Reduce or remove Staff discounts at Independent Schools.

[SchoolRunDays]

Historically staff at fee paying independent schools have received significant discounts on fees for their own children (I’ve heard ranging from 10% discount up to 85%)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/05/26/private-schools-make-cuts-state-teachers-vat-raid-reeves/

At the independent school my daughter attends the discount for staff is 50% of the fee so if monthly fee is £2000 staff will pay £1000 if academic year costs £24000 staff will pay £12,000.

No parents ever raised an eyebrow it was never questioned until now.

The Labour introduction of 20% VAT sending panic through communities.

School have informed they cannot “absorb” this cost. Question parents are asking is “why not?” Where’s all the money going.

counting heads and realising just how many staff children are holding places (right throughout the school). Many families with multiple in attendance. Doing the math each child representing a potential 50% loss of revenue. Each child costing the school £12,000 pear year!

Are we really living in a time where there are no other staff available that we have to incentivise positions!?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13660725/amp/Education-Secretary-Bridget-Phillipson-parents-warning-Labours-VAT-raid-private-school-fees.html

Rather than full-fee-paying families having to leave school the staff discount needs to be reduced, removed or abolished.

Independent families under a Labour government simply cannot afford such extravagant discounts.

Staff at private schools do not need to send their children to their place of work. It’s a want not a need.

#VATonfees #PrivateSchoolTax #Labour

If they want to they should understand the unprecedented current political situation and accept new contracts with revised/removed discount on fees.

They can choose to stay and pay more online with parents suffering the 20% VAT or remove their children and free up spaces so the school can generate a full revenue per place.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/labour-private-school-fees-vat-tax-when-b2583658.htmlLabour Tax

BEFORE you remove your children from independent school. Fight for them*

Labour have made it clear school must make cuts that there’s no reason for annual price hikes, no reason to pass on the VAT to parents.

No reason bar the fact they are losing hundreds of thousands of pounds offering all-staff outrageous fee discounts.

Bursaries and scholarships are earned under strict admission criteria and few and far between. Take a moment to count heads of staff kids within your school. It’s a very different situation. If they want the privilege of discount their children should apply and be tested like everyone else.

Who to complain to?

Not the school the teachers, the headteachers the finance department the very people in charge of your payments all have a conflict of interest.

If their children are in school and they’re receiving a 50% discount do you believe they will help you to remove it? No They’re protecting themselves and the school(staff) families best interests.

School parents must petition via governors, lawyers and the media to expose what is going on.

#RemoveStaffDiscount #ProtectMyOwn #NewSchoolPolicy #EqualityInFees #LabourVAT

Parents don’t need to take their children out of independent education because of the VAT. Schools need to reduce or remove all unnecessary staff discounts and absorb the cost. Not pass it on to fee paying parents. Schools need to make internal tough decisions and efficiencies

Oh dear, sounds like OP can't afford to send their precious cherubs to posh school anymore. You'll have to mix with the paupers now... good luck. Don't worry, we don't bite. Try not to be a bitch on the school run.

But this is Labour's policy. They say they expect the schools to 'absorb the VAT' and 'they don't need to pass it on to parents'. Schools run on very tight margins, so the only way schools can do this is to cut pensions, bursaries and other benefits, which mainly go to staff. It's a very mean spirited policy designed to set everybody against one another - state sector against the private sector, parents against schools. If you think the OP is mean spirited, then you have to agree that Labour are also.

It does seem an odd post. I don't know any parents at my child's private school or elsewhere that think like OP. Not one.

I was about to say the exact same thing. Very strange wording by the OP.

Btw Op the parents would still have to pay 20% extra even if you got rid of the teachers kids discount ! Don’t forget by effectively kicking them out the school would still lose some income as they are paying at least something towards fees.

Because if the discount is reduced to 25%, then staff won't be able to afford to send their kids there. Why don't you value the teachers? They are caring for your children.

I don’t have kids but have worked in both state and private schools and I agree with most of this. Both Labour and OPs policies are mean spirited and will not improve state schools

Why is there an assumption here that private school teachers are better than mainstream teachers? In my experience, mainstream teachers are very talented and dynamic due to teaching a diverse range of children.

O M G

OP's kids mingling with those of the council housed cleaners 😱

🤣🤣🤣

Presumably the whole reason for parents to send their children to private/independent school is the quality of teaching

I would imagine it’s more the small class sizes and not mixing with the riff raff!

It's rather like the Tory's teacher pay rise that had to 'come out of existing budgets'. The fact is, neither party want to fund education and they're both trying to convince the public that there's money already in the system somewhere if they can just find the right button to push. There isn't.

This is true - a million times.

This is no different to a state school where many staff live in catchment.

Ugh this is so true in both instances 😵‍💫 it’s depressing as it makes me think nothing is going to get solved re. education funding aside from headline grabbing policies. Children deserve better.

Changing school is not the end of the world. Plenty of children do it. Have to do it. Get a grip.

There are waiting lists at the majority of these schools.

How else can schools “absorb the VAT” not “Pass it on to parents” with this new government feeling is every man for themselves.

Again,

Staff discount not teacher discount this is not anti teachers.

This is about many staff of private schools heads of departments, well paid all still in receipt of 50% discount. Multiple children attending. Limited spaces all holding value a revenue stream for school.

£12,000 per year, per child lost revenue.

Perhaps then, Staff discount should be means tested?

Are staff not wanting to pay to lose the annual trip to Maldives? Whilst families paying the full fee are scraping by. Many with multiple fees to pay themselves.

Within my circles it’s not about taking from or punishing teachers it’s most definitely more of the above!

I am happy Labour are in power and I’m happy to see the state schools grow. I also want to see every family paying their fees for their children remain at their independent schools.

If that means Independent schools abolish, reduce or means-test independent staff discounts post implementation of Labour VAT, so be it.

I disagree, why shouldn't staff have this perk, good luck to them

They're offering a service and charging a fee for it. How they remunerate their staff is none of your business. If you don't like it, go elsewhere.

In what other situation would a customer make such demands on a service provider? You're being absurd.

Pay your fees or go to state school. It’s really that simple.

If staff have to remove their children from the school, you're likely to notice a big difference in how much time they are willing to invest in their jobs. As a pp said, a key reason many give so much is because it's THEIR child's school. If they're splitting their efforts between the private school they work at and their child's state school, it's likely to be your kids that lose out. Their availability for all the out-of-hours stuff will be significantly reduced.

The mainstream schools that I have worked in have all been far from inadequate. They've been full of talented and dedicated teachers. Do you honestly think that normal schools are all inadequate?

Of course the teachers should pay. Having a free holiday on the parents dime!

No one in my circles is talking about this. No one. Not a single parent has suggested staff take a pay/package hit so that our children can stay at private school.

Why are the teachers children of less concern when it comes to having to' leave their world, their school, their friends'? If the teachers can't afford it anymore, their children (and they) will leave.

Why do you think it is acceptable that people on a lower income (teachers) than the majority of private school parents should have to have both a hike in their fees as well as VAT being added?

You are completely deluded.

School trips are not a holiday for the teachers 😂.

Many refuse to take them because they're such a nightmare.

Yeah I’m assuming that poster was making a joke lol but some people really are that ridiculous to think like this.

I have a friend I can imagine saying something like that and not in jest 😑

To play devil's advocate, will you support schools increasing salaries for their teachers to make up for the loss of benefit?