THE body that decides whether Scottish private schools should keep their charitable status has come under fire.
The role of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) was attacked as "flawed" in written evidence to the Scottish Parliament.
Currently, Holyrood's public petitions committee is considering a petition from political campaigner Ashley Husband Powton calling for private schools to be stripped of their charitable status - worth some £600,000 a year in tax breaks.
In a letter to the committee, Ms Powton criticised OSCR for not looking at the impact of private schools on society.
She said: "How can the OSCR possibly make informed, genuine and honest decisions on the charitable status of private schools when these are made in a social, political and economic vacuum?
"This is a profound methodological flaw which allows the OSCR to blind itself to the clear role of the private education establishment in perpetuating and entrenching social inequality."
Ms Powton also attacked OSCR's focus on bursaries as a mechanism to decide whether schools should retain their charitable status.
She said: "The reality is that no amount of bursaries can cease to make access to these schools unduly restrictive for the vast and overwhelming majority of the Scottish population."
Ms Powton also attacked the "uncritical assumption" that allowing private school access to a child otherwise destined for state education was of benefit to the child.
"This undermines state education and insults the 96 per cent of the population who attend state schools."
In a separate submission, the Scottish Council for Independent Schools (SCIS) said more than 600 pupils currently received maximum 100 per cent means-tested financial assistance.
"Means-tested assistance below that percentage, from 95 per cent-20 per cent, is currently given to more than 2,300 additional pupils."
OSCR declined to comment on the accusations.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The First Minister was keen to hear the concerns of parents and the meeting proved to be useful in understanding their experiences.
"We recognise the wider needs of parents in relation to early learning and childcare. That's why the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 set out to significantly expand hours and increase flexibility, year on year. Local authorities are now required to consult with groups of parents at least once every two years on patterns of childcare provision which would best meet their needs. This should introduce a greater level of flexibility and choice in to the system as we work with local government to further develop and expand provision.
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