Fresh air, outdoor games, exercise: everyone knows children need these things and wants them to be healthy. Now more than ever, with an obesity crisis, lack of affordable housing and rising concerns about attention-hogging smartphones, it is common sense to advocate for access to green space, sports and swimming. But, as the Guardian’s research has revealed, state school pupils are at a massive disadvantage compared with private school ones. Children at the top 250 fee-paying schools, many of which are charities, have more than 10 times as much outside space as the 93% of pupils in England who are state educated (in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the proportion of private pupils is even lower).
The oldest and grandest of England’s schools are more like palaces, with websites and brochures full of pledges about the learning that takes place outside classrooms as well as in them. The contrast with skimpy provision in the public sector, particularly at some of the newest schools set up since regulations on school buildings were loosened in 2012, is shocking. More than 300 schools have under 1,000 sq metres of outside space in total, and at least 20 have no playground or sports pitches at all. There is also a downward trend in the amount of time given over to play and meal times, with headteachers pointing to behaviour and curriculum pressures. At the same time, youth services outside school have been hollowed out by austerity. Little wonder, then, that sports including cricket, rugby and rowing remain dominated by private school alumni.
Lack of playground space is not the only challenge facing state schools. Decrepit buildings pose a more immediate risk, while teacher shortages are probably the biggest threat of all. Labour has promised to use the roughly £1.5bn it will raise from adding VAT to private school fees and ending business rates relief to recruit 6,500 new teachers.
Last year, the party dropped its policy of stripping independent schools of charitable status. So far, it has been robust in defending its VAT plan, although Sir Keir Starmer has said that there would be exemptions for pupils with education, health and care plans, which makes sense given the current lack of state provision. Meanwhile, figures showing that the number of private pupils and schools rose last year have undermined warnings from the Independent Schools Council that families will be priced out.
As this column has argued before, the UK’s school system is colossally unfair. All children should receive a high-quality education, including outdoor activity, whether or not their parents can afford fees. Rather than complaining about taxes, private schools should seek to build social capital in the communities they are part of. The sharing of facilities by schools with historic endowments of land and buildings should be standard practice. Hoarding such resources is antisocial.
An already skewed system has been further warped by 14 years of Conservative government. Underfunded, understaffed and demoralised state schools are struggling to recover from the pandemic, while private schools have repeatedly raised fees – further widening the gap that sees about £3 spent per private pupil for each £1 spent on a state one. Accepting that their tax-exempt status has run its course, and joining in with efforts to boost access to green space, is the least that these schools could do.
