A Principled view

Over the past 5 years, as Principals of Claires Court, my brother Hugh and I have sought how best to develop the school, despite the failure of our ‘One Campus’ proposals at the planning and appeal stages in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

Our first resolution was perhaps inevitable; in the face of advice received from the Department of Education (DfE) and our own RBWM Education service that updating the existing campus sites in Ray Mill Road East and College Avenue would be too challenging to meet current needs, that’s what we set out to achieve. Like the painting of the Forth Bridge, those steps will never really be concluded, but we are delighted to have completed the latest phase of physical development at Senior Boys, with the new Food Studio opening for business this week. 

At College Avenue, now primarily focussed on Senior Girls and Sixth Form students, planning applications for improved PE facilities and a Sixth Form pavilion (to meet additional study and examination needs) were lodged in June, and, subject to approval, will follow in due course. These additions are to meet an expansion in numbers as well as new Sixth Form courses in Sociology and Travel & Tourism. 

Also based at College Avenue is our Nursery School, central to Maidenhead’s needs and, since its transformation in 2021, the first stage in a child’s educational journey..

Major developments at our Ridgeway campus to renew classrooms and other infrastructure were required before it could become home to all our children aged 4 to 11. Over the summer, an entirely new sewage system has been installed (no glamour there at all) but this was to enable work to begin on the Multi Sports Games Area (MUGA) for which we finally received planning approval on 12 July, the day after the end of last term. This week Berkshire Archeology service completed their investigatory excavation and work now commences in earnest to provide us with the much-needed addition of a weather-proof outdoor surface, sufficient for 3 tennis, netball and football/hockey courts! 

Our adjoining playing fields and multiple cricket facilities there have now been approved after 2 seasons for the new Thames Valley Cricket League, providing the main home for Maidenhead Royals Cricket Club, plus teams from Binfield, Maidenhead & Bray and other junior cricket sides. The sewer and MUGA developments have enabled us to create a new Forest School area in the grounds, distinct from the school, where in due course, the planting of 36 mature trees will provide an ‘orchard’. Our Junior PTA celebrated the school’s return after the Summer break last Friday, the setting was simply glorious and there’s clearly now so much to look forward to in 2025 and beyond.

Our embedding of Claires Court in the community has been a long term strategic aim, and this autumn we celebrate 40 years of collaboration with Maidenhead Rowing Club and Phoenix Rugby Football club. The high point to date this term was working with The Friends of Maidenhead Waterways and participating in their third festival last Saturday. This major project has helped bring a little of our river Thames back into the heart of Maidenhead, with Chapel Arches becoming a destination food and beverage area for our town. Our school stall on Saturday celebrated our commitment to service in this respect, with our rowing, sailing and CCF groups represented, and Claires Court Outdoor Education (CCOE) kayakers on the water displaying their talents.

CCOE expansion has not just included the canoe/kayak centre of Boulter’s Island, where we also host Paddleboard Maidenhead but also now includes Duke of Edinburgh waterways expeditions, and I was very pleased to assess our inaugural SIlver Paddling expedition around Oxford over the summer break.

Of course the Independent School landscape isn’t all rosy at all, with the Labour government’s proposals to remove the exemption from VAT of both private school and further education college fees. I’ve written elsewhere my views on this policy, and I was delighted to be in attendance at the House of Lords for their 3 hour debate on the matter. Lord Lexden (ISA President and a very good friend of Claires Court) closed the debate which ‘carried’ the following motion: “Many who have been watching this debate and follow these controversial matters will be disappointed by what the Minister has said. I do not think that the great concern that exists has been in any way significantly alleviated by her comments. We who have sought to represent the difficulties feel, above all, that VAT should not be introduced without, as I said at the start, a full and independent assessment of the implications  of our first-ever education tax. This is the essential point on which nearly all speakers agreed. We must ask the Government to think again.”

Throughout the term ahead, we will continue to demonstrate just how interwoven are the interests of the school and the wider town, villages and community groups. It’s not just the education of almost 1,000 local children or the employment of 400 adults that’s at stake, but the wider investment we bring into the many amazing centres of excellence such as Norden Farm and the many sports and community groups with which we collaborate. As so many commentators in the House of Lords and wider press have noted, the Government’s position that our sector only benefits 7% of the nation’s population is an arbitrary number chosen to belittle our sector’s contribution to British society. From data collected annually via the DfE’s school census, the Office of National Statistics  regularly reports that circa 20% of children of school age (i.e. 5 to 16) resident in RBWM are in independent education. As our school serves a community throughout the school age range from 2-18, we clearly reach far more than that, with families choosing us for the needs they have at any given age and stage. With half of the boy and girl footballers under the age of 11 playing on our pitches this weekend and for the rest of the season, it’s pretty obvious Claires Court’s involvement in the wider provision of learning facilities for children has a major positive impact on the well-being of our young Maidonians too. 

