Ballard School in New Milton absorbing new VAT charges on private school fees
A NEW Milton school will temporarily absorb the added cost when VAT is added to the fees of all private schools from January.
It comes after the government announced in June it is removing the current exemption from value added tax to fund 6,500 new teachers in England.
Ballard School headmaster Andrew McCleave said the school will pay 100% of the government’s hike in the short term, with a “phased increase” in parental contributions after September 2025.
A school spokesperson said it was hoped to “limit the overall impact” on parents, with the school anticipating it can recover 4% of the cost by claiming back against the school’s VAT payments for goods and services.
Mr Cleave has written to the families of his 460 pupils, as well as those starting in September, to reassure them the school will “support them through this change”.
He told the A&T: “The governors and the leadership team have been discussing and planning for this for a considerable time, with the aim of supporting families, allowing them to plan effectively, and so reducing the disruption to our children’s education.
“Careful financial management and planning from the school’s board of governors and leadership team over a number of years means the school is in a strong financial position which has enabled us to support our community in this way.
“As well as absorbing the full impact for two full school terms, we will continue to support parents by only increasing fees incrementally over time to ensure our pupils’ education is not disturbed and ease the burden on hardworking families.”
He added: “We know many make tough choices to send their children to Ballard, and we are determined to help all our families through this.
“As a charity, any surplus is reinvested back into the school and the opportunities we provide for our pupils, and that will continue to be the case. Our commitment remains unwavering: to provide a holistic and inspirational education for our pupils and to support the whole school community, in line with our charitable aims.
“We deeply appreciate the support and trust our families place in us, and whilst there are challenging times ahead, they can be assured that we will stand together and remain a resilient and supportive educational community for many, many years to come.”
Ballard’s actions have been well received by parents, with feedback including: "We are extremely grateful that the governors and yourself have been able to plan for this rate application, and are able to absorb the costs this year.“
Following Ballard School’s announcement, the headteacher of Walhampton School in Lymington, Jonny Timms, said: “We appreciate that investing in a child’s education is a significant commitment and one that continues over several years.
“A change in legislation has been on the cards for a while and now we have a clear and accelerated timescale, we are seeking to make every effort to re-evaluate our operational model, continue working in partnership with our families and remain true to our purpose to deliver a distinctive and outstanding education for our current and future pupils.
“We have not yet set out our position to parents, but will be doing so as soon as the full VAT position is understood.
“Nevertheless, work has been under way for some time to review expenses, grow non-fee income, and recover input VAT on our costs, all of which will help mitigate the impact of the VAT on fees over multiple years, thereby preventing a sudden 20% increase in costs in a single year.”
