AFIS Founder and CEO, Michelle Daniells, has written to the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, regarding growing disruption to children’s education as school fee pressures rise, reflecting the introduction of VAT on those fees, the removal of business rates relief for charitable schools and wider operating cost pressures. All this is placing increasing strain on families and the knock-on effects across both the independent and state sectors are becoming increasingly apparent.
AFIS estimates that up to 15,000 children could face disruption to their education during the 2025/26 academic year as families struggle to absorb rising school fees. Recent reporting citing the Independent Schools Council has also suggested that more than 20,000 pupils may already have left independent schools as a result of the introduction of VAT on school fees in January 2025.
While VAT on school fees has been the most visible change, independent schools have also faced the removal of business rates relief for charitable schools, increases in employer National Insurance contributions and wider operating cost pressures, all of which are feeding through into higher fees for parents.
The timing of these changes has been particularly challenging for families. Many parents initially tried to manage the additional costs in order to avoid disrupting their children’s education. However, as further pressures have followed and those temporary solutions run out, some families are now reaching a point where continuing is becoming impossible.
The effects of these changes are also beginning to be felt beyond the independent sector. As some families consider moving their children, demand for places at selective grammar schools and high-performing state schools is increasing in some areas. Families contacting AFIS report that schools they might previously have expected to access are now heavily oversubscribed, illustrating how disruption in one part of the system can create pressures elsewhere.
In the letter Michelle outlines the case for a time-limited hardship support fund to help prevent avoidable disruption and protect educational continuity for children during this period of transition.
“Children are already facing disruption to their education as school fees rise. When major financial changes arrive during the academic year, some families simply cannot adjust without disrupting their child’s education.”
“Many parents tried to manage the additional costs first, because changing a child’s school mid-journey can be very disruptive. What we’re seeing now is the point where some families can no longer sustain that.”
AFIS has also launched an Emergency School Fees Support Appeal to provide short-term assistance to families in genuine hardship, helping ensure that decisions about schooling can be made carefully rather than in crisis.
Families contacting AFIS report increasing pressure as fee rises take effect, and we would be happy to connect you with parents willing to share their experiences if helpful.
You can read a copy of the full letter to Bridget Phillipson here:
3rd March 2026
The Right Honourable Bridget Phillipson MP
Secretary of State for Education
Department for Education
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT
Dear Secretary of State,
Re: Request for Transitional Hardship Support to Protect Educational Continuity
I write on behalf of the Association for Families of Independent Schooling (AFIS) C.I.C, a non-profit community interest company supporting families whose children attend independent schools, regarding the immediate impact of VAT on independent school fees and the removal of business rates relief.
While fiscal policy is rightly a matter for Government, its implementation must take account of how education systems operate in practice. We are now seeing clear evidence of educational disruption arising from the timing and implementation of these measures. VAT has taken effect part-way through the academic cycle, at a point when families’ practical options are constrained by fixed notice periods, examination years, specialist provision, and oversubscribed alternative placements.
Education systems operate on timetables that do not align with fiscal cycles. In practical terms, many families are now approaching key decision points in the school year, with notice deadlines typically falling around the Easter period for September transitions. This leaves limited time to make considered decisions and increases the likelihood of rushed or disruptive changes to a child’s education. In some areas, alternative state school places are already limited due to oversubscription, further reducing families’ ability to move without disruption.
The impact has been compounded by the introduction of the full 20% VAT rate within a short timeframe. While policy changes may be announced in advance, the scale and immediacy of this increase have created a sudden financial adjustment that many families cannot realistically absorb mid-academic year. As a result, some children are facing abrupt withdrawal not because families were unwilling to plan, but because the intersection of policy timing and educational structure, combined with the scale of the cost increase, has limited their ability to respond without harm.
We are also seeing families taking significant steps to avoid disrupting their children’s education, including drawing on savings, refinancing, or taking on additional financial commitments in order to manage the sudden increase in costs. While many are doing everything they can to maintain continuity, this is not sustainable for all families, and in some cases leads to difficult choices that risk longer-term financial strain.
Based on conservative modelling, AFIS estimates that up to 15,000 children could face educational disruption during the 2025 academic year, with an additional average annual cost to families of approximately £2,500 per child, representing a first-year impact in the region of £35 – 40 million.
While disruption at any stage of education carries consequences, the impact is particularly acute for pupils in examination years and for those in specialist or SEND provision, where continuity of teaching and support is critical. Any transitional hardship support could therefore be targeted and prioritised toward those children for whom mid-cycle withdrawal would be most damaging.
In response, AFIS has launched an Emergency School Fees Support Appeal to provide short-term, professionally administered, means-tested assistance enabling children at acute risk to remain in their current school for one additional academic year. This support is independently overseen, targeted, and time-limited. It is not intended as an ongoing subsidy, but as a stabilising measure during transition. The appeal is not intended as a permanent subsidy, but as a targeted, short-term intervention to address acute hardship during a period of structural transition. However, the scale of potential need exceeds what charitable fundraising alone can meet.
Given that these pressures are already affecting families during the current academic cycle, timely intervention is critical to avoid further disruption.
We therefore urge the Government to establish a time-limited Independent Education Hardship Support Fund, designed to:
- Protect children from mid-cycle educational disruption;
- Provide transitional stability during implementation of fiscal reform;
- Reduce unplanned pressures on the state sector;
- Ensure that reform does not create unintended harm during examination or specialist provision years.
This proposal does not seek reversal of policy. It seeks proportionate mitigation of short-term instability affecting children. We would welcome the opportunity to share anonymised case studies and modelling data with your officials to support informed consideration of this request.
In light of the approaching notice deadlines and ongoing disruption during the current academic cycle, we would welcome an early opportunity to meet with officials to discuss how transitional support might be structured and implemented in a timely manner. At its heart, this is about ensuring that children are not unintentionally disrupted by the timing and scale of policy change.
Yours sincerely,
Michelle Daniells
CEO and Founder