My blog this week covers:

1. Why long-term stable investment in relationship building is how Education succeeds
2. A call to action for those who wish to respond to the government’s consultation on the imposition of VAT on private school fees
3. A reminder that Education, Health and Care in all societies are intimately linked, and what Lord Darzi’s review should not be used as a ‘proxy’ for State Education, but an explanation of why national education resources have become so stretched because of the disappearance of the connections between the 3 services in the UK

I’ve written many times before that Claires Court is surrounded by many amazing schools, both state and independent. Inevitably, growing up a new private senior school to Sixth Form in 1993 (when boys and girls came together as CC ) under the twin shadows of two of the greatest public boarding schools of the land, Eton College and Wycombe Abbey, we chose a very different pathway for our school. Here’s AI Gemini’s take on that – link. All day pupils, aged 2-18, diamond education, inclusive, committed to fill engagement with our town and surroundings, with ‘SL6’ as a major strategy for ongoing investment. Claires Court is not a ‘Public School’ per se for many reasons, not least because of this Principal’s overarching mission to be inclusive, and to seek to serve our community as an organic dynamic part, and wish to contribute to the town in which we are situated, and the surrounding villages and communities. Over the past 25 years, what’s become really evident is that the great public schools have been put under severe pressure to do more locally and essentially offer a closer model to CC – and not the other way round!

That detailed philosophy, ‘don’t build our own, but work with others to become a better whole’ has made a huge difference. and it really does show in the Why, How, What, Who and Where we are. Just the other day, a new friend of the school mentioned that they had started working with our major Youth Counselling Service in Maidenhead, known as ‘number22‘. They were proud to learn from their new employer that CC was their first corporate customer, guaranteeing them the start of financial life-lines outside of state funding/taxation.

There is an enormous amount coming from the Labour press machine currently that the independent-state school partnership schemes are largely froth. For me, it’s never been a competition between our local schools, one of those great ‘red herrings’ from actually being ‘the right stuff to do right for the betterment of all’. We’ve always paid our rates and taxes, so we’ve never had the straight jacket of ‘charitable status’ which in return for 90% discount on rates and zero corporation tax, forces schools to charge higher fees, hold much higher reserves to offset risk and in recent years spend more and more to offer even more tuition subsidies for the ‘needy’. Having looked after refugee & ‘hard landing’ placements in our school all this century, Claires Court has always understood its place in the Education Not Business sphere.

Take a look at Maidenhead Rowing Club for example, and our income stream for 40+ years has added the 3rd bay to the clubhouse back in the 1990s and kept the club’s facilities up to the mark, whilst providing for their juniors their major winter training centre in our own campus at Senior Boys without charge of any kind. Since the building was constructed all at the same time, we can’t actually say which bay is ours, and that doesn’t matter, because it was our gift freely given.

All our partnerships, old and new, have led to our nomination this year as a finalist in the ISA Award for Outstanding Sport (Large School), which in itself of course is NOT a destination, just recognition of our great journey to develop and support our young people’s progress into finding a sport they love. Take a look at the photo in the header: Teachers Heather Frost and James Hammerton have 38 players every Wednesday and Friday at the home of Claires Court Golf, Huntswood. It’s a great course, privately owned but publicly accessible, good value and a great model on how to add to a wider public good.

Winning the ISA National Award last year for Outstanding Engagement in the Community, won previously in 2017 is a great testament to the longevity of our work in this field. The very nature of outreach is that as a school principal, I don’t actually know next where the priorities will come from. The Ukrainian crisis was the last major example of this, but as JFK once reminded us, crisis provides both a warning of imminent danger but also of opportunity.

There is absolutely no doubt that the Labour Government’s proposals to charge VAT on private school tuition fees is the biggest threat our independent schools like Claires Court have faced this century. Whilst in the main the great public schools already have VAT management mechanisms embedded in their finance structures, to cover those many revenue streams generated to expand the use of their premises and indeed internationally their brand, the vast majority of schools in the 2 associations, ISA and IAPS do not. Between the 2 groups we cover 80% of the sector, and in every school, proprietors, heads and bursars are mobilising to make councillors, their MP county councils and the national parliaments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (not just Westminster) aware of the in-coming threats to our schools, which look after the very substantial number of special needs pupils and those serving in the military, foreign office and international business families. Those parents can as a consequence (knowing their children are well cared for) get about their duties as military, citizens, ambassadors and entrepreneurs, promoting and protecting the vital interests of our country and of course as The United Kingdom, a founding member of the United Nations and one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

In our school’s letter to parents this week, we highlighted why we as a school have no chance of working out what mitigations could be put in place when 20% VAT is added. One of the major reasons why we need to be incredibly cautious if of course that Rachel Reeves prior to winning her seat at the last election had flagged that VAT would not be introduced until September 2025. All breathe a sigh of relief, time to plan. Not so fast: her colleagues had made clear that every possible way to prevent private schools from claiming back VAT either historic capital (10 years) or running costs (4 years) perhaps would be blocked. Now Chancellor, the Rt Hon Member for West Leeds and Pudsey chose wholly differently, on 29 July introducing the Tax from 1 January, but schools can’t see the detail until the budget and can’t register (unless already registered) until after then. There will be a host of work we have already done and will be able to do, but for private schools, the implementation of VAT will be as catastrophic a process as Brexit has been, and certainly as long-lasting, 4 years, 9 months and counting – we have 10 November 2024 and ETIAS to look forward to. If you feel moved to write to make comment on the Government’s consultation, you can find that here, and of course always email me direct (jtw@clairescourt.net) period to Sunday midnight 15 September) for an additional help sheet if you need it.

