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

If you cannot afford it withdraw your child, you come cross as very entitled and out of touch lol, really the reason schools can't absorb the VAT increase for all students is due to the staff discounts? There are way more students than staff and even way more students than staff with kids that are school age and go to the schools.

You would rather students stay than good staff 😂 you're definitely a troll, well done.

they must be fighting in the staff room to get the opportunity to just go along to France or Italy on their free skiing holiday .

"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."

The Maldives?

What???

Op is not in her right mind, or a troll.

I also don't believe that a TA in a state school can afford to send their child private. There must be family money or DH has a good job, in which case the TA information becomes rather irrelevant.

That is your argument shot in the foot. They are paying their fees. You just can’t cope with the fact that the fee is different to your bill.

It also sounds like there is a fair sprinkle
of disdain for full fee payers mingling with those on discounted fees which is pretty elitist of you.

I shudder to ask your view on scholarships and children with parents in the military.

I also don't believe that a TA in a state school can afford to send their child private.

Indeed, it's so ironic that op seems to be snobby about her children's teaching staff when she is also a TA.

Op, hun, you are Downstairs just like us.

And like several upthread have pointed out, the obvious solution is to get a job at your children's school.

But wait. You've no doubt applied for one already, possibly multiple times, unsuccessfully.

Every teacher in an independent school has met parents like op. Often it's parents who are native speakers of a foreign language, applying for an MFL teacher job with no experience or teaching skills. They get as far as interview purely out of politeness.

I'm assuming you're joking now 😂😂😂.

Are you actually this stupid?

What's wrong with state school?

Nobody has actually implied there's anything wrong with state school?

Apart from the OP who couldn't possibly send her precious darlings there if she can't afford the fees?

I hope this thread topic is actually meant to highlight the TA crisis in state schools, especially the appalling salary (which is paid as pro rata 🙄) and I’m assuming the OP has their tongue firmly in their cheek. Very clever 👏🏼 if so.

Otherwise, the OP needs to give their head a proper wobble.

I don’t work. I volunteer. As a TA at a state school. So I see both worlds very clearly. The VAT is no problem for me. However, many incredibly close friends and more importantly children of friends are in bits. I urge my friends not to tell the children, not to worry them until they first (do as Labour advised) petition school to absorb the VAT.

Many staff at Independent schools can afford the fees and should pay. Time will tell, as a business labour have now put the ball firmly in the court of Independent schools. To make cuts and economise.

make of that what you will.

Within our school this petition has already been put to governors. Ahead of the VAT.

Oh, I thought you were responding to the two posters you quoted.

Children in bits over something that hasn't happened? Why?

Whatever happened to parenting kids?

Looks like the staff and kids will be leaving... Hey ho, more teachers in state is what we need.

I think then you might want to think about going to get a job to pay for their fees before blaming the rest of the world.

Apologies for being unclear.
Obviously yes many state funded schools are brilliant.
Some are dreadful.
If you live in the wrong street, your only choice for state education is a dreadful one.
If moving to the catchment area of a wonderful one would cost £200,000 then private school is cheaper.
It's crap that this is the case.
I am fully aware that the vast majority of parents of private school children weren't in that position.

@SchoolRunDays what exactly do you believe the school is? The name and reputation? The buildings and facilities? The pupils? The teaching and support staff? Which is the most important? If you lose your staff what use is the rest? Most independent schools outside of the top few will be desperate to keep their numbers and even 50% of the fee is better than losing a child off their enrolment. To attempt to reduce staff salaries via removal of discounted fees is ridiculous. Lots of staff still can't afford them even with the discount, but those who do take advantage of it will not stay if it's removed and your darling children will likely miss out on benefiting from some excellent teaching and pastoral staff.

Oh yes because supervising a bunch of teenagers who are intent on getting hold of drugs or exploring their opportunities to get pregnant while away from home is absolutely what I would choose to do with my holiday time if offered the chance. Why would I want to relax and read a book?

@SchoolRunDays

Most schools I know of don't offer discounts to ALL staff. It's normally only teaching staff/senior members of staff. Support staff often don't get fee reductions.

The fee reduction offered is part of a package. It's a valuable perk to many members of staff. The more a reward package is, the more likely you are able to recruit high quality staff. It's like any business. The more you can pay, the higher quality of staff you're likely to have applying.

Staff still have to pay some fees, so they're going to have to pay the VAT as well. They're going to be affected.

As a private school parent, I want my children to have high quality staff.

The policy is a ridiculous one which will make virtually no difference to public finances. Target your grievances at the Labour Party, not hardworking teachers. The policy should be dropped.

Volunteers aren't TAs. They can be useful but our qualified, experienced, amazing and hugely underpaid TAs are worth their weight in gold and can never be replaced by a volunteer. Believe me, I've sometimes had to try.

Unless the independent school is oversubscribed, the children of staff are not taking full-fee paying places. The school is getting some money for each place instead of none. This is on top of the obvious benefit of staff retention.

'Many staff at Independent schools can afford the fees and should pay.'

What drugs are you on, because I'd like some.

But seriously, what are you basing this sweeping statement on? A study? Facts? Please share.

@planAplanB

I've actually looked into this out of interest. We have 3 schools in our area with space. One is "inadequate". One "requires improvement". The other is apparently "good" where 10-15% of pupils manage to get grade 4 in maths and English. There are too many state schools failing our children.

What a ridiculous thing to propose, it's similar to saying the staff in Tesco shouldn't get a staff discount because you need to pay full price for your shopping.

It's a perk of the job, part of the benefits package for teachers, just like a job that comes with a company car, extra leave or employee discounts.

Given the average cost of school fees is over £18,000 plus extras, while the average teaching salary is around £36,000, I'm not sure I agree that the teachers could necessarily afford to pay full fees.