Need legal advice for school fees issues

[tggs1]

A quick question about private school terms and conditions...

It is pretty common for private schools' require a terms notice in order to remove a child from school.

In our case, we have given a term notice verbally and in writing on the 17th December 2013,due to financial situations.

The principal of the school, accept it and suggested that we could pay on monthly basis during summer term, as it will be ashamed to see our child leave the school, as this will be her final primary year.

When summer term begins, we end up paid the full fees for that term. Unfortunately, our child is being bullied at school, which I have reported the problem to the class teacher previously. To make the matter worst, our child end up self harming due to bullying at school, and we have report it to the principal as it is become very worrying and requested for the school to take actions and reassurance in order for our child to return back to school.

To my surprise, the principal did nothing to resolve the situations only insisting that my child need professional help, despite other parents have complained about the bullying by the same child who bullied our child.
We have tried and suggested some ideas to the principal in order for our child return, but she did not seems to take it very serious about bullying.
There is no other alternative other than remove our child from the school, as they have failed protecting and safeguarding to our child safety.
Therefore, we have emailed the principal with our decisions and attached copy of email of the terms notice given in December, and requesting for part reimbursement of the fees.

Please let us know, legally the school have to partly reimburse the money as we have given a terms notice?

Thanks

I am not a legal person (hopefully one will come along shortly) - but I would think that as a new agreement was made between you & the school after the expiration of the notice period (which would have been the end of the Spring Term?), then the fact you had given notice would become irrelevant once that new arrangement starts.

I am very sorry to hear that your DD is being bullied. Was the HT maybe saying that she should seek professional help for the self-harming, rather than the actual bullying?

But if you gave them a term's notice in December, didn't that mean your child would have left at Easter? The fact that they didn't (and you paid the summer term fees in full and the child started the summer term) would seem to me that that notice period had lapsed.

(Disclaimer, I am looking at this from a common sense point of view, I don't know the legalities).

Hi thank you so much for your replies. The HT only given advise for professional help on self harming matters, which I can understand but at the same time she is not dealing or tackling the issues of bullying in order for our child return. And this is how the terms of notice works - for example: we gave a term notice in December which mean it applies for the summer term as we still have to pay the fees as from January to 22nd April 2014 (Spring term) but not for the summer term which is from 23rd April - 15th July 2014. But as the HT is very fond for our child to stay, she suggested that we could find other way to pay the fee such as monthly payments or get back to her should we cannot afford to pay the fee. I've informed HT that we will try to keep our child there as long we can pay the fee, but as this unfortunate bullying happen, and the school is brushing everything away under the carpet, despite we have tried to negotiate with the school, but they leave us with no choice other than to remove our child and definitely no parent would want to pay the school just for the child to get bullied. It is very frustrating for us or any other parent to tackle the issues of bullying at school and nothing get resolve.

I agree with the others. Your notice period expired on the 22nd of April. I think the fact that you kept your daughter in the school after that date and paid a further term's fees effectively means that you have withdrawn the notice to leave that you gave on the 17th December.

Surely your notice period was invalidated when you carried on paying fees and sending your DC to school?

Yes I think your actions in returning and paying after Easter effectively revoked the notice you had issued in December, so unless you stipulated otherwise and agreed mutually it would roll on.

Effectively you have been on 'rolling notice' where you carry on paying until you can't afford it anymore, and you get to move your child at that point without having to stump up the NEXT terms fees.
Unless you specifically agreed an exit date mid term then you have to stay term to term.
Schools don't work on 'part terms' and you never get any money back after paying it.

Effectively you have been on 'rolling notice' where you carry on paying until you can't afford it anymore, and you get to move your child at that point without having to stump up the NEXT terms fees.
Unless you specifically agreed an exit date mid term then you have to stay term to term.
Schools don't work on 'part terms' and you never get any money back after paying it.

Hi, thank you so much for your advice. You are right about the rolling notice. But in this case is about the school has failed their duty of care and safeguarding to our child, as they not dealing with the issues and reassurance for our child return.

In which case the notice you gave and rescinded it isn't directly relevant , although it might suggest you may have other motives for withdrawing your child and had already made your mind up.

Without reading the schools terms and conditions and all the correspondence it is impossible to be certain but, on the information posted, I tend to agree with others that your original notice expired and therefore you are not entitled to any refund on those grounds. However, if the school is in breach of contract by failing to safeguard your child properly you may have a case to claim a refund from them.

I am sorry to hear about your child's bullying issues. From the schools perspective, you gave notice due to financial reasons within the time specified in the contract then on the advice of the school you decided to keep your child in the school. This then invalidated your notice and should you leave part way through that term you are liable for the next term's fees, as stated in the contract.