This week’s public letter to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care by Lord Darzi on the state of the NHS makes bleak reading. Lord Darzi’s Conclusion: the NHS is in critical condition, but its vital signs are strong.

As with the NHS, the 4 Nations Education budget is simply not big enough to cover the needs of its schools and community outreach responsibilities. Too little is available, and yet there are state schools in the same authority who are hoarding millions whilst others are bankrupt. You can’t nationalise the Education system by creating the Multi Academy Trusts and divorce them from the communities the schools serve. The RAAC fiasco for schools is Grenfell Tower writ large – just how long is it going to take to put those problems right? As with the NHS there is a complete dearth of capital investment to permit the building of new state schools, and whilst some areas have a wealth of teacher human resource available, other towns and neighbourhoods just can’t fill their vacancies. As a consequence of the consultation on VAT now launched, both Northern Ireland and Norfolk have already made it quite clear that the proposals as given will badly damage their provision. Other uninended consequences will follow, the most obvious being that the Government’s own Office of Budget Responsibility should state that the Chancellor’s proposals to be announced in the October 30 budget won’t raise the funds projected. This week we see the idiocy forced on Bristol city council who now have to fund a place in a private school for the child of a mother seeking a place in a state school where there are no vacancies.

To conclude, as with the NHS the creation of the State Education service after the Second World War brought the patchwork of schools across the nation into common ownership, and with many independent schools brought into the mix. Successive changes, such as the removal of Direct Grant status in 1976 by the Labour Government sought to damage our sector, yet as things have turned out, actually enhanced and promoted private education by furthering the divide between the 2 sectors. When the creation of Foundations schools in the 1990s permitted state schools to be financially independent from their local authority, some flourished and are now amazingly affluent and others bankrupt. Forcing so many SEN schools to become self-governing at the same time swapped paid for management with volunteers; in many ways for our SEN schools in ISA that’s permitted them to flourish and new schools to open to meet needs very quickly. But, as the Common’s debate showed last week, SEN funding is broken – another blackhole the new government has inherited BUT not one they did not know about. As with the NHS, there have been umpteen reports on the National Education system, the latest conducted by the Times which have made it quite clear the sector needs £Billions to make up the shortfall. Trouble is, we don’t have the billions to hand, and providing more money is not the solution. Raiding the private sector of £1.5 million will turn round to be a cost to the Treasury of over £2billion, mark my words. This government has an opportunity to engage with our sector and tax our knowledge and willingness to partner, promote and make the changes needed… will it ‘Take it instead of Tax it’?

Welcome back all to the Autumn Term 2024. As the Academic Principal of Claires Court, I thought it wise to inform new and existing readers of my role in school, current Work in Progress and the direction and focus on my activities for the Autumn Term 2024.

Firstly, whilst I thoroughly enjoyed my 8 days of leave from work in July and August, actually there has been no longer summer vacation to look back on away from the school. For recreation I thoroughly enjoy the game of golf, love spectating at sport/theatre and the demands of my garden and allotment, and the welcome abundance of flowers and vegetables have kept both Jenny (my wife) and I pretty entertained thank you.

The activities of 1000 pupils and 350 staff and the huge variations in climate through a school year do mean that the summer break provides pretty much the only opportunity to carry out major repairs and renovations, happily in the capable hands of the groundstaff team and our contractors. At Seniors Boys, the whole of the Tech wings windows etc. had to be replaced after 30 years of life, at College updating and renovations to main teaching wings and at Juniors an entirely new sewerage system installed. The entire minibus fleet has been serviced once more, and all the fixed wire testing, fire and intruder alarms serviced, kitchens and cookware deep-cleaned and all. Almost of all of the above HAS TO HAPPEN; the ongoing and increasing regulation of our services means certificates for insurers as confirmation of completion are all part of the game. The activities of Admissions, Finance, Marketing, HR and Regulatory/Curriculum/Exams management never cease, so accompanied of course by the busy Holiday Club activities providing wrap-around care for our and wider communities children still generates work too.

However the delays in the provision of our planning permissions for the new food tech studio at Senior Boys and the new Multi-User Games Area (MUGA) at Juniors meant my required presence at site meetings on weeks 1 and 2 of the break, and with A level results out in week 4, GCSEs in Week 5, sadly the Summer is over and both leadership and management are back in full swing by August close. I’ve blogged about some of my work above already, but what really disrupted the ‘holiday mode’ was the announcement by the incoming Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves on 29 July that the government will eliminate a value-added tax (VAT) exemption for private school fees and boarding services FROM 1 January 2025. The UK VAT is a goods and services sales tax that applies to most consumer purchases in the country, with the standard rate set at 20%.

This confirmation was that the tax will now be applied to private K-12 school fees as of 1 January 2025 – at which point “all education services and vocational training supplied by a private school, or a connected person, for a charge will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%”. The same tax provision will now apply to all boarding services as well. Further, all school fees paid on or after 29 July 2024 for school terms beginning 1 January 2025 or after will now be subject to the tax.

