Is private primary school any better than public or a big waste of money?

Private primary can cost tens-of-thousands a year, while the local public school is largely free. Is private better? Experts weigh in and we provide academic results for both.

Are public primaries just as good as costly privates? Experts say yes, mostly. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake

Parents splashing cash on private primary schools may be wasting their money, an expert says.

While there is a stampede to private schools at Year 7 to give their kids a perceived edge, some families start forking out tens-of-thousands of dollars from prep.

But Monash University lecturer in global leadership and policy Dr Fiona Longmuir said local government primary schools were excellent and could even be better.

“In a general sense we know that private schools don’t perform better than government schools when you adjust socio-economic inputs,” she said.

Dr Longmuir said going to a local school provided connections to the community, embedding the child and giving a sense of safety.

“All those things give a sense of belonging. It’s really important to lifelong mental health and wellbeing,” she said.

She said NAPLAN tracking showed that government schools added more value to student outcomes.

Dr Longmuir said all schools were different and families needed to find the right one in their neighbourhood.

But there was increasing evidence that the years before school were key to a child’s development.

“That is why there is so much interest in early childhood education and the Victorian Government has funded three year old kindergarten,” she said,

Victorian Principals Association president Andrew Dalgleish said families make decisions on where to send their children based on a range of reasons.

“I believe government schools provide outstanding opportunities for all children. We look at the value add that we can provide with the funding that we have available and there are some schools that can provide a stronger impact than others,” he said.

“That is one of the challenges we face to ensure that all schools are providing that outstanding impact.”

Catholic girls’ school Sacre Coeur, in Glen Iris, halved its fees from prep to Year 4 to get students in earlier. Fees for 2022 start at $4905 for prep, going up to $20,640 at Year 5, a typical entry level for many students. Glen Iris PS, which ranks higher in the Better Education ranking, levied $254 for essential fees in 2021 and $300 in voluntary levies.