If you’re charged VAT will you remove your child from their private school? I’m v stressed!

[Liikklu]

We won’t be able to pay the increase. Only hope is asking grandparents for the shortfall which we don’t want to do. Anyone else in a similar boat? Do you think it will literally be a 20% increase on fees or will schools absorb some of it? Our school has said they will address the matter ‘if and when’ it applies.

Do you have any ideas of the harm the Tory government have done to millions of small children?

Save the children estimate 4.3 million are currently living in relative poverty. 3.6 million are said to be in absolute poverty. And you are now worried about a tiny percent of children who may have to endure the horror of a state school?

Private schools 'charity work' is typically inviting/allowing state school kids to watch them debate or loan their resources. They are not a charity they are a business. If parents cannot afford the tax on it, they are like the majority of the country and will be priced out. And actually if what several people are saying is true and they will have to remove their kids the business will have to adjust their prices to survive so fees may actually drop.

I wonder what the percentage is of people sacrificing to send their children, compared to people who can afford it.
These schools are businesses and can’t not pay VAT just because a small percentage struggle to pay.
Maybe the government will have to improve state schools if there are fewer private places.

I know 3 people who send their children to private school. None of them can afford it. They are no issues, they just wanted their children to have a ‘better’ education. Which is fine but I’m not sure why that should be subsidised.

Reading recent posts - agree big impact on children with “mild” SEN who can attend mainstream education but benefit from smaller classes, and parent funded learning support.

State sector assessment & wait is years, and accommodations too little too late never mind the cost to parents if need legal advice, expert assessment.
Private schools educate these children with more success than State as they can provide support without the EHCP multi-year process and cost.
The potential influx of these kids to state sector really sad because they will not be provided for. The local Ed Auth will fight parents all the way to save ££. Making access & accomodation harder, it’s already nearly impossible process for parents & full of Council dirty tricks.

There are also the private SEN schools. Some kids there are state funded, many are parent funded.

Labour Party wanting to take education from the disabled. Shame shame shame.

The current Conservative government has destroyed public services, standards in public life, the economy and pushed people into poverty, including thousands and thousands of children. They care only about themselves.

I’ll take my chances with Labour.

@ChristmasCwtch you seem to have missed this, so I will say it again, pointing out reality is not spite and envy.

You have conveniently quoted the lowest end of the range of pupils predicted to leave the private sector as a result of this policy as set out in one report that is almost 12 months old and which other reports and surveys do not agree with. It was 3-7% in that report. Private school applications have already dropped by 2.7% this year. Given the numbers leaving my DC’s school after year 6 for state school (which are far higher than previous years), I suspect that the actual number will be a lot more.

I suppose I'm in a position where we have foresight to the worst case scenarios as our only two local private schools closed this past year. One closed at the end of the last academic year as they lost too many staff as they weren't in a position to be competitive with salaries and didn't offer TPS, one closed suddenly in the middle of a term and blamed cost of living crisis.

This did not improve things for our state schools. It has been great for our house prices however as we are in a grammar catchment area. My NDN bought his house 18 months ago for 115k and just sold it for 200k. The grammar school has changed their test requirements and introduced the requirement of being at a certain grade in a musical instrument. This means those that can afford tuition and music lessons are going to get the places.

The issue is, one thing that entices teachers to work in the private sector are the competitive wages and smaller class sizes (better for behaviour, SEND support and workload). If schools absorb the cost, then these things may disappear and teachers may be tempted back into the state sector as the days are shorter, fewer after school obligations, no Saturday school and no compulsory club responsibilities. Recruitment is already a bun fight so I can't see private schools being in a position to go down the route of not passing the cost on. But then if they don't, they might not get the numbers to make it viable.

I'm a state school teacher. I'm not in a position to ever afford private school for my DD. I still can't see the VAT as a good thing for anyone.

Currently undecided who to vote for, although I know it won't be Tory or SNP.
How anyone who isn't super rich can vote for Tory, unless they have a special relationship with one MP, is really beyond me!

As a lot of faith schools are also private of course they will also be taxed
Jewish schools
Muslim schools
Steiner schools
they will all be affected.