Her announcement was supported by the commencement of a narrowly drawn consultation exercise by HM Treasury on their technical paper provided on how the tax was to be implemented, timed to last 6 weeks, mainly over the school break, rather then the Government’s own recommendation for such consultations to be a minimum of 9. This so incensed my local colleagues leading St Piran’s school here in Maidenhead that they wrote to the government to express their astonishment, and coupled that with a letter to the Times that made the headlines. I’d been separately supporting the Education not Taxation body arising from great work by Christine Cunniffe and her school, LVS in Ascot, whilst pushing my thoughts firmly and directly at Bridget Phillpson, Secretary of State for Education, to whom I had been writing for a year. As a senior headteacher within the Independent Schools Association, I’ve been actively working for months within and across the associations to ensure that the incoming Labour Government were presented with our case to be careful in their proposals and to work with us to ensure all unintended consequences were thought through before making their decision.

From day 2 of the new Government’s work, the Treasury and Education ministries have engaged, but sadly have made it quite clear that the policy as stated is going to be implemented (initially with no date), because it’s a minifesto commitment. Like all commitments, there’s no detail to accompany that, and even the best crystal ball gazer in the country having heard the Labour Party just prior to the election soothe worried voters’ brows with a ‘Implementation will take place at the start of the new Academic year, 2025 couldn’t actually have thought 1 January was even vaguely practicable for either schools or the taxman. Britain has one of the most complicated tax systems known, particularly for VAT, so moving private schools from being VAT exempt to VAT at 20% for their education activities, but not for their care, health and transport activities means an incredible new complication for our finance teams, who if nothing else will need new staff to carry out the work. Whilst the Chancellor’s technical note makes it clear that schools will be able to claim back historic VAT paid as end users, that’s subject to the same complexity – i.e. separate out each bill, work out which bits are exempt, which are at 0% and which are at 20% and try to claim the 20% back.

On Day 1 of the Autumn Term, I was one of 10 representatives of our sector ensuring that the Education not Taxation petition was delivered to 10 Downing Street, and attending in person the first debate in the House of Lords on this matter, tabled by Lord Lexden. You can read the 3+hour debate here in Hansard Independent Schools: VAT Exemption Volume 839: debated on Thursday 5 September 2024. 35 of the 37 peers who spoke were passionate in their expression for support of our sector, of the need for the government to think much more carefully about their proposals and work through the unexpected consequences of such a rushed-through budgetary measure with less than 2 months’ notice. Lord Lexden concluded the debate with the following very clear statement:

“My Lords, my purpose in seeking this debate was to bring home to the Government the extent of the damage that would be done as a result of the imposition of VAT on school fees on 1 January 2025. That purpose has been very satisfactorily achieved, on behalf of all the parents and schools up and down our land who have been brought to despair by the Government’s decision to impose VAT so suddenly on them. Many who have been watching this debate and follow these controversial matters will be disappointed by what the Minister has said. I do not think that the great concern that exists has been in any way significantly alleviated by her comments. We who have sought to represent the difficulties feel, above all, that VAT should not be introduced without, as I said at the start, a full and independent assessment of the implications of our first-ever education tax. This is the essential point on which nearly all speakers agreed. We must ask the Government to think again. Motion agreed.“

Chair of Governors at St Piran’s Kate Taylor and I travelled back from the House of Lords together, and I see she has blogged on Instagram as follows: “Yesterday I had the privilege of joining a group of Heads and parents to observe a lengthy House of Lords debate on the consequences of imposing VAT on independent schools. The chamber was packed with a healthy number of cross-bench peers and it was encouraging to listen to the overwhelming views against the policy. Many peers spoke to personal and compelling experiences. Of equal note were the labour peers who spoke out against the rushed imposition of this policy in January 2025 and the avoidable damage that would follow. However, listening to the Minister’s response was extremely discouraging and disheartening. She did not seem to hear any of the compelling arguments but simply repeated the government’s prepared stock answers we have all heard many times before. The Independent’s article last night provides a good summation of the debate. – https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/vat-government-labour-black-lord-b2607831.html“

Today we are writing to parents and guardians in our own school community, to explain what a horlocks the Government have made since the announcement 5 weeks ago, to encourage them to make their own individual responses to the narrow consultation and more news will follow in due course. I’m not impressed at all with some of major schools writing to their parents stating 20% will be added to their school fees in January, partly because that is assuming the Budget will actually announce that on 30 October, partly because of course schools should be able to mitigate the effects of the VAT rise when it comes in, and above all because the purpose of communication is to bring clarity, not sew confusion and seed disappointment. Be assured that the Principals of Claires Court will continue to oppose this policy and support the work throughout the associations and sector to protect all those children who otherwise will be adversely affected.

Every new school year brings its challenges, and I commence my 50th year in the teaching profession knowing that over time, huge advances have been in our school and more generally great progress in Education at large. Next week I am working at school (of course), meeting with local council leaders of education to show them what our school does and how we fit into the community, for example supporting as a major stall holder the Maidenhead Waterways Fun Day on Saturday. We haven’t yet worked out how to hold the official opening of our new Food studio shortly afterwards, and all of my work with Artificial Intelligence in the classroom comes to fruition with Years 2 to 6 welcoming Merlhyn Origin on board. Google have me up at their HQ for a day later in September to see what lies beyond the present for AI in Education, and… there will be some golf as well, the Rotary Club’s Golf team event on Wednesday afternoon and the Maidenhead Golf Club medal finals at the weekend. P.S. It’s allotment Roast Butternut Squash macaroni cheese for Friday night supper!

