The decision to send your child could to a private school will be driven by many issues and there are several things you need to take into account like:
• personal preferences
• religious beliefs.

However the most important issue for most people is financial. For many parents, their financial situation and the amount of time they have available to save for school fees determines if it is possible for them to send their child to a private school.

To help you determine whether or not to send your child to a private school here are some things you should think about. Take a moment to consider the following questions.

Question Your comments
Is religious denomination a major issue?
Do you plan to have more children?
What extra cash do you have that is not budgeted?
Is it important to have regular holidays away?
Is lifestyle expenditure important to you such as eating out regularly or updating your car every few years?
What equity do you have in your own home?
Are there unnecessary financial liabilities that you can remove completely or at least reduce?
What expenses can you reduce quickly over the next three years (for example, car loan)?
What level of security do you have with your current job/income level?
What are your current debt obligations and are they onerous?
Are there other possible sources of income you can draw upon. For example, inheritances, gifts from grandparents
Do you already have a savings plan?

When is the right time?
In Chapter 1 we looked at the stages of schooling. All stages have both public and private school options so you may decide to choose a mixture of both public and private education for their child.

When you decide to send your child to a private school, the next question is in what year of their education you’d like them to start in.

You can start your child at a private school in kindergarten but many parents have decided to send their children to private schools at later stage in their schooling, for example in Year 7. The main reason is the cost. Many parents believe that as long as their child is educated towards the end of their schooling years, tertiary education may not be as hard.

Based on my own experience, this is not necessarily the best move. In discussion with other parents we have noticed the increased confidence in our children, their increased learning capacity, and their ability to effectively communicate (they start presenting in front of their class from first term). These early years are so very important, and it will truly benefit them for the rest of their lives. The most important skill they are leaning is the skill of ‘how to learn’. This, I believe, is as important as the content in the curriculum.

Another thing to take into consideration is your child’s maturity, or sensitivity levels. For some a move from a public to a private school at age 13 can be disastrous where at age 6 there may have been less opposition. Likewise they may not thank you for trying to move them in their last years of schooling. At this time, established peer friendships also have to be considered.

If you choose to enter your child into private education at a later level, will he/she be able to fit in easily. Will his current education standard meet that of the selected private school? Often both academically and socially the standard can vary—how greatly depends on both the schools involved and the child themselves. Factor in time to help them through this transitional phase.