Allow a play date where mum unapologetically supports children’s education tax

[GigglyOrange]

Just this really, our local independent prep school closed due to the education tax earlier this year and has caused absolute chaos for lots of families, including my own. My dd (6) has been invited for a play date with a girl she seems very friendly with and who seems very sweet, but I’ve since found out from another parent that the mum is an ‘unapologetic education taxer’. My instinct is to cancel the play date, AIBU?

Cool. I did post upthread data that think is suggestive of there now being more private schools now than before the VAT, but really, it is too early to tell.

If we say 70 schools closed since VAT started, that data is useless really without knowing how many schools closed each year prior to VAT. Falling birthrate means less kids starting school.

As this article says :

Has there really been an exodus of pupils from independent schools? - FFT Education Datalab

"There were fewer pupils on roll in independent schools in January 2025 than the previous year.
However, the fact that pupil numbers are lower this year does not necessarily mean that there has been an “exodus” from the independent sector.
First of all, some of this is to be expected given the overall decline in pupil numbers in England. As older, larger cohorts leave school, they are replaced by younger, smaller cohorts.
Secondly, it also ignores how age cohorts in independent schools increase in size over time as a result of pupils moving into the sector.
This opens the possibility that the decline in pupil numbers may be less to do with pupils leaving and more to do with fewer pupils joining.
However, we are unable to test this hypothesis further. Without pupil-level data for independent schools we cannot measure flows into and out of the sector."

I’ve read the entire thread and have no self interest in the general topic. Although the op’s language and tone could do with some improvement, she is absolutely correct in her general points. There’s absolutely no doubt that this is a nonsensical spite policy appealing to politics of envy/class politics, no doubt that it has disrupted children’s education and no doubt that there are no upsides to it other than if you consider children forced out of their school an upside. I would be furious with someone in my life deliberately supporting making my child’s life difficult and would also not want my child associating with them.

I would add that people should remember when posting that just because they are not state educated, these are still real children who are part of the UK and deserve protection and respect, not some generic abstract evil villain Victorian slum lord.

YANBU

It’s a tax on education services provided to children paid by the fee payer, there is no ambiguity or room for arguing otherwise. It is a straight forward and simple tax on education.

It’s VAT paid by businesses offering a service (education). Some businesses (schools) did not pass on that full cost to the fee-payer. So what you say is not correct.

It is paid by the fee payer on education services provided to their children. It really couldn’t be clearer, that’s what the policy is. Some schools reduced their fees to lessen the impact of the tax on the children. It’s very straight forward and simple.

Any potential policy may have positive impact on some children and a negative impact on others. There are very few policies that are universally helpful for all.

Labour have definitely done harm to my children, through their real term cuts to school funding, through increasing the national debt which the next generation will have to pay off. Through their attitudes around women only spaces. Does that mean I won't socialise or let my children socialise with any labour supporter? No it does not. We are a democracy and people can hold and share any opinion they like as long as it doesn't breach hate laws.

Send them to state school! They get educated there too, believe it or not. And no VAT as council schools are centres of learning rather than businesses.

I only know 4 children who went to private education and, believe it or not, all 4 lived next door to me.

Attached to me. We're semi detached.

The first two were just really clever wee girls and got bursaries from the local (state) primary to a private secondary school in Glasgow. Both have done well. One's a teacher of children who have learning difficulties and the other is a lawyer.

Then their mum and her partner moved to Spain and we got new neighbours.

They are lovely. Both of their children went to private school. One is a lawyer, one is in and out of various courses and jobs.

BUT. There are several more children in the street who are now adults (including mine). They outnumber the four I have described above. They all went to state primary and secondary and all have professional jobs, have bought their own homes, and are having great lives and, of course, all of us parents are as proud as punch.

Stop wasting money. If they have it, they have it anyway. Only spend the money if they don't and need the extra help.

I don’t understand the obsession with other parents education choices for their children. Can’t you just concentrate on your own?

VAT is a consumer tax. It is borne by the end user.
The intermediary businesses are effectively collectors of VAT. In normal standard, VAT passes right through a business.

Independent schools are often partially exempt for VAT which would mean they cannot reclaim all the VAT they are charged on by their suppliers - and they should then adjust their fees accordingly for irrecoverable VAT. On the other hand, they can now reclaim VAT on some purchases that they could not before.

Not sure why most of your post discussing school numbers is relevant to my post
OPs school closed
Many schools have closed because of the increase in fees
I tagged your post about how it affects children as you asked for info on that

however
as a completely separate point

Most New Indi schools that have opened are reported to be small schools dealing with ND children. This is down to a growing demand for such specialist schools.
These are not your standard Indi schools and do not therefore reflect a growth in that area.

Then there’s this from the ISC ( 5th October 2025 ) indicating the drop in numbers

‘ Julie Robinson, CEO of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), has voiced concerns over the decline in pupil numbers at independent schools following the introduction of the VAT on fees policy.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Ms Robinson highlighted findings from a survey of 1,150 schools conducted by the Independent Schools Council (ISC), which revealed a decline of 16,696 students in the year to last month. This marks a 3.6 per cent drop, the largest since records began in 1982. The survey reported a 4.5 per cent decrease at girls’ schools, 3.6 per cent at co-educational schools, and 2.7 per cent at boys’ schools.’
This increased and sudden drop is at a time of higher fees due to the VAT … This is not just a coincidence.