Seems like there are two seperate issues.
If you remove your child now, you still owe fees which the school could sue you for, in which you will sue in a coutner claim for the balance of the time remaining in which you both settle and none of you get anything.

I think OP is asking if the school should refund her some of the last term's fees as she feels forced out.

Unfortunately I agree with other posters that you effectively withdrew your notice. I assume the school knew that your DD was leaving primary at the end of the summer term, so I don't think you needed to give them notice.

I would walk away from it. You can complain to the Governors etc but I don't think you will get anywhere, just wind yourself up more. Contact your GP to get your poor DD help via CAHMS to counsel her about the bullying .

I'm confused.

You say this is her final year in primary, and you seem to say the you have not yet removed her. So she will be leaving in one week anyhow?

I do not think you will have much a case for any refund of fees for a term when you DC was actually attending the school, unless you can show clear evidence that you followed the grievance procedure and got nowhere.

Even then, if your case is won, you are likely to receive only fees paid for the period after your DD left the school. So maybe one week? I really do not think that would be worth the stress and uncertainties of going to court.

Schools have insurance for legal costs in cases such as this, and will go to court. Unfortunately for you, allegations of bullying (without a full, contemporaneous record of raising the grievance and following the complaints procedure in full) are common amongst parents who just want to get out of their contract. So records of all the exchanges about bullying and evidence of following the complaints procedure will make all the differenc to your case.

Like others I think, legally, by paying the full summer term's fees in full means that you invalidated your notice. By paying up front you pretty much told them she was staying and you were accepting the contract to stay the whole term.

Surely your dd now only has 2 weeks left now anyway. So at the very most it would only be 2 weeks fee to reimburse. But even if you'd taken the rolling month option, as you're in the final month there would be no fees to return to you.

The term is about to end so I doubt you will get any refund for the week left of school surely and anyway it might be the parents' or child's fault there were problems at school. People can be a bit too fast to blame schools rather than their precious little darling who can do no wrong.

Excellent piece of victim blaming there JaneParker.

AuntStella is right. There is a way to reclaim the fees because of a lack of safeguarding but the school are unlikely to give in easily. I think you would need to prove that the school knew about the bullying, that they did nothing about it and that you followed the schools complaint procedure to the letter and still nothing changed. I would also not be surprised if their lawyers asked why you kept your child in the school after giving notice and having it accepted if she was being badly bullied and the school were doing nothing about it.

I suspect you chances of winning a case on this basis are quite slim you might well end up investing more in time, effort and money than you ever get back.

Hi, thank you so much for all the advices given. We agree with all the comments, it's a shame this has happened especially in the private school which not dealing with bullying issues at all. To be honest, our child was bullied before (in the previous school, before this school) having reported to the school so many times, our daughter end up with a broken arm. So when we approached this current school, the HT assured us that no such thing will happen in their school and any bullying with be dealt immediately. Well, it doesn't seem they keeping up with their procedures and rules. But at the same time the class teacher herself have told us that the child that bullied our child is a monster and always in trouble, but yet nothing is done about it despite other parents have filed the same complaint about the same child. But at the same time we are so glad that our child will be starting new school in September (secondary) in which she is fully aware that there's always a trouble maker in most schools. We actually have removed her from the school since 22nd May 2014 and home educated. Also, we will report this to Ofsted, and yes we have follow all the protocol and given the school at least 3-4 chances to sort this out, but obviously with no luck. But definitely will look into this case, as the school that has failed to safeguard our child.

Also, we will report this to Ofsted not much point if this is an independent school.

Ofsted is the wrong body to complain to for an independent school.

Oh yes, sorry our mistake not Ofsted, should be the ISC. We will prepare the report/correspondence between us and the schools. To be honest their correspondence will not look very good to the ISC. And apparently the HT realised what a big mistake she has written in her letter. By the way many thanks again for your advice and support.

Trouble is the ISC doesn't really have much bite. Does the school have any other affiliations such as IAPS? The T & C s normally state a full term's notice so even had you given/renewed notice at Easter you wouldn't get a refund if you then withdrew in May. tbh if you get away with not paying for next term you will have achieved a moral victory.

Hi, we have to check if the school have other affiliations. And gladly our child won't be at that school anymore as she is moving to secondary school in September. But we do have a question. The child that bullied our child is adopted. Does the school have to protect a child that are adopted even if he's causing trouble. Because in that case, it does make sense of why the school is not dealing with the issues. All other parents that have complaint before also thought this could be the reason.

If the other child is flagged up under safeguarding, which would not necessarily be due to being adopted, you would not be privy to either that information or any discussions and referrals. Sounds like a number of families may be ganging up against a vulnerable child tbh. As you have reached the end of the school you can ignore my comment re. next term's fees unless the school goes to 13+.