my daughter went to both private and public schools and i think there is alot more involved in our childrens school life than the actual school contact time alone, ie: influences they bring into the school.
A parents influence and the social network out of school probably has more affect on a child than any school. Mabye its peoples home / lives that need looking into and improvement?
And still many kids do just fine under the worst circumstances.
An unsettled child suffering domestic or other violence etc will show signs of such abuse at any school.
Why decide on just one school anyway? because initially its easier for the parent?
personally i think a variety is best-let your child try out two or three schools?
when you leave school extra mobility skills are an advantage
knowing theres more than one way to do things and more than one place to fit in is a big start.

My experience as a parent was probably fairly limited. As a single parent for my teenage children I lacked the resources to have my children educated privately...as I had been. So I adopted some simple criteria and checked a number of local and not so local public schools.

Firstly I knew my children's preferences. My son's was mathematic's and my daughter's music.
Secondly I interviewed the School Principals.
Thirdly I attended the various pre-enrollment and open days and interviewed the heads of the music and mathematics departments and arranged to meet the senior teachers or the teachers who taught the senior students.
Fourthly I attended parent teacher evenings and P&C meetings.

This was all done in the year prior to enrolment.

The attitude of the principal was paramount. For my son's school the Principal was a strict disciplinarian, indulged in 'streaming' of the more able students and had an iron control of her expectations of her staff. Her school was not on any of the lists for top performing schools. The Principal of my daughter's school was long-serving and nearing retirement but his experience was formidable. Unfortunately he retired during my daughters second year.

The Heads of Departments at both my daughter's and son's school were experienced and outlined the development expected of my children over their school careers. All their senior teachers knew their stuff and were obvious mentors to younger teachers.

The last were other parents and I enquired of their experiences.

My son's education was fabulous and he is outperforming most others at tertiary level.
My daughter's was a disaster. The school changed dramatically after the appointment of a new Head, the removal of the Music Department Head and senior teachers.and the final 3 years of her education was a disaster. My daughter's achievements in Music occurred outside of the school. Today she has her own business, is independant...and plays music for pleasure.

Public Schools: it's the Head and their standards...that is the key to high performance and standards.

Keith's comments hit the nail on the "head"!

Schools are invariably run in a very hierarchical fashion, and the effectiveness of the principal (or, rarely, other senior management) has a profound effect on the mood and dedication of the rest of the staff and, in turn, on the pupils.

This is the case whether the principal answers to a State government department, the education office of a church, or to a private school board consisting of parents and alumni.

I'd like to see a school run on a more democratic, egalitarian blueprint. Perhaps they exist, but I'm aware of none. The principal's firm hand on the reins is the deciding factor in the style and quality of the education a school can deliver.

Francis – lets leave aside the histrionics about child abusers etc aside and deal with some facts:

· Most Catholic schools in the UK are grant aided or grant maintained. Grant maintained schools operate in almost exactly the same way as any other state school. This is the deal they have to accept for public funds. The only essential difference is that they are committed to a particular faith.

· In such integrated state systems AND even in our dysfunctional public-private system we have in Australia ALL SCHOOLS USE THE SAME CURRICULUM. These are not government requirements – statutory curriculum authorities represent all systems.

· Even the poorest Catholic schools in Australia are non-government schools, an odd description which means almost nothing. In common parlance they are private schools, even the ones which are 80% gov funded.

· Local parish Catholic schools DO DISCRIMINATE in enrolments – fees are the discriminator. Now you and I might know that probably most are also interested in social justice and waive fees from time to time BUT Cardinal Pell has lamented the fact that his schools are becoming middle class schools. That is what school fees do!

· The Australian constitution does not stipulate that one government is responsible for public schools and the other for private schools.

· In NSW private schools get over half a billion in state funding….and rising

Bunyip,

Refer previous correspondednce....you seem to have missed the point.

Likewise, every Catholic school in Australia is grant aided or maintained or funded or fiancially assisted - from the taxes that Catholics pay. What the essential difference is we give children an holistic education. And, yes, I went to a state school and so did some of my kids for a while.

Do all schools in Australia use the SAME CURRICULUM? If you're an educationalist you would know but I would have thought that that is what the Commonwealth governemnt is pushing for. There does seem to be a wide discrepency between states.

Of course Catholic schools are non-governemnt and, therefort, in some sense private but refer to previous correspondence.

Fees are not the discrimntor (even state schools have fees or charges) - the state high I went to years ago had all sorts of fees and charges - since kids are entitled to a Catholic education even if their parenst cannot pay.....most do pay, even if reduced fees. What';s the problerm with fees?

Re the Constitution: it might not be in the Constitution (most things aren't) but state schools, like hospitals, are the reponsibility of state governments and do get the lion's share of state funding. The funding should be equal from both governments.

The difference between Catholic school fees and public school fees is that it is illegal for a public school student to be excluded from classes for non-payment of what is in fact a voluntary contribution. In even the most middle class public schools only around 60% of parents actually pay fees. In schools in very disadvantaged neighbourhoods an even lower percentage pay - compounding, of course, that schools lack of resources to help the kids who are often our most expensive to educate.
Some catholic schools may decide to waive fees, but that is up to them. As 69% of the poorest Catholics (that's Cardinal Pells own figure) are educated in public schools, it would seem many catholic schools do not waive their fees.
As for curriculum, the curriculums in each state are the same in all that state's schools - public and private. Indeed, it is one of the few requirements for the registration of private schools that they teach the curriculum - hence the arguments over Intelligent Design being taught in science classes, and the Exclusive Brethren having to hire non-exclusive brethren to teach computing. How could we have state wide exams if the curriculum was not standard? Curriculum is designed by representatives of all schools including public, catholic, anglican and other private. So if you think the curriculum is dumbed down and politically correct in Chatswood High, it is equally dumbed down and politically correct in Newington or Scots College.
A child has the right to attend a public school as part of his or her individual rights as a citizen or permanent resident. A child derives his or her right to attend a private school through their parents ability to meet any requirements ( most often pay the fees) the school decides on. This is a fundamental and important difference that is often ignored or not even properly understood.