I start this blog with confirmation that the school’s students have achieved the best academic results at both A level and GCSE they have ever gained, perhaps excusing some pandemic tweaks of course. Of course there have been disappointments and challenges, but I reckon we’ve made it through to Summer 2024 by treating the challenges of the last 5 years as ones that can and will be overcome, and that we can all at #CCMakeHistory every day.

When my father retired in 1989 as a co-principal at Claires Court, he and his new wife chose Norfolk as a suitable spot for relocation, which given her place of abode at the time being near Perth, Scotland was a suitable compromise. Both families had to travel for hours before entering Norfolk, and then add circa 100 minutes before arriving in Holt. Admittedly, actually the journey from Perth for her children was twice the distance, but they’d moved nearer us anyway already.

Very quickly my father recognised just how insular his own life to date had been. Born and bred in Ealing, moving to Maidenhead, caught up in the milieu of private school, cricket and Chelsea football club, every element of his life reflected back to him what he understood. Moving to Norfolk, changing from Catholicism to CofE, establishing a marriage with a Scottish lady and all that chaos as well, guess what, my Dad very quickly discovered that the ‘world’ as he knew it previously, was not normal at all.

I’m an early riser, that’s a curse by the way, so I’ve listened to farming today all my married life. This century, thank’s to BBC’s Countryfile, I’ve been made very aware that working with crops and animals is a thankless task, so thank goodness the children of farmers take their family businesses on, because of course no-one in their right mind would do so. Over the past 10 years, in my own school I have children’s attendance slipping because at peak harvest time, they’ve been needed back at the farm. And I am in easy reach of the M25 , Heathrow and the Elizabeth line.

Those in education that know me well, understand that my core philosophy on leading my school is to exhibit and relay relentless and ruthless enthusiasm. Let’s face it, after 50 years in the business, I do know what works, that every child is unique and that every family who choose my school want their child looked after, challenged, promoted, believed in and celebrated. This Summer of 2024, and well below GCSE and A level results, I can assure you dear reader that the children have done really well. It’s not just my school but a host and myriad of state and independent schools that are celebrating their best results this century, perhaps even ever. Why has that happened?

Matthew Parris, writing in the Times newspaper this week, has tried quite hard to provide some ideas: https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/mental-health-industry-is-cheating-the-public-c306z5625. I started my Psychology degree back in 1972, an outlier at the time, now perhaps amongst the central choice of the majority. As ever, as I am doing on writing this, Parris over-complicates, but the truth is pretty easy to find. I’ve just graduated Year 11 from Secondary school aged 16 at a time when for them, every year was different, with unexpected challenges, changes and #lockdowns too. Of course for us all, the last 5 years have been unbearable, but for the majority of children actually, for them it’s been normal, because what else might they expect?

Parris’ article has received a huge amount of support, and some dissent of course but he’s so right about the problem emerging when people expect a ‘perfect society’ for all. Yes, both children and adults have faced challenges, perhaps for this century unparalleled if you are suburban gentry. In my longer lifespan of 70 years, whole decades have failed to be perfect. Last week I have been celebrating 18 year olds going off to University; 80 years ago my Uncle Patrick lost his life shortly after leaving school – you can read the whole story here, exemplifying then as now the characteristics we expect of ourselves and the communities we lead – There’s no ‘I’ in the below, the essentials being service above self.

LEADERS… Strive for team goals, Lead by example, Encourage thinking, Apply reward & discipline, Demand high performance, Encourage confidence in the team, Recognise individual strengths & weaknesses, Strive for team goals. I’ve not written this, please read the link to Pat’s story of life and death above. (ref Army Leadership code)

Following my Uncle’s Pat’s death, his mother Hilda dead of a broken heart, yet of course for his brother, my Dad, he was caught in the maelstrom of war when so many died and, as a consequence, when he completed his own national service, went back to study History at Uni, meet my mum a fellow student on the course, in due course married, had children (me too) and after a decade of teaching in London left the smoke to set up Claires Court, the school that I’ve led for 40 years now.

My parents remain the most modern of people I’ve ever known, even though they are long gone. During my brother Hugh’s first year at Uni and my time at Sixth Form, my mother took herself off to study Linguistics at MIT in Boston for the year – of course, that’s what mums do. At the same time, my dad built 2 houses in the grounds of Ridgeway to raise the next pile of cash to build the current main teaching wing at Senior Boys. Why not – oh and at the same time assist our catholic community in building a new parish and church at St Edmund Campion, and when my mum came back from Harvard, she assisted the arts community develop Norden Farm Arts centre in the 1970s as well.

Over the past 30 years, I’ve seen government of every hue try to standardise education to one size fits all, and the current Labour Government’s ambitions to tax our own community of fee-paying parents to provide the 5000 missing teachers in the state sector is perhaps the worst example of ‘crass, ignorant, political gerrymandering’ I’ve seen. There are so many great examples of state school’s succeeding, so many local role models on what needs to be done, no government needs to point at the private sector and say ‘we are benefiting’ unfairly.

Our sector is currently in the midst of a compulsory consultation until 15 September to assist in advising HM Customs & Revenue in how best to enable the imposition of VAT from 1 January 2025. Of course the consultation period is way shorter that Parliament would advise, complicated further by the fact it’s taking place when schools are closed for their summer break. After 3 decades of the private sector picking up the challenges of leading on SEN, special school support, foreign office and military family boarding provision, nursery and wrap-around care, Holiday club cover and of course, looking after the ‘talent’ that acts, conducts, performs individually, ensemble, orchestra, international sport and Olympics, it’s no surprise to me and others that the anger and fear amongst our parents is so very strong.

