School fee inflation assumptions?

[Ladymuck]

OK - am trying to get my finances in order as part of the New Year, and am trying to work out how much I should top up my school savings account by. Anyone care to share their fee increase assumptions for the next few years. I haven't really got enough data on this yet for our school but I'm guessing at 7%?

Found this, published in 2005:

Private school fees for day pupils have increased at more than 3 times the rate of inflation over the last 20 years, according to new research from Halifax Financial Services.

Key Findings:

The rise in private school fees for day pupils has increased by 3 times the rate of inflation (103%) over the last 20 years.

Average annual earnings in real terms (ie: after allowing for retail price inflation) have increased by 48% over the last 20 years. In real terms private school fees have risen by 129% in the same period.

Depending on where in the country a pupil is educated, the cost varies significantly by region.

Also this on another site:

Costs are substantial, have tended to rise faster than other forms of inflation in the past, and are likely to continue doing so in future....assume inflation of 6 per cent per annum

And then this:

Using average day and boarding school fees and, assuming fees continue to rise at 5 per cent annually (rises averaged 7 per cent annually over the past three years),

So, 7% seems to be about right at current rates.

Thanks. I've just been digging through my school files - seems we've had 4.4%, 6% and 4.5% rises over the last 3 years. But we've been warned that it will get worse as a result of hikes in the fuel bills.

We are only on the first year, so not sure what to really expect yet.

Ours averaged about 7%, asked them to justify it, they said inflation figures printed by the government are bllcks and it seems they are right.

DS school fees (1998-2005 in independent secondary school) went up by 10% per year. Our salaries went up by inflation. Ouch!

Because such a big % of school costs are wages it means that they will almost always rise ahead of inflation.
The inevitable effect of people getting richer is that the cost of "things" as opposed to services goes down.
"Inflation" is of course based upon both goods and service costs, so you should expect fees to roughtly track wages.
Of course if you're getting inflation based wage rises that is going to hurt.

Slightly off the subject but I'm sure I've seen an organisation advertising a scheme for planning for school fees which somehow reduces the long-term cost. Anyone know anything about it? Who to contact? Any good?

Well I could understand school fees tracking teachers wage inflation, but is that really at 7% or more?

I think 80% of private school costs are teacher wages. I remember the year my husband's school put up teacher salaries 20% (they had got very behind) and then they usually have to follow the state school wages and perhaps a bit more and the Government has been trying to increase teachers' pay so that's obviously fed through too. And then some were price fixing, weren't they - see Office of fair trading web site but that's another matter....

7% is not much above general wage inflation, and teachers aren't doing as badly as they used to. (Though stil far from good enough).

Alse there is considerably more bureaucracy, meaning that the ratio of front line staff is decreasing.
That's not just state schools under artsgrad Blairite reforms.

Our private school has various marketing and "development" managers.
One of the mums who has a very high profile, name dropping grade job was shocked both at how much they cost, and how poor they were. Neither would have lasted long working for me.

I agree with the previous poster. Sometimes the personnel costs are just very poorly allocated. One of the schools that my children attended for a while had the worst Marketing Officer I have ever encountered. When we joined the school, there were over 100 children in the Junior School. We left 2 years later to a falling roll of approx. 40 children. Well worth £50000 - £60000 in her wages then.

Fees have risen for us by about 4.7%pa. We are in the West Country and our fees are significantly cheaper than in the South East.

Also building costs

New sports centre + swimming pool

New music block

New art studios

They all cost money

There has been a lot of upheaval in teachers pay and conditions recently in the state sector including with regards to pensions (according to our annual letter from the governors) and independant schools have to keep up with these developments or they will lose their staff.

Also class ratios seem to be gradually coming down

lol at 7% for teachers wages (I wish). Think it's been tied to 2.4% for next few and last year. We have never been awarded a 7% pay
rise as long as I have been teaching

Wage inflation is not the same as pay. It includes promotions, the various bungs to try and con newbies that the pay is good and the big hole that is pensions, and the rather scandalous level of early retirement.

The Governors at our school have tied any increase (or decrease!)in fees to % change in salaries..

At my DS's school, teachers' salaries were national scale plus a bit more (in order to attract teachers from the state sector. As teachers' pay scales have many increments the annual cost of salaries will be far more than inflation. The school also had to cover pension payments to the same level as for teachers in the state sector. Of course it also had to pay for new development - it was particularly keen to retain sixth formers (there is a very good state sixth form college down the road from the school) - and maintain its position in the dreaded league tables.