A private school in Cardiff charging fees of up to £17,539.87 a year has warned of the unintended consequences of the government's plan to put VAT on school fees, warning it will affect far more than the wealthy. Alison King, librarian and personal and social education lead at Kings Monkton School, said imposing VAT on independent schools will affect vulnerable children and also have an impact on the state sector.
Her comments, backed by the school’s headteacher Paul Norton, come after warnings that small fee charging schools in Wales could “close overnight” under the VAT changes and you can read more about that here. Private schools will have to charge 20% VAT on school fees from January next year to raise an estimated £1.7bn a year, the Chancellor confirmed in last week’s budget.
King's Monkton, which specialises in children with autism, ADHD and dyslexia, charges its 195 pupils aged three to 18 annual fees between £12,021 and £17,500. Some of these children are funded by their local education authorities if no local state schools have been able to "support" them, Ms King said. She says its pupils’ needs cannot be met in the “overwhelmed and underfunded” state sector.
However the government argues that school fees are only likely to rise by 10% rather than the full 20% because schools can offset the full bill through other measures and will not have to pass the full amount on to parents. It estimates it will raise £1.725bn and that only 35,000 children (less than 0.5% of the independent sector) will leave private education as a result.
Most of the children at Kings Monkton, which opened in 1994, have fees paid by parents or carers but some are paid by local education authorities and the school, a not for profit organidation, also offers some bursaries. Ms King said state schools would not be able to cope with an influx of special needs children if her school, and others, had to raise fees to cover VAT.
She said families who send their children to her school are not wealthy. She said: “Our parents tend to be part of a dual earning household, typically falling into the £50,000 bracket. They accommodate our fees by making sacrifices in other areas of their lives.
“Many struggle to find the right provision and come to us in the later stages of their journey, frustrated and desperately seeking a supportive learning environment for their child.
“The proposed 20 per cent VAT on fees would make our school unaffordable for some families, forcing them to withdraw their children and seek to place them elsewhere. This would cause disruption to their education and have a significant impact on their wellbeing as they leave behind their classmates, teachers, and a curriculum that is tailored to them.
“We must also consider the additional pressure this would place on a state sector that is already overwhelmed and underfunded. The increase would also jeopardise our bursary programme, which currently allows us to support pupils from low-income households.”
Writing on the Independent Schools Council website Ms King said any rise in fees “will only push us further from the reach of those who need us the most”. Some pupils no longer able to afford the fees may end up in what she described as “behaviour units”.
Her blog for the ISC went on: “Within the state system many of our pupils with additional learning needs would be (or indeed have been) labelled as “difficult”. It is possible they would find themselves in behaviour units, that their learning would be inconsistent, or would not meet their needs, that the future they and their families have been planning for would no longer be attainable.”
While VAT is not a devolved matter charitable business rates, as a local rate, is devolved. The Welsh Government is currently consulting on that and this could mean further bills for independent schools. King's Monkton is a not for profit school, not a charity.
In a note on its website it says: "From 1st Jan 25 our school fees and closely related charges will be separated, and VAT will be charged on school fees. There will be no change to the overall cost in the 24/25 academic year."
Alison King’s blog in full
Kings Monkton is a small independent school that sits just outside Cardiff City Centre. Created through the amalgamation of King’s College and Monkton House in 1994, it caters for 295 pupils from ages 3-18. We aim to foster an inclusive educational experience for all, with foundations firmly rooted in a learning environment that is innovative, family focused and above all, happy. We give children the space to be children, to develop at their own speed, and to be the best they can be.
Kings Monkton specialises in supporting children with additional learning needs (ALN) such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. Many of our children are privately funded by their parents or carers, but the Welsh government recognises our uniqueness and we receive children funded by various local authorities when their needs cannot be met in the state sector.
Our parents tend to be part of a dual earning household, typically falling into the £50k bracket. They accommodate our fees by making sacrifices in other areas of their lives. Many struggle to find the right provision and come to us in the later stages of their journey, frustrated and desperately seeking a supportive learning environment for their child.
The proposed 20 per cent VAT on fees would make our school unaffordable for some families, forcing them to withdraw their children and seek to place them elsewhere. This would cause disruption to their education and have a significant impact on their wellbeing as they leave behind their classmates, teachers, and a curriculum that is tailored to them. We must also consider the additional pressure this would place on a state sector that is already overwhelmed and underfunded.
The increase would also jeopardise our bursary programme, which currently allows us to support pupils from low-income households. Families can benefit from a reduction in fees through these bursaries, which we distribute in addition to any scholarships obtained through our scholarship examinations process. This additional support makes our provision instantly more accessible. We are not a charity; we are a not-for-profit school. Any rise in fees will only push us further from the reach of those who need us the most.
Within the state system many of our pupils with ALN would be (or indeed have been) labelled as “difficult”. It is possible they would find themselves in behaviour units, that their learning would be inconsistent, or would not meet their needs, that the future they and their families have been planning for would no longer be attainable.
Finally, any decline in our viability would impact our local community. Kings Monkton plays a key role within the local economy, through:
● Employment of 122 staff
● Support of local transport and housing
● Facilitation of Chinese and Mandarin schools on weekends
● Nightly music lessons
● Support of KIRAN, a non-profit organisation
● Work with Crisis to support Cardiff’s homeless community
● Offering a base to the Cardiff Players and Kinetic School of Performing Arts.
In addition, we are the only local test centre for home-schooled children in this area, and last year we supported 77 such pupils in obtaining their qualifications. We have fought hard over the years to carve out space for ourselves on a competitive playing field that is constantly evolving.
In any area of modern life, a one-size-fits-all approach denies our individuality and strips us of our uniqueness. At Kings Monkton, the things that make us different are cause for celebration, rather than hurdles to overcome.
These proposals do not reflect the best interests of our school, and moreover, they demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of who we are and what we do. If implemented, they will actively inhibit us from supporting some of our community’s most vulnerable learners.