The best of state and private schools demonstrate time and again that all of our children can succeed. What’s normal for Norfolk won’t be the same for the Gower, from where so many Welsh families migrated into Slough to support the development of Europe’s largest and still best trading estate. I am not the only headteacher incensed that Barrow in the North West is chosen to be the worst performing area for social mobility when actually the companies around have amazing recruitment programmes for apprenticeships in industry to retain talent in the area? I’m not saying London has it easy, but as Professor Tim Brighouse pointed out as he transformed London’s schools for the better 20 years ago, it’s quite easy really when everyone can see and aspire to be in the West End, City and Docklands. You’ll find that city tries as hard as Barrow to keep its best local and ‘recruited’.

The economists over the past 10 or so years have made it clear that Cameron and Osborne’s government of 2010 crashed the economy, reduced its scale and reach for the short term aim of ‘balancing the books’ when exactly the opposite then happened – we need growth not austerity to pave the way. The UK is actually very used to ‘boom and bust’ economics, sadly a feature it seems of first past the post electoral systems. Stare and Private schools thrive because they both follow the essentials listed in my Uncle’s school epitaph – well known features that sadly because they don’t win elections are abandoned too easily.

And finally, whilst I fully respect schools wishing to name and celebrate their best achievers in public exams, I can’t do that for our own at Claires Court. I’ve 2 young people this year who’ve managed to complete a nap hand of 5 GCSE equivalents a year later than their peer group whose health challenges have been beyond belief. I’ve refugees whose first language wasn’t even in Roman script 3 years ago matriculating bypassing 3 good A levels for undergraduate courses in the UK. As the results you’ve seen show we’ve so many with top grades opening doors at Uni and work, yet I’ve taught many of their parents that went before, and they too suggest that just now (in the moment) is a time for private celebration and consideration. Have all the young people made progress over time – you betcha.

All independent schools are facing the imposition of VAT on the tuition fees they charge parents for the education they provide for their children. As announced by the new Labour government last month, VAT is due to be imposed on tuition fees from January 2025.
The Inland Revenue published their first technical paper 2 weeks ago; in short, the paper makes clear that the new government is currently drafting the new regulations to cover their taxation proposals, and that for the time being Independent Schools are not able to register for VAT in advance of the guidance due out next month.
The Independent Schools sector is not some monolith of common provision, but far more diverse than the 93% of schools that make up state education. The sector in England is notably diverse, encompassing a variety of schools that cater to different age groups, educational needs, and philosophies. A significant portion of this sector consists of private schools providing nursery and junior education up to age 11, offering early childhood and primary education with a focus on foundational learning and development.

In addition to these, the sector includes prestigious secondary schools, both boarding and day, as well as single-sex and co-educational institutions. Religious and non-religious schools add to this diversity, along with schools offering specialized curricula in areas such as the arts, sciences, or international education. Importantly, special schools make up about 20% of the Independent Sector, providing tailored education for students with special educational needs (SEN), including physical disabilities, autism, and other learning challenges. This wide-ranging diversity ensures that the Independent Sector in England offers a broad spectrum of educational opportunities.
Bearing the above in mind, the new government’s plans to treat all private schools in the same way, despite their sheer complexity, is a very brave decision, as is the choice to impose the tax so quickly from January 2025. I’ve written previously (https://jameswilding.blog/2024/06/07/doing-the-right-thing-right-there-is-an-even-greater-good/) about the crisis the private nursery sector currently faces, with underfunding endemic and new demands being made to ensure the availability of 30 hours for all eligible families for 3+ and 15 hours reaching down past 2 to 9 months in due course. The government’s decision means that all private schools will have the added complexity of both VATable activities (education) and VATexempt activities (nursery and care) to manage, which in itself will significantly add to the costs for schools in terms of accounting.
Below I copy verbatim the letter written to all ISC schools today, in which Julie Robinson, ISC CEO is quoted. As she makes clear, since the election our sector has been in overdrive working out how manage the genuine cost crisis the tax proposals will put on parents and schools.
Clearly the Principals of Claires Court are taking full notice of our sector’s lead in this matter, and supporting ISC to the hilt.

“Ahead of future communications,we wanted to provide a short update outlining recent events and what you can expect before the beginning of term.

We appreciate news over the summer of an accelerated timescale for the implementation of VAT on school fees (January) came as a shock. Independent schools are under pressure to deal with communications and prepare for the enormous challenges the government’s tax policies bring and we want to do what we can to support and inform you at this most difficult time.

Political meetings

ISC CEO Julie Robinson has met this week with the new minister in charge of independent education, Stephen Morgan. ISC remains your voice in Westminster and will be holding regular meetings with the minister and civil servants on issues affecting independent schools. ISC staff, along with ISBA, have also been liaising with Treasury ministers and officials. We have been engaging in the spirit of building a constructive relationship with the new government on a variety of topics while still ensuring that urgent concerns are communicated about the implementation of its policy to place VAT on fees and, for schools run by charitable trusts, remove business rates relief. Further meetings are due to take place over the coming weeks, and we will continue to press on issues including the timing of implementation and the acute effects anticipated on different areas of education.

