School fees. Is it common to negotiate fees??

[icarriedawatermelon2]

We would like to keep our DC at a prep school, however the fees are getting too much as we have another child due to start soon and our financial situation has changed sadly.

We do have much we could offer the school. I teach and DH is a tradesman. The school needs a great deal of upkeep. I was wondering if it would be so terrible to be honest and chat to the head about any options to reduce the fees and we could offer our 'services' in someway??

In general do parents negotiate fees? Are all parents paying the same?
WWYD?

It's almost unheard of. If one parent got wind of nether having a discount (other than published sibling or staff discount) it would cause such massive I'll-feeling in the school that no-one would contemplate it.

Bid for the maintenance work (at this school or elsewhere) if you need to boost your income to continue to afford the fees.

It's not unheard of! My sister was going to remove her twins from their independent school for the sixth form as the fees rocketed yet further at that point and it was just too much to manage. The bursar phoned her and offered to only 'charge' for one. I mean, they were clearly highly thought of, but my sister told absolutely no one of the deal (was some years ago now).
I have another friend who regularly used to go and plead poverty (relative of course!) to the bursars at her DCs' private schools. She swore by it - always managed to do some sort of deal.

It is very common. Go and explain the situation, you may well be surprised. There are many things that can be done to help with the fees.

Sibling discount and bursaries are indeed both well-trodden routes. But OP seemed to be asking something different.

Negotiating for a discount (whether in return for maintenance services or not) is what I meant is virtual unheard of, because of the divisive effect in the parent community.

I think it probably depends on the school. With three applications for every place I suspect my dcs school would have laughed me out of the office.
But my friend was interested in a good school but with fewer applicants and she got offered a reduction in a 'well we could also see if she was eligible for a general scholarship if that helps you decide' way

It seems to be the norm to only offer bursaries or grants in the main school and not before. Do you think any 'discount' would be for the duration or would they put a time limit on this? I would like to feel safe in the knowedge that we could then afford it for the duration of their time at the school etc.

Hmm, well that might be asking a little too much, I would think. I can't see how they could justify guaranteeing any deal for an extended period of time.

If you were appointed to a teaching post in the school, thenyou could expect a discount. These are not usually found inthe published information about the school and vary a lot. It would be quite reasonable for you enquire (probably at interview stage, but you could do it when you apply). This discount would normally run for as long as you were employed as a teacher.

I suspect if fees were negotiated, then that agreement would stay in place unless the financial situation of the family changed.

I do know of schools that have accepted 'payment in kind', though what the official agreement was I'm not sure.

What OP suggests was common at the private primary my kids attended a few years ago. In fact the majority of the staff had kids there - teaching and non teaching staff. A lot were originally recruited as parents rather than teachers. It may be a different set up, as the headteacher owned the school in our case, but well worth a try. I never heard parents complain about that, but they were furious about some other kids being given scholarships.

You have nothing to lose by asking.

Very common at my children's senior boarding school - they do everything they can to ensure a child does not have to leave for financial reasons - but it is quite wealthy.

I have been asked to come in for a chat with the head. "We will do all we can to help" he stated. How do I go about negotiate fees?? I really don't know where to start!

Negotiated at my DC's schools and came out with substantial bursaries at both. Give it a try!

Did you 'suggest' what you needed or waited to see what was offered Mutteroo?

OP is not however asking about bursaries.

I think you will find fee negotiation is far more common than you might think. it certainly was in the independent where I worked for many years.

If you can pay a couple of years up front, most schools can offer a discount. I managed to do this for both my daughters at two different schools.

This is an interesting thread. My DS will start seniors in Sept and we will have a couple of years fees upfront.

We have been discussing the best use for it, investment vs fee discount.

I haven't asked what the discount might be yet, anyone got any idea? 5-10% perhaps?

Just ask them if there is anything they can do to help and look desperate. Let them suggest what they can do; you might be surpirsed that it's more egenerous than you were expceting. If it isn't very generous THEN you can ask if they can give you more help. But if you ask for a tiny bit of help and they say yes it will then be hard to ask for more

themightyfandango For DD1 I paid 2 years up front for 6th form and received a 10% discount. For DD2, I've been offered 5.5%. These are for boarding fees and well known schools.

Thanks sue52. That's interesting to know.

You cannot 'negotiate fees' and the trading off of services, in my opinion, is something a school absolutely should not do as there are lots of implications that may not seem obvious to the parent.

You can however apply for a scholarship and/or means tested bursary or take advantage of any advance payment discounts (as Sue52 says). Not all schools offer such schemes.

Extremely common, go for it.

You usually get a small discount for fees in advance, but the big way you win is that you buy terms in advance at the current rate thus insulating yourself from future fee increases. Do check exit conditions though.

Go and talk to them - IMO it is far more likely that they will find a way to offer you a bursary rather than take "payment in kind". Bear in mind that bursary agreements are confidential so you may not be aware of others who have them.