WE CAN’T AFFORD DAUGHTER’S SCHOOL

Dear Coleen

I’M A woman in my 40s, married with one daughter who’s 10 and in her last year of primary school.

My problem is we’ve been hit hard financially by Covid – my husband’s had to take a pay cut and I’ve been made redundant.

Our daughter is at a private school, which we’ve struggled to afford, but somehow made it work by sacrificing holidays, luxuries and so on. She’s dyslexic and also struggles a bit socially, which is why we chose to take her out of the state system.

The thing is, we can’t afford it any more and my husband has told me we need to take her out.

I can’t bear the thought of putting her through this, as she’s happy and it’s her last year there, and I worry about how she’d cope.

I’d love your opinion.

Coleen says

AS A mum, I understand – you’d probably rather sell something than have her miss her final year at primary school. Equally, your husband is being pragmatic and doesn’t want you to get into financial difficulty. A lot of people are being forced to make very tough decisions right now.

I think it’s worth sitting down, without arguing, to see if there are any options for keeping your daughter at her school that won’t break you financially or emotionally.

All my kids went to state schools, but I know from friends with kids in private education that it’s always worth talking to the school. Tell them the position you’re in, and you might find there’s a hardship fund or they could suggest a payment plan.

There might be other options available like a Covid mortgage holiday that could help you cover her last couple of terms. Or there’s home-schooling – I have friends who do this and there’s so much support out there.

It might be worth looking into if it’s just until the end of the school year – it’ll give you time to look into the best state options for high school to suit her needs.