It is said that about four out of ten French children have spent some part of their school lives at a private school. Some families choose private schools for their children because they simply believe in them. Sometimes the choice is made because parents believe the local private school has a better reputation than the local state one. However, from what I can see in the small town where I live, many parents move their children from state to private or from private to state school depending on the needs of their child rather than on any specific philosophy.
Enrolment
As far as state-run schools are concerned, a child must go to their local one in the geographical sector appropriate to where they live. An important point about state French schools is that teachers are allocated to their schools by a centralised system organised by the ministry of education (teachers are not recruited by the headteacher of a school) so it is argued that
all schools have their share of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ teachers.
If you want your child to go to a state school other than your local one, you must apply for a
dérogation (an exemption) justifying your argument as previously mentioned. Some reasons are taken into consideration – the local school does not offer a particular option, other siblings are already at the school outside your catchment area, the school of your choice is more practical for your child-minder, for example – but your child can only enrol if there is space for them at the school.
As for enrolment at a private school, a family can enrol their children where they want.
Les Étabussements Privés Sous Contrat
However, it is a mistake to imagine that all private schools are independently run, without outside regulation. In fact, the majority of children at
collèges privés in France go to
les établissements privés sous contrat. These schools have signed an agreement with the state which pays for the running costs and teachers’ salaries. In exchange, the number of taught hours and the teaching programmes are identical to those in state schools. In addition, their teachers have the same training and are inspected in the same way as teachers at state schools.
Les Établissements Privés Hors Contract
Les collèges privés hors contract are fewer in number and they receive no budget from the state and are therefore paid for by the families that use them. They are completely autonomous in their
recruitment of teachers, in the programmes they teach and in their teaching methods. Parents need to be confident of the quality of the teaching before enrolling their children at a private school
hors contrat.
Changing Schools
If you want to enrol your children at a state school when they have previously been at a private school
sous contrat, then they will be allocated places at their new state school if there is a place available.
On the other hand, if you want to enrol your children at a state school when they have previously been at a private school
hors contrat then they will need to sit an exam and you will need to make sure that you do not miss the date, which may be early on in the school year.
If your children are moving from a state school to a private one, you must ask for the transfer of their school records to the new school.
Values
The great majority of private schools are Catholic and since state schools are secular – children are not allowed to wear anything other than very discreet signs of their religious beliefs – some parents choose these schools for their religious beliefs. Other parents may welcome the fact that catechism is not compulsory nowadays but nevertheless still choose to send their children to private schools because there remains a strong moral and
religious tone. Parents are probably attracted to the values that filter through to their children and to the fact that other parents with the same values as their own send their children to this type of school.
Parents need not be wealthy in France to send their children to a private school
sous contrat because, after-all, the running costs and salaries are paid for by the state. Parents pay
une contribution: that is what they can afford, depending on their income.
Some parents say that they prefer the family atmosphere of a private school. The explanation of this is since there is a degree of financial independence, these schools have a tendency to recruit support staff when they are needed, rather than, for example, to renovate a classroom.
Results
At face value it may seem that private schools have better results in the
Baccalauréat (bac) than state schools. However, according to most sociologists who base their findings on official figures from the ministry of education in France, it is the social background of individual children that counts and not whether they go to a private school. The reality seems to be that private schools have better
bac results because they have more children coming from more ‘comfortable’ homes and supportive parents.
Size
Some parents choose to send their children to private schools in the belief that they will be in smaller classes than at their local
state school. Recent studies have shown this not to be the case: in fact the average size of classes at
collèges privés is around 24.8 pupils whereas at state
collèges there is an average of about 24 pupils in a class. If this is an important issue, then it should be discussed with the heads of the schools concerned. It is, however, most probably the case that private secondary schools are overall smaller in size than state secondary schools. But even then, in some small towns, there is often an amalgamation of private
collège and
lycée (and sometimes primary school too) and consequently the size of the single institution can no longer be considered to be small.
When you move to France with children of school age, you need to be confident that the school you have chosen for them is going to suit their needs – after all, they are going to spend a good deal of their waking lives there. For their part, parents need to feel comfortable with the staff since the system is an unknown one and they – probably with very limited spoken French too – are going to be turning to those at the school for advice and information.
La Crèche
This is a day nursery, usually run by the municipality, parents paying according to their income. The
créche cares for young infants from two and a half months to three years for about 11 hours a day, in small groups with qualified staff. Many working mothers therefore opt for this solution to child care.
La crèche is open from early in the morning to early evening, except for weekends and holidays. Working mothers rest assured that the quality of supervision that their children receive at the local
crèche stimulates their child’s development. As these places are often limited, enrolment needs to be done during early pregnancy!
La Halte-Garderie
This is where young infants under the age of six years learn to socialise with other children. It offers care for children whose mothers who do not work, or who work part-time. Children may attend a few days or half-days per week, as the parent chooses. There is usually a small fee to pay. Your local town hall (
mairie) will give you the details.
For very busy working mothers, the
halte-garderie is not the most practical solution since they need to find another means of child care on the days when the child is not at the centre.
Une Assistante Maternelle Agréée
Some French mothers prefer to leave their children in a more intimate environment than a collective one and they may choose the approved, registered child minder, called an
assistante maternelle agréée. The child minder looks after one to three children from two and a half months to three years old, at her home full time. The child develops in a family environment, with other children with whom he or she can play. This tends to be the option for the practical working mother because the
nourrice (the adult word for child minder) or
nounou (the child’s word) can even look after their child even if he or she has a slight cold or a high temperature, which is not possible in a collective environment.
La Nourrice & Domicile
This is the option for parents who prefer their child to be cared for all day at their own home, and some parents are entitled to tax relief for this service. This formula is ideal for working parents who do not want to interfere with their child’s routine.
La Garde Partagée is when two families employ the same child-minder who looks after their children at one or the other’s homes.