Labour told the head of a Jewish school in 2023 when he visited that their was more detail to the policy and he would look after faith schools and felt they had an important place in education when he was asked about the tax. It was more an avoidance of the question really, classic MP speak, but as it stands. As far as we know as there’s no specifics
All private schools will be taxed.

YABU to be at the very limit of your financial flexibility OP.
It sound like you couldn't afford it in the first place, tbh.

How about you actually read my replies (especially the one where I stated my views on people using private education).

Faith schools should definitely be taxed alongside all the other private schools.

If you look at the historical data, there is always a large outflow of kids after Y6 to state schools.

There are 10 million kids at state schools currently being failed by the Tory Government. Schools can no longer afford enough staff to provide qualified teachers for all classes, that don't have enough staff to keep children safe, that can no longer provide adequate SEN provision, that have unsafe buildings, that are limited heating in winter. Sorry if I am on the side of the 10 million, not the 16,000.

Private Faith schools, definitely.

Absolutely the ISC who put questions to all Private schools ( Labour haven’t asked for any intel from those affected ) on the number that receives fee reductions found that 21% of private kids receive a fee reduction.
So potentially 21% could be the highest %

I am astonished somewhere between the two figures hasn’t been financed
ie lowest 3%
Highest 21%
that would give an average estimate of 12%

Id also love to know where this vague 3-7% comes from, as it’s not from the schools

But you will care when a large number of private school students have to squeeze into state schools and your child is in a class of 35 or so.

Maybe the private schools should keep their charitable status if they actuallyDO something to support the children in the wider community than play lip service to it? I’d be more open if it was more transparent in the community. Those that show active outreach as adjudicated by local state schools could retain status.

For example, I live near one of the biggest most prestigious boys private schools. Their website proclaims local outreach. Never seen anything from them in 20 years. In fact their kids are like Oompa Loompas - never seen coming in or out of their hallowed walls

They supposedly offer Latin through the local sixth form college. No representative turned up at all to their open days to discuss that with interested state school kids. Why? Because they can say they offer it and are on paper open to it but do fuck all to actively promote or encourage engagement.

And none of that will be resolved by this policy and it may very well be made worse. My DC goes to an all through private and many more are leaving for state this year than previous years. I’m on eveyone’s side by the way. State schools need more funding (I know as I have a DC in one) but this policy won’t generate that funding and it is also likely to damage some children in the process.

They are all keeping their Charitable status.
Starmer proposed taking it away and then realised
oops
he can’t.

I know its a bit controversial but you could take the advice given to others who are struggling finally

stop the Starbucks and costa coffee
stop the Netflix and ky tv
take sandwiches with you instead of meals deals

If this is enough to save a deposit on a house - its more than enough to pay the 20% on school fees

The vast majority of SEN parents I know (including me) have no choice other than to send their children to mainstream state schools - unless they home school of course, which many are also forced to do, with all the impact on finances that brings. SEN provision, and the whole woeful 'system' itself, is in need of a massive overhaul to ensure that nobody in need of extra support is disadvantaged. I am more confident of this happening under Labour than the Tories, who have persistently attacked disabled people with their benefits reforms and failure to invest in mental health services etc.

A majority of people here are forgetting how detrimental this will be to some children. Uprooting them from a school where they’ve settled in, made friends possibly about to sit exams.. not to mention those with SEN.. to send them somewhere completely new. These children are being punished for no fault of their own.

But no MNetters are too busy waging a class war.

Many women are voting Tory.
But that’s another 100 threads in MN 😳

It will be very very telling if “religion based charities providing education” are also taxed exactly as a non-religious school.

Taxes … on premises, council tax, using church/mosque/temple property, tax on religious instruction, prayers …
Tax the be-Jesus out of COE land/buildings used for education.

I found that the private schools don’t want to know SEN when the level of support is enough to warrant a funded EHCP as opposed to minimum £6000 spend. The level of SEN would be quite marginal to stay in private school. My well behaved lovely son was in private and chucked out frankly. He was struggling to write due to severe dyspraxia and also had combination issues etc. He now has a place to study a degree. Private schools lack the expertise to deal with SEN unless marginal. There are specialist private schools but they would be exempt from VAT most likely.