VAT on school fees

This article is not a reflection of my political opinion it is just my concern at a specific policy that I do not believe has been properly costed or considered.

VAT on private schools

Together independent schools contribute ￡16.5 billion to the UK economy, supporting 328,000 jobs and ￡5.1 billion in tax revenues. And the sector saves the government ￡4.4 billion every year by educating pupils who would otherwise take up a place in state-funded schools total of which is around 500,000. I got this information from the internet but the numbers seem realistic.

There has been a decrease in numbers at private schools in the past year, probably down to the squeeze on finances for some people who are not the super rich where money is no object. The number of children enrolling at private schools has fallen by the largest proportion in more than a decade, new figures show. Independent schools have seen a 2.7 per cent drop in enrolments this academic year, according to a report by the Independent Schools. This number will increase dramatically if VAT is added to the cost of schooling.

The children whose parents will no longer be able to maintain the payments for their education will not be the super wealthy and the cost of this to the state system will potentially be far more than any gain from revenue collected. This will not create a ‘more equal’ system it will create a more ‘elite’ one where only the super rich need apply.

Kier Starmer believes that the money generated from this tax will fund amongst other things much needed maths teachers in secondary schools… but where are these teachers ? There are currently more vacancies for suitably qualified maths teachers than there are applicants as mathematicians tend to have a variety of well paid work options that do not involve teaching.What magic wand is going to plug this gap?

Also if 10 0r 20% of children have to be removed from private schools when the fees are no longer affordable, this policy will bring about a net loss to the government piggy bank and then where will the extra funding and the extra teachers come from? Surely a ‘what if’ scenario needs to be considered and costed but that would be fiscally responsible and run the risk of making this ideal unviable.

Higher pay- I have read that private schools can attract better teachers with higher pay - trust me this is not the case state school teachers do not receive less pay and there are more incentives that in fact boost the earnings of teachers in the public sector. Many teachers I know have taken a pay freeze or cut to go from state to private.

Superior teaching - I have taught in both state schools for 12 years and private schools? for 10 years. I was the same teacher in both settings and had the same expectations of myself. The main difference to me was smaller class sizes. I had 20 as opposed to 30 children in a class, not a deal breaker, the biggest draw was the opportunity to subject teach in KS2. This also became a strength as it enabled me to become even more skilled in my strongest subject which benefitted my teaching and the children’s learning.

In KS2 music, science, PE and modern language specialists took these subjects and allowed class teachers to become very specialised in the other core and non core subjects especially maths and English. Teaching across classes and year groups, I was a skilled maths teacher who became more skilled in the private school setting. I saw the benefits to the classes of having skilled music, science and PE teachers as well.

Differences during lock down that have created larger attainment gap between state and private schools:

Private schools expected teachers to teach online for the full working day their normal timetable and children were expected to attend and complete class work and homework, after all parents were still paying the fees. This should have been the minimum requirement in state schools also but sadly it was not hence the difference in attainment. State schools had varying levels of engagement with pupils but certainly a school day with a teacher available was not the norm many children were given copious amounts of worksheets? that had no purposeful learning or follow up in a one size fits all approach. I wasn’t a teacher during lock down but I did see what was being offered from a cross section of schools state and private through my contacts.

I did not go to private school (other than as a teacher) and I believe that I had a wonderful primary and secondary education experience that set me up well for all aspects of life. I do not have any firm opinions either way about private or state schooling. I just do not think that charging VAT on school fees is a mathematically sensible idea as it has the potential to cost much more money than it will generate. It will also make private schools even more elite and create further pressure on housing near state schools in areas where the desirable schools are over subscribed. Just look at property prices in relation to school postcodes if you do not know what I am referring to.