, as HMRC can be quite unpleasant if they find money owing...

[CAM]

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance... How many schools do you think could be built and run for the cost of a new frigate (Frigates hunt submarines, how many of our enemies have submarines?) How about for the cost of two aircraft carriers? One of which will go straight into mothballs? Or bailing out banks, who then give huge bonuses to the very people who crippled them in the first place? Oh yes, we CAN afford good education, but will we?

On the flipside, if we didn't have frigates and aircraft carriers or stopped to bail out the banks, then we'd be in foreign occupation with a busted economy and no-one would have any money.

[AngryTechnician]

Doesn't that make it taxable? Just a thought...

According to HMRC 480(2011) - Expenses and benefits page 10, meals are non-taxable so long as, in general, all employees are entitled to them.

[Stuart_C]

Just out of intrest (may help the OP) do Private schools get Microsoft EES?

Yep. Just bought ours....
Head count is an issue, especially as I had to count the housekeepers who only use the PC to e-mail damages in the boarding houses to our manitenance manager (might not have been specific about the breakdown to the Bursar, "It costs X boss, but saves us Y".) I did have a long chat with some of the licencing teams about who and what is covered and what I can and can't do and overall for our organisation it should save us money in the long run and that's based on what we use. It doens't include the extra stuff we didn't use that I can now use for "free" because of the licencing scheme.


Now I just need to work out how to use WDS and MDT, and my Sharepoint book, and SCCM... Oh god what have I let myself in for...

[Stuart_C]

I have to say that our food is excellent too

Probably not as good as ours though

[john]

Must say the independent school I worked in had excellent food, but so does the state school I work in now I do think it depends who runs your catering contract and how talented and skilled your head chef / catering manager is

I do miss the independent school at times, but also don't at others. The food was great, but the fact that I worked 6 days a week wasn't that great Also if you want to get involved and get the most out of it forget having a social life and friends in term time as you really will find it a 24x7 place if its a boarding school. I was glad not to be a tutor or house team member as they really do give up everything for the place.

[Flatpackhamster]

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance... How many schools do you think could be built and run for the cost of a new frigate (Frigates hunt submarines, how many of our enemies have submarines?) How about for the cost of two aircraft carriers? One of which will go straight into mothballs? Or bailing out banks, who then give huge bonuses to the very people who crippled them in the first place? Oh yes, we CAN afford good education, but will we?

It is a popular argument that if we didn't have a military we could afford lots more lovely public services. As you can see laid out here, the defence budget is lower than the interest payments on our national debt.

UK Public Spending Breakdown: Central Government and Local Authorities 1692-2015 - Charts

Perhaps paying down the debt would free up rather more money.