School fees going up loads! Anyone else?!

[Abuildingwith4wallsandtmrinsid]

Regular poster who has name changed for this post.

My DC’s school is putting up school fees by over 7 per cent from September 2022 for existing parents, more for incomers.
Is this the norm now?!! I realise prices are going up but shouldn’t they try and contain costs/be as lean as possible? Apparently they need to build their bursary funds and go green. We have tons of parents who already struggle with the fees.
Other DC thankfully in state school. I don’t think it is good value this whole private school thing. But once your kid is there you are trapped.

Why exactly do they need to ‘go green’? I would be asking exactly what that means to them.

But 7% is in line with expected inflation.

I would expect fees to go up with inflation as staff will need increases/increased energy bills/materials etc

7% is current rate of inflation.

As pp stated this is inline with inflation.
If you don’t think the school represents good value then move your child to state. Unless your child is currently in year 10 or 12, how are you trapped?

In line with inflation. They are a business, they need income.

Our school put its fees up 15% last year whilst simultaneously cutting lots of activities and changing the school meal provider from an in house chef to a packaged-sludge provider.

Fortunately it’s our last year, but staff is a schools biggest expense, so I wonder how much of a payrise they are getting (not 7% I suspect !)

If it's in line with inflation, they surely won't be making any excess. Do you understand how inflation works?

Banks are a business. This school is meant to be a charity that puts the school community first. Our mortgage isn’t going up by 7 per cent but school fees are and they are more than the mortgage now. Teachers salaries are not going up by 7 per cent, in fact their pension is somehow negatively affected.
In line with inflation what does that even mean? On a whole year basis, at a given date. Is everything going to go up by 7 per cent or more this year? No it isn’t, energy, certain food costs etc and some salaries but not as high as that.

Am not sure what you expect from this thread. If you believe the increase is excessive move your child to the state school your other children attend.

What I expect is an indication from others whether this is the norm this year? Are other schools doing similar with fee increases? They normally announce it nowish so people can give notice if they want to.

@Mumtofourandnomore indicated her school went for a 15 per cent increase last year.

What is interesting to me is that our head is all about his vision for the school and where he wants to take the school during his career to make a mark as opposed to doing what is best for existing students, parents and teachers. Lots of senior staff are leaving.

Also name changed for this
We have a DC in boarding school , it's been a very tough few years due to loss of income because of Covid. If we get notice of a 7 percent rise in fees we will have to give notice. I am expecting that to happen now. They will easily fill the place as it's one of the most elite schools in the country.

Teachers' salaries aren't going up but what about increased pension and NI contributions that the school has to make? Quite aside from massive energy hikes? Even if the school tries to make cuts where it can, there are basic costs which remain whatever the number of pupils on roll. 7% sounds absolutely to be expected I think, and you can't tell me anyone is 'trapped' in a private school.

teachers arent the only staff cost in a school. The salaries might be increasing - especially if they were at the minimum wage level or just above. Cleaners, caterers, grounds people, office staff etc.
I order paper for a school its gone from 2.71 a ream to 3.99 so the things i buy are going up a lot (we use an eco paper in line with our values)

Ours are going up by 4.75% from September.

Banks are a business. This school is meant to be a charity that puts the school community first.

Ha! It's a profit-making business hiding behind the facade of a charity.

Independent schools aren’t charities in the sense that you mean it. They are businesses with a charitable status. Their main goal is to survive.

@Abuildingwith4wallsandtmrinsid

Banks are a business. This school is meant to be a charity that puts the school community first. Our mortgage isn’t going up by 7 per cent but school fees are and they are more than the mortgage now. Teachers salaries are not going up by 7 per cent, in fact their pension is somehow negatively affected. In line with inflation what does that even mean? On a whole year basis, at a given date. Is everything going to go up by 7 per cent or more this year? No it isn’t, energy, certain food costs etc and some salaries but not as high as that.

What on earth makes you think a private school is a charity???

They have charitable status but they should not, they are a private industry.

You seem to be in denial about inflation.

@HelloDulling. Do you have DC in boarding school?

I wish our school had kept school fees in line with inflation in the last decade. They usually go for around double that. As I said they are a very wealthy school with lots of very wealthy parents. We are almost at the end but sadly won't make it now.

Covid has been very difficult for us and things were tight enough to begin with. I just wish that we hadn't payed huge fees (with a very small discount) while DC was at home with online lessons. I hoped that we would make it to the end but we won't now.

@Luredbyapomegranate

Independent schools aren’t charities in the sense that you mean it. They are businesses with a charitable status. Their main goal is to survive.

^this

In any event, most private schools have been slowly creeping the fees up in order to account for the pension contribution increases without it being too much of a shock to parents. Salaries will also have to rise a bit to keep the staff happy. Electric and gas costs will shoot up, on top of the increased water costs from all the Covid washing and cleaning.

My kids old school put fees up by 5.07% last year. I expect it to be more this year (but no longer have skin in the game as we moved location and school).

Private school fees always outstrip other inflation indices - sometimes by as much as 5% (eg when the government has been fiddling with NI as happened in the early 00s, may be happening in some now with changes to TPS).

Staff costs and energy costs are important considerations this year.

CPI (year to Feb 22) is 5.5 % (was 4.8% in year to Jan 22). RPI 8.2%

www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices

Schools that are going for less than about 8% may find things tight. Likely to be large rises for next couple of years.

Parents considering private education should always model fee affordability at various inflation rates, up to about 10%. Inflation has been so low for so long that I think people have forgotten its impact

Our prep has increased £300 / term from Sept.

Our school for the last nine years it was a 5% increase every year without fail. They're bulging at the seams so can do this. The vision thing is big too.

Universities are no better these days

@Abuildingwith4wallsandtmrinsid

What I expect is an indication from others whether this is the norm this year? Are other schools doing similar with fee increases? They normally announce it nowish so people can give notice if they want to.

@Mumtofourandnomore indicated her school went for a 15 per cent increase last year.

What is interesting to me is that our head is all about his vision for the school and where he wants to take the school during his career to make a mark as opposed to doing what is best for existing students, parents and teachers. Lots of senior staff are leaving.

‘Loads’ of staff leaving would concern me more than the fee increase.

@BeingOscar - please write to the Bursar and the Governing Body. I think it is worth a try. There are a fair few people at our school who are in a similar position - struggled through Covid, kept paying, some depleting savings etc.

Secondly, I do not think we should just accept that they think they can keep putting fees up whilst states schools have done the opposite, funding decreased compared to inflation. It is tone deaf. In addition, there is price collusion amongst the top of them watching clearly what other schools are doing and getting away with it. The whole sector needs better regulation, we are talking about children here, not only adults. Calling schools a mere “business” is tone deaf too.

Thirdly, this current trend of CEO style headmaster needs to end. It is not appropriate in the education sector.

I think private school parents need to be more vocal. Governing bodies need to be stronger, more focus on current children and existing school community.
Fourthly, there is now a big gap in the “market” for schools that would be fee paying, but at a reasonable price. Not all the bells and whistles of extensive schools grounds, but just good teaching, happy staff, happy children. Actually, what state schools should be like if the government funded them properly, with proper regulation.

“Secondly, I do not think we should just accept that they think they can keep putting fees up whilst states schools have done the opposite, funding decreased compared to inflation. It is tone deaf.“

What do you mean by this?