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

@SchoolRunDays and yet 88% of parents on here disagree with you.

Thankfully.

From experience of collegeaues who tried to leave the private sector for the state sector, it is very hard. State schools don't want teachers who have mainly worked in private schools.

You are being ridiculous. I am happy they have a discount as it keeps staff in post long term.

OP - cutting the staff discount isn’t an efficiency though - if the staff kids leave the schools it just means less income for the school, and doesn’t save anything!!

And you know, when there is an activity during the weekend or the school hols, the teachers don’t pay either.

Maybe the OP would like to see teachers who are supervising all of those (incl the famous ski trip, sailing trips etc….) to pay too?

This is bonkers. We chose private school in part so that our child gets fantastic teachers. If the school retains those fantastic teachers by giving them a massively discounted rate for their kids, then well done to the school for making an excellent decision.

If can afford private school, must be from a good affluent area. I don't imagine living in socially deprived area sending children to school. Don't realise how privileged and well off those who can afford the fees are. Even if you have to "scrimp and save" the money.

Be grateful for what you have, where you live and your privilege.

Majority are a lot worse off to be bickering over this.

It’s sad that you can’t see it really. I presume it’s because the prestige of sending your kids to private school is the most important thing to you.

15 years ago, when I first started teaching to work on a private school was the dream. Smaller class sizes, motivated students and longer holidays. Only the best of teachers got the jobs.

Now, although working at a state school is often unbearable (bureaucracy, bad behaviour, huge classes and no support), I don’t know of anyone in the last 5 years who has made the switch to a private school due to: lower pay, huge expectations and lack of pension.

I imagine the quality of teaching has gone down. And taking away discounted child places I imagine would make several others leave.

Plus, there was a thread not long ago about how teachers’ children worked harder. Maybe they’re what the school needs to get the results?

The irony is, you can’t see that it’s people like you with your attitudes that have entirely lost the sympathy of the public. Your holier than thou, give me I’m more deserving because I’ve got money attitude is exactly why so many feel you should go give yourself a hard shake and develop an ounce of morality.

Read the news talk to people.

They’re Being forced out when others are sitting on huge discounts at their expense.

Unlike staff I pay my full fee.
Why do staff feel entitled to these discounts?

Why should they stay at school ahead of the next person willing to contribute a full fee to the pot?

Nobody cared post Labour government, post threat of VAT few people even knew about staff discount but now it’s the number #1 complaint RE a lack of efficiency. Making cuts.

Exactly... its madness... imagine having that extra income a month and having a good moan about it.

Should do house swap on my estate and see how op feels after a week or two. Fancy it op? You'd appreciate your lot then.

I think op is worried about losing her social life with all the ‘friends and families’ , they might not wish to mix with someone at (horror) state school

I’ve no skin in the game but you sound ridiculous- there is not an endless pool of teachers clamouring to work in the private sector. Surely a big attraction of private education is high quality teachers, reduce their perks and you’ll be left scrapping the barrel

‘Post Labour government’ - do you mean pre ??
Instead of busy bodying and bitching about the staff think about how beneficial a good staff is to the children
Do you work op ?

(1) Most parents can afford the increase, even if they’d rather not pay it. If schools could make more money by filling places taken by children of staff they already be doing it.

(2) Staff retention is key for the success of any business - the views of those at the margins that can’t afford the new prices are irrelevant to them. And as above, if it was more profitable to fill those places with fee paying students they’d already be doing it, and paying staff more. It wouldn’t lead to lower prices- there’s no commercial sense in that. Unless the school is not full. But then, offering places to the children of staff would have a negligible marginal cost to the school, and there still wouldn’t be any benefit to other parents.

(3) It’s not your school, so you don’t get to make that call on how it’s run. You can always vote with your feet and move.

Don't realise how lucky they are.

I'm on 30,000 a year and partner, still couldn't afford to send to a private school.

You definitely should take this to the media OP. I would love to see your Daily Mail Sad Face. Ideally whilst pointing to something.

Hostile deologies like this is making teachers leave in droves.

I know currently 3 teachers ( different schools) who have just left the country to work abroad in international British schools that offer 100% tuition fee subsidy for all
thei teachers’ kids - not some % off the fees like in the UK. Their pay is not astronomically higher over there compared to the uk but the working conditions are excellent aa kids are much better behaved than british kids, they get free tuition for their kids and healthcare and housing etc. and they get a full time TA in every class.

Teachers don’t get paid enough; it’s pretty low to try and pinch a perk that incentivises them to stay in their jobs.

Point is, the more hostile this county will become the more brain drain you will get starting from teachers.

Exactly. I don’t think the OP understands marginal cost or revenue. Or indeed how to recruit and retain staff. Or how to run a school / business 😂

Literally no one is talking about your “them or us” nonsense at my child’s school. Or at the other private schools that I know parents from.

Your suggestion is deeply unpleasant - you want the teachers kids removed so yours can stay? And you say the parents are all saying the same? It’s either bullshit, or your school has a particularly unpleasant parent group.

#1 complaint - among who?

No one on this thread agrees with you. I for one don't just disagree with you, I'm actually shocked by the things you say.

When you say everyone agrees with you - you mean your friends?

I'm honestly shocked, because at the schools I've worked at, the vast majority of parents really valued the teachers and would do anything for us. I had parents giving me baby gifts when I went on maternity. One parent who was a specialist doctor gave me free medical advice when I had an unusual injury in their specialism. They stop me in the street and say nice things.

Whereas op seems to see her children's teachers as... scroungers?

Why do you send your kids there if you hate the teachers so much?

Many offer grants and bursaries for gifted and talented children from socially deprived backgrounds. Should they go too op?

I was a teacher at a private school. Left in 2019. When I left I had 9 years' experience and my salary was £28k.

Even with a discount, I couldn't afford to send my children there. And yet, because the hours were long, 10 hours, plus a commute each way, not doing so would cause a care headache. So I was forced to quit work altogether. How do we manage without that wage? No holidays, no treats, second hand everything.

Rather than considering it a 'discount' you would be more accurate to consider it a salary sacrifice. Your child is at school at the same place you work, which means you're not having to rush off early and miss parents' evenings, or be late because of a drop off else where. In fact you can work even harder.

My point is, wages at private schools are not high. All the money for wages comes from fees.

Editing to add I was full time, and a de facto head of dept.

I would never normally say this to anyone but you sound deranged. Either that or you're an AI bot trying unsuccessfully to get people frothing.

It's a want not a need for everyone though including you.