School acquired by Forfar education. Any experience?

[MojoJojo71]

8 yo DD is in year 4 and currently attends a small local independent school. It’s not selective and the fees are not high compared to other independent schools. It has a lovely family atmosphere and she is thriving there.

We have received a letter to tell us that ownership of the school is going to be taken over by a company called Forfar education which describes itself as a ‘specialist school investment and advisory business’

Does anyone have a child at one of their schools or have any experience of this company? Could this be a good thing or should I be worried?

My main concerns are that 1) they could increase the fees, 2) they could start charging for wraparound care which currently is included or 3) all the other schools in their portfolio are preparatory schools and DD’s school goes up to year 11 so maybe they could close the senior school and there are no other affordable independent options nearby meaning she’d either have to go to local state school which doesn’t have a great reputation or I’d have to think about moving

They will likely manage out older/expensive teachers, leave the teachers pension scheme if they haven't already, divest assets, contract out support staff and reduce redundancies, increase teacher workload (teaching periods) and reduce the number of teachers before they EVER think of significantly increasing fees. Their priority will be reducing costs while making staff miserable, not increasing income by alienating their clients.

It has been a while since your post, what has been your experience so far of Forfar?

I haven’t noticed any changes at all yet.

I have my children at a Forfar school and they are a small family run business and a breath of fresh air. They invest up front, have significant experience in all through schools and are child focused and forward thinking. If anything they will be looking to go to 18 as opposed to shut the secondary. We have been v pleased with their positive impact.

Hi as it’s now been 2 years since your post. How’s it going? Thanks

My dd is in one of Forfar's school, unfortunately it's getting worse and worse. I am really worried about the school would close down soon....students come and go every terms, only 4 pupils in Year 5 recently, and 2 of them are leaving. Same situation with the teachers.