All staff meeting end of day - handhold

[Backtoreality1]

Pretty sure that we are going to be shutting down - but whether with immediate effect not sure. Its been a horrible day as we were informed about the meeting first thing this morning, so you can imagine how much work is getting done! Only one topic of conversation and its all going round in circles which is driving me crazy.

Thank you for all your messages. Have to say that VAT was not a deciding factor here - they have been in trouble for a few years.

No they arent. Read the previous posts and/or listen to the More or Less podcast. One school in Oxfordshire, read the whole thing but only 66% capacity. Think the school also went nc with the parents

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgm22l728kdo#:~:text=A%20private%20school%20has%20cited,to%20secure%20the%20school's%20future%22.

same school

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yly3wxkkzo

and again

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx29w1vg258o

it wont be the only one that has blamed the VAT

Sorry but I don't believe that the VAT has not had any impact on the number of private schools closing, I agree its not the only reason but it's one of them.

I’m sorry about this @Backtoreality1 and imagine it is a private school.

Making all private schools and all parents pay vat was another poorly thought out knee jerk policy reaction by Labour. They were full of righteous fury about private schools being exempt from vat and proud of themselves for forcing the schools and parents to pay more believing the schools were full of entitled children of uber wealthy stock brokers.

Some schools, yes. But there was little to no acknowledgement of how, for many many parents of children with sen or struggling with mainstream but unable to get an EHCP, those were schools of last resort. My parents remortgaged their house to be able to afford to send my DB to a private school. It saved his life. Other parents denied themselves every luxury to send their children but the addition of vat was just the one unachievable step.

I’ve read that many independent schools are now closing. Likely exacerbated by the worsening economic situation. I’m not sure what the answer was, but it wasn’t taking a sledgehammer to the situation.

it's one factor but not the sole reason which the DM and some MNetters seem to believe

Strangely enough there are still plenty of vacancies in the schools locally - have heard at some primaries the qualified teacher is share between the two classes in a year group due to a lack of candidates applying for teaching jobs. Others have been advertising for head teachers for well over a year. Agency TA's still have work available.
Hope you find some soon OP - it looks like the bulk of job adverts will be out in the next few weeks.

And Radio 4 loves a good political bias. Covid lockdowns killed a lot of small private schools, I wonder if they mentioned that or was it just 'the Tories'.

Under Labour private schools were hit with a double whammy of VAT on school fees and removal of business rates relief. It's extremely hard for a business that runs on small margins to suddenly absorb a massive increase in costs combined with a drop in revenue. Sad. But it was a vote winner and set people against each other which I think was the idea. People are still arguing about it now after all, and it's a done deal.

Interestingly don't Labour want us back in the EU? They'd have to reverse the VAT decision as the EU VAT principle of fiscal neutrality prohibits treating similar services differently for VAT purposes.

Sorry to hear that OP. I hope you get another job soon. If the school was struggling anyway, the additional VAT introduction etc won’t have helped. This is just one of the reasons I hate Labour.

Oh no. OP I know firsthand how devastating this is and how it feels like someones pulled the rug out from under you. Hugs!!

Ive been retrenched / made redundant TWICE. And they say lightning doesnt strike twice!!!! On the positive side - both times it led to better oportunities and better jobs with big steps up in pay and forced me to take a leap and try something new. On the negative side - both times were financially devastating, obliterated my savings and pension plans and took a long time to rebound from.

But looking back I can honestly say, you DO get through it, you CAN recover and you CAN even find things to be funny and a hidden blessing. Hang in there xx

Over the course of the Conservative government there were indeed many independent school closures.
However, there were also many that opened.
And they finished their term with a net gain of 13 independent schools.

So I’d agree with - but don’t let facts get in the way, I guess

All of which points to normal turnover or churn. Which may also be the case under Labour of course, if only anyone would be honest with the use of statistics instead of using them in ways that suit their own agenda.

None of which helps the people who are losing their jobs, homes and school places.

@Backtoreality1 I think my nephews attend your school.

Awful news! Their father attended the same school too so lots of family history associated.

Very worrying for my elder nephew as he will be entering GCSE year as from September. ☹️

Yet another lovely school closing. Another very well regarded private school very close to us closed last year too. ☹️.

So sorry for you and your colleagues who have been doing a great job. 💐

I believe 106 fee-paying schools now have shut down since the VAT situation?

@Pedallleur OLA is a VERY unique situation and you are clutching at straws there. You only have to look at the Private section on the Education part on MN to see that.

OP, so so sorry to her your news.

There's also underlying demographic change, which would have an impact no matter who was in government. There were 723000 babies born in England and Wales in 2010 but 624000 in 2021. This is why schools that can fill their current year 11 places can't fill their reception ones (if it is the school in Bath, as some posters have guessed, this is why it's their prep provision that's closing). There was a demographic boom which meant that there were more students for private schools to target and less competition between them. This has very strongly reversed, and was always going to mean some schools not being viable. There's the same issue in the state sector - we are currently in the situation that we just have too many primary schools. Having too many secondary schools will inevitably follow, and so some will close. That'll start hitting at the end of this decade no matter who is in government or what they do - it's baked in from the number of babies born.

108 closed in the last year of the Tory Govt

A state primary very near this school is consulting on closure too.

Ok we get your point.

Let’s have some sympathy for the op. It’s not just about politics

Sorry your thread has turned into a political battleground @Backtoreality1 with the usual they did this and they did that arguments.

Hope you can find another job. It tough going through a closure period for both staff, pupils and parents.

Are you in Enfield?

Ypu know more independent schools have opened than closed since the election?
It’s horrible for the OP and the rest of the staff and pupils of this school, but let’s not pretend it’s something it isn’t.
I would hope the OP can get a new job in a stress free way. There is a recruitment crisis in education.

edit: I realise this is a reasonably old article, couldn’t find the more recent figures I know are there because I was looking at them recently. They bear this out.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/oct/26/no-rise-private-school-closures-england-since-labour-vat-proposal-data

So sorry to hear this has happened to your school @Backtoreality1. My DH is a teacher whose school is massively in the red and struggling with falling rolls and a friend of ours who is also one went through the same thing last year. He did get an excellent payout though so hopefully your LEA will give similar. But this is going to happen more and more as birth rate continues to fall.

It’s years of Tory policy that has wrecked education - insisting schools fund everything from their budgets instead of centrally. While Labour isn’t doing enough to reverse it, you can’t blame them for them for the shitshow they inherited.

Oh, I've been through one of these, I am so sorry.

Sorry to hear this op. It’s a frightening situation to find yourself in, but as someone who has been made redundant twice in my career, you do get through it.

Hopefully the LEA is not involved as it is a private school (sorry OP).
A couple of new private schools have opened near us but they are SEN schools and fees are paid by various LEA's and there is some sort of VAT exemption. Parents do not pay anything (the fees are much higher plus the transport costs)

Yeah...most private schools are in the same boat tbh.
Sorry to hear it, though, op.
Good luck.