ISC CEO: 'The government has underestimated how much pressure VAT will place on schools and parents'
Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), has urged ministers to work with the sector to mitigate the impact of their VAT on fees policy, particularly for children with SEND.
Ms Robinson was commenting on new figures obtained by The Telegraph, which reveal more than 3,000 independent school pupils applied to join state schools between June and September this year. A further 2,500 pupils have given notice to leave in January, according to separate figures compiled by the ISC, which surveyed 900 of its members.
Speaking to the paper, Ms Robinson said: “We have consistently said that the government’s expectations on pupil movement have underestimated how much pressure VAT will place on schools and parents alike. The fact that pupil numbers gathered from 1,100 independent schools are down by nearly double the government expectations for this year shows that to be the case.
“Given this, it is more important than ever for the government to work with independent schools to properly mitigate the impacts of VAT, particularly on faith communities, military families and children with SEND.”