1 week Ago By [email protected] (Abbie Wightwick)
A headteacher has warned about the potential risk to children of home schooling saying VAT on private fees could add to the problem. Paul Norton, principal of Kings Monkton School in Cardiff , which charges up to £6,166.73 a term, said the recent Sara Sharif case highlighted the danger to children removed from regulated education.
He warned that the government’s controversial imposition of VAT on private school fee means some parents who can no longer afford it are taking their children out of private schools and opting for home schooling instead. Some of these children might end up at risk, he fears. From this month private schools will have to charge 20% VAT on school fees to raise an estimated £1.
7bn a year, the Chancellor confirmed in her autumn budget. Rachel Reeves said the cash would be used to boost the state education sector. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter Mr Norton, said the move could put some children whose parents can’t afford fees as a result of VAT at risk: “My concern is that parents will remove their children and place them in unregulated educational activities, such as online learning and home schooling.
The potential implications of this have been highlighted recently in the Sara Sharif case.” Sara's body was discovered in her bed at home in Woking after her family had fled to Pakistan. Her father Urfan Sharif and stepmother Beinash Batool were brought back, found guilty of her murder and jailed.
The trial heard how Sara, who had been removed from school for "home education" was subjected to a “campaign of abuse” by the pair. Although this was an extreme case it highlighted the risk of children removed from school. Parents are reportedly taking their children out of independent schools as a result of the VAT charge and some may end up home schooled.
Mr Norton, who owns Kings Monkton as well as being principal, said it is not always easy to find them suitable places in local state schools as he cited the experience of one of his pupils. “We have had parents say they cannot afford fees and have removed their children from school. One parent removed their child for September and had to wait a whole term before they were placed in a state school, and she was in the middle of her GCSEs – Year 11.
” Kings Monkton, one of the few mainstream independent school in Wales with SEN status from the Welsh Government, specialises in children with autism, ADHD and dyslexia, charges termly fees for children aged three to 18 between £3,955 and £6,166.73 including VAT. A total 57 of its 191 pupils are state funded where no local state schools have been able to support them.
M Norton said schools like his are providing a cost effective and vital service for tax payers and individuals alike and the consequence of more children, especially those with additional needs, needing state school places will impact on an already overstretched system. “Kings Monkton School is a not for- profit school and does not have reserves of money. We are a mainstream school who supports ALN provision and have 57 pupils funded by the local authority as their needs cannot be met by the state sector.
“We also have an additional 86 pupils who have ALN but are privately funded by their parents. This is where the discriminatory nature of the policy comes into play as the local authorities can reclaim their VAT, so the cost of provision does not increase. “However, those parents who are self-funding for their ALN children have to pay the additional tax of VAT and so their costs are increasing for their vulnerable child.
These are parents who have had the state sector fail their children and they have made the decision to place their child in a sector that can meet their needs, without encumbering on the tax system and getting the local authority to pay for placement.” Mr Norton said “VAT is an additional tax imposed on parents”. Kings Monkton won’t increase fees, but parents will have to pay the additional 20% VAT on their current fees, which will then be passed back to HMRC.
And he claimed charging VAT on school fees would not even bring in much cash to the Treasury and would lead to job losses and further pressure on state schools. He claimed it was an “ideological” rather than economically sound move. “This policy is an ideological policy, being used to attack the image of expensive independent schools, catering for the rich, such as Eton.
The actual reality, particularly in Wales, is far from that. “We are an average independent school for our sector and our school makeup is very comprehensive, with 65% of school fees paid by parents, with 66.7% of our parents having a household income of between £25,000-£74,999.
“The image being portrayed of private education families, earning large salaries, making the choice to send their children to elitist schools is wrong and very skewed.” The UK 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. 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.” Kings Monkton fees and how VAT will be charged VAT Year Group Termly Fee Food (No VAT) Fees VAT 20% School Contribution 4% Parent Cost 16% Total Cost to Parent Early Years £3,625.52 £216.
00 £3,409.52 £681.90 £136.
38 £545.52 £3,955.04 Infant (Year 1&2) £3,768.
56 £216.00 £3,552.56 £710.
51 £142.10 £568.41 £4,120.
97 Junior (Year 3-6) £4,306.73 £216.00 £4,090.
73 £818.15 £163.63 £654.
52 £4,745.25 Senior (Year 7-9) £5,047.10 £1,009.
42 £201.88 £807.54 £5,854.
64 Senior (Year 10-11) £5,180.29 £1,036.06 £207.
21 £828.85 £6,009.14 Sixth Form £5,316.
15 £1,063.23 £212.65 £850.
58 £6,166.73 Join the WalesOnline WhatsApp community WalesOnline has launched a new breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community. From the biggest court stories to the latest traffic updates, weather warnings and breaking news, it's a simple way to stay up to date with what's happening in Wales.
Want to join? All you have to do is click on this link , select 'Join Community' and you're in. We will not spam your feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily. If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group'.
We occasionally treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can read our Privacy Notice here. Join our WhatsApp community here.