VAT and loss of business rates relief: next steps for schools

We are aware that many schools will want to feed into the Treasury consultation on its draft legislation and we very much encourage this. In the ISC monthly report, which will be sent to all schools towards the end of next week, we will be including guidance on how to most effectively fill out the consultation questionnaire. We would recommend completing consultation paperwork only after receiving this guidance.

Also in next week’s monthly report, you will find updated guidance for you, your governors and your school community on engaging with your MP about this issue. Given the significantly shorter timescales involved with regard to the implementation of this policy, we would advise reading and disseminating this information as soon as possible – and, as ever, Matthew Dent is on hand to provide advice.

Legal challenges

Significant speculation has arisen about a potential legal challenge to the government’s policy. ISC, alongside the associations, is receiving ongoing advice from senior legal counsel and any steps we take will be in that context. We are aware of various issues, including human rights and other potential angles, which we are following up with counsel. Rest assured, we are looking at all options. But given the nature of these discussions and the ongoing intense media interest in this topic, we are not disclosing details at this stage.

——————————————————————————

We will continue our work in the media to raise awareness of the issues around VAT and the loss of business rates relief, as well as using the platform this coverage affords us to champion the important place independent schools hold within their local community and across education as a whole.

At the same time, we must recognise that this is a policy the government is committed to. It has confirmed it is set on implementing this manifesto commitment to the timescale as outlined in draft legislation. While we will continue efforts to oppose the policy on principle and push for exemptions and mitigations, we are also urging all schools to prepare for the possibility of a January implementation. ISBA is updating its guidance and holding webinars on the practical steps schools need to take over the coming months – please make sure you keep an eye out for emails from them signposting you to this valuable information. We also expect HMRC to provide guidance and advice for schools in due course.

We will continue to provide updates, though there will be occasions where work is going on behind the scenes that we cannot yet discuss. In the meantime, if you have any particular questions or concerns, please do get in touch with either Simon Nathan (for policy/public affairs), Sarah Cunnane (for media and comms) or Julie Robinson (for general enquiries or support). We appreciate that this is a particularly difficult time for you, for your schools and for the families you serve. Please make use of ISC and of your associations if you need us; we are here to support you however we can.”

Principals’ End of Term Letter  ♦   12 July 2024   https://bit.ly/463H6iq

Introduction
Summer sunshine is with us for barely a brief moment, yet the smiles amongst the Claires Court community, parents, pupils and staff, have been much more sustained (thank you) and carried us through so well this term. The last fortnight has seen our many and various respective graduations and events, all full of the optimism that makes life here so very special. Some very new arrivals into our school over the last month have genuinely appreciated the warmth of our welcome and change in confidence is already evident at home too. Covering as we do the widest of school age ranges, from Nursery to Sixth Form, it’s very clear that our ‘matrix’ approach ensures that each age and development stage has local leaders, management and administration in place with whom parents can ‘work and tweak’ accordingly. At the core of Claires Court though is a central leadership and professional administration that carries much of the heavy lifting when issues such as building works or looming government threats arise. School overall is not yet fully ‘Out for the Summer’ as we have a CCF residential camp, Duke of Edinburgh Silver paddling expedition, athletics and rowing training, national trials and Brit championships too, but for the vast majority, let me simply wish you a great summer break!

Key highlights of the Year 2023-24
There have been so many amazing and positive events throughout the year that I’ll leave the ‘Highlights reel’ until our Court Report is published in September. Central to the school’s very existence has been the acceptance by ISI (the Independent Schools Inspectorate) that our choice to separate boys and girls for secondary education is both appropriate and well-judged. The progress monitoring report made this really clear in summation on the qualities of leadership and management in the school: “Since the previous inspection the school has formally recorded its rationale for the positive action taken to educate male and female pupils separately between ages 11 and 16. It has identified that male and female pupils at the school would otherwise suffer a disadvantage and that they have different needs. The action taken is proportionate and the directors and school leaders show good understanding of any unintended consequences.”

Bringing the Junior boys and girls together at Ridgeway has clearly helped us make the major breakthrough in uniting juniors under one roof for their teaching, learning and co-curricular opportunities whilst releasing Senior Girls and Sixth Form to grow in size and activity substantially too. Mrs Kirby, Mrs King and the junior teaching staff can of course take the lion’s share of the credit at Ridgeway, whilst Mr Hope and Sixth Form team the same for the remarkable expansion of scale and enterprise shown post 16. This has made our choice to unite the secondary leadership of Senior education under Mr Richards (Head) and Mrs Ruddick (Deputy) the final logical step for the future development of the school’s 11-16 age range provision. Conveying an understanding the sheer scale of our endeavour is really important for my brother Hugh and I to convey to both staff and parents; covering the needs of some 1000 children across a footprint that reaches Middlesex and Surrey yet covers the Thames Valley and South Bucks is a genuine challenge that can change on a daily basis. To still be able to celebrate that we have a growing school which remains academically ambitious and now competes in 10 sports to international standard is really no mean feat in 2024.