I agree. Fewer pupils are joining and there was an article on This a while ago ( can’t remember where, it could also have been the ISC ? )
but again, with increased fees over and above the usual it is not surprising less people can afford the few years they were planning on in the past.

It’s also worth noting, and this is just from my friendship group, that parents have removed their kids prior to senior school and some after GCSEs but prior to Alevels because of the cost and less and/or reduced bursaries and exhibitions.

A few Others have removed them as they believe they will not be as adversely affected re Uni if their kids qualifications come from state. ( their words not mine ) but they were doing that long before the VAT was added, so nothing new there.

The main reason now is the additional cost overall and / or reduced financial support and loss of bursaries and that substantiates the ISC findings aswell

However

as i said
I tagged you re the affect on kids moving as you asked about it
Not the numbers issue

Your views require a certain personality type OP. Out of touch…. Entitled……
They are not taxing children’s education. Every child in the UK is entitled to a free place at school. In primary school, they can attend without providing their own stationary and notebooks unlike some other countries, including well developed ones such as Germany and America. Even in secondary, they need only stationary and if they genuinely couldn’t afford pens and pencils I’m sure the school would provide them. They aren’t making parents pay to attend school.
What they are taxing is a business, which is entirely optional and out of reach for the vast majority of people. Independent schools are business, and ought to be taxed as such.
Just find another independent school OP. It’ll be worth the drive…. I can’t imagine even in an independent school all parents will agree with you, but you will find more like minded people and I think you’ll find the whole socialising side less controversial to you both.

Well, no. Because it's VAT. In the same way that we don't call VAT on mobile phones (for example), mobile phone tax.

Ranting about "education tax" when it's clearly VAT, sounds a bit bonkers.

Half of Indis are charities
not businesses for financial profit

First of all, we're not a democracy, we're a monarchy. And the government after government after government couldn't care less what their "voters" think or want. Did they ask you what to do with national debt? Or women's safety? Rhetorical question. Voting and political circus have become a total joke since I don't remember when :)

So you think people can hold and share any opinion but only OP cannot? How democratic is that! 😂

Have any state school received any hand out left from this raid, what were they even promised, half a teacher or a bowl of cornflakes? So who exactly has benefitted from this policy that displaced many SEN children from their schools? I'm really curious to know :)

I guess it would be more descriptive to word it ‘children’s education value added tax ‘

I think the charitable "public benefit" of some independent schools is questionable, tbh.
I know this sounds very cynical but I suspect that some are charities primarily for the tax breaks (which are admittedly reduced now). Charities can still make a financial surplus and there's always a way to manipulate charitable status/surplus for gain.

Gain for who?

I can’t argue with your point about the state of mainstream education. However, it’s too subjective in terms of what will ever be perceived as good enough. I think people over think this as a moral issue when it isn’t, it’s a service that therefore requires VAT to be added.

Don’t be silly. They’re not ‘charities’ in the usual sense of a non-profit organisation providing aid, they simply have ‘charitable status’ (justifiably or not). All this means is that profits legally can’t go to shareholders, but must be reinvested in the school, infrastructure, staff, bursaries etc.

And they were exempt from VAT, until they weren’t. They still get an 80% reduction in business rates, so I don’t think we need our tiny violins just yet.

Given there is considerable debate on this I think both sides of the debate could be referred to as ranting
Neither side agrees
Both opinions valid, yes opinions

Technically it is a tax on educational services ie tuition
That’s not something this country has done before.

Argument in favour of This being an education tax
Not all aspects of Indi life are taxed but tuition is
Adding a standard 20% VAT to tuition increases the end cost for the consumer.
Most educational services are traditionally zero-rated or exempt from VAT and so applying it to Indis breaks this norm.

The Argument That It Is Not an Education Tax
VAT is a general tax on consumption. The government views private education as a non-essential service or "luxury" purchase.
Private schools function as businesses.( although this is a slight contradiction as half are non profit charities )

State schools (which are also "education") remain exempt from VAT. The policy removes a competitive tax break.

I do believe if the term can be viewed in different ways calling a comment in favour of one is no more a rant than being in favour of the other

It’s not a ‘contradiction’. Private schools with charitable status function absolutely normally as businesses, except for the profits not being distributed to shareholders, but being reinvested into the business, and a huge reduction on business rates.

Ultimately OP
If you don’t know the parent that well and it sounds like you’ve heard from friends about her so perhaps not
i wouldn’t leave your 6 year old with a stranger

I can’t imagine many parents leave their young children with people they don’t know that well
The rest is mostly irrelevant

Either that or arrange to meet up in a playground or something. Get to know the parent.
You never know. They may not be that outspoken on a one to one and hopefully not in front of children that have been affected
Personally I’d avoid the subject as your school choices are no one’s business but your own

The parents of the pupils, the people who run it, also the alumni, the benefactors/donors. Depending on the school, there is a lot of prestige in being involved in it but not all of those people are particularly concerned with it being run for the wider public benefit.