My work moving forwards
As Academic Principal, it’s been my job to design the paths pursued by teachers and learners. I’ll always have to worry about the practicalities of life when third parties impact dramatically (closing Cookham Bridge) on the way we work. I’ve spent some of the last year working in the classroom academically (History) whilst developing new ways of working in Technology (Drones & Food Tech) and exploring with our ICT & Computer science specialist staff how to integrate AI into our ways of working in the Classroom.

So as I step aside from working with Senior Boys for much of my working day, I step back into leading the school as a whole, giving that my full attention, and as such serving the ISA National Executive Council for the next 3 years too. As I wrote last week, we have a new government to work with, and in turn a new Department for Education in formation. Behind the scenes, meetings with officials and introductions to this new DfE have commenced with our sector and our own Association very actively involved in the dialogue.  Serving on ISA’s Council keeps me close to these matters of great interest and the experience we offer to our sector as the largest school of our kind is genuinely valued.

The threat to costs for parents
Claires Court is in the strongest position we could be currently, secure financially and with new development proposals clearly managed and kept under review to ensure further cost rises are controlled. Our choices over many years to work in partnership with our local arts and sports clubs mean that we have brilliant access to amazing facilities in community ownership. The further expansion of our sports facilities at Ridgeway is not just benefitting the school, but over 1000 adults and children playing sports every week for clubs and societies, including most notably the home for Maidenhead Royals Cricket Club and Maidenhead United Football Club Juniors. We are now celebrating our 46th year with Maidenhead Sailing Club, and 40-year partnerships with both Maidenhead Rowing Club and Phoenix Rugby Club. The genuinely magnificent facilities for a school at Braywick with Maidenhead Rugby Club are now matched with the Sixth Form able to access the David Lloyd centre within easy reach.

I’ve been very conscious of the need to grow additional revenue streams for the school, and the successful ongoing development of the Claires Court PTA Foundation as an independent charity has played a central part in this strategy. As we make further progress through the summer and autumn, I will be able to say more in this area; I am very proud that the various channels in the PTA ‘Just Giving’ programme have already begun to receive donations and funding which cover costs otherwise to be met by the school. For example, the Foundation is able to make available from existing and new donations 75% of the costs to the school for the provision of school places for our Ukrainian refugees into the third year here. New plans for the installation of an artificial playing surface are well underway at Ridgeway, with hopefully more to follow at Taplow, both because of generous proposals being submitted to the Foundation or the Principals. In short, we are committed to providing parents and students with the assurance that the teachers, equipment and facilities offered by Claires Court will remain the best they can be, yet strive as highlighted to ensure other funding opportunities are exploited to ease the strain.

Central to everyone’s concerns is the yawning gap arising in the availability of teachers to work in schools and colleges. Our significant contribution to teacher training within RBWM is well documented; with teacher training now able to be accessed through the apprenticeship levy, we’ve been able to expand our own programme further, such that new talent and new areas can be opened in-house. As a consequence, whilst we say farewell to some brilliant teachers into jobs elsewhere (mainly overseas it must be noted) our inward recruitment of new staff is strong and refreshing, introducing further exciting opportunities and new ways of working. To this end, I celebrate the success of Miriam Harris (English), Harriet Odell (Primary), Amy Walters (Primary) and Noelle Freeman (Early Years), the latter with a first class BA degree in Child Development & Learning.

Farewells
The Court Report will cover these more fully, but in this closing letter I’d like to congratulate five of our staff for the significant contributions they have made to the school during their employment with us. To Veronica Foster (37 years as individual music specialist), Nick Butterfield (19 years secondary and primary PE). Paula Copeman (17 Years as our Head Librarian), Huw Buckle (13 years in the Business Studies Department and the last 2 as my deputy), and Joel Wareing (10 years Head of Art) – their contribution as teachers (also as parents) in our community has been superb. As it has been for so many of our employees (and Principals), Claires Court has been the start, middle and end of their careers in Education, their ‘safe space’ amongst the maelstrom of life.

Conclusion
Between now and the State Opening of Parliament next Wednesday (17 July), all the new Members of Parliament are being sworn in. It’s then we will learn more about the government’s proposals for their first parliamentary year, how their proposals in detail for Education and VAT will play out. It’s clear from the first speech given by the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, that she has to take very great care to craft proposals for future taxation that meet the needs of the country. In that first address, her focus was on promoting growth, and refreshing Green Belt policy so that much needed development in areas under pressure can take place. It may be that we might actually have found an ally there, given the local planning difficulties we’ve faced for years! More seriously, having outlined above all the positive developments that Claires Court has managed to date, please feel assured that Hugh and I will continue to work through this period of uncertainty, in turn assured by the incredible support you as parents and guardians have shown throughout the last 12 months. Our school Motto is “Ut Omnes Unum Sint”, which translates as “So that all may be one” – so be it, we stand together – thank you all.

Hugh and James Wilding
12 July 2024

 Principals’ End of Term Letter  ♦   12 July 2024   https://bit.ly/463H6iq

Introduction

Summer sunshine is with us for barely a brief moment, yet the smiles amongst the Claires Court community, parents, pupils and staff, have been much more sustained (thank you) and carried us through so well this term. The last fortnight has seen our many and various respective graduations and events, all full of the optimism that makes life here so very special. Some very new arrivals into our school over the last month have genuinely appreciated the warmth of our welcome and change in confidence is already evident at home too. Covering as we do the widest of school age ranges, from Nursery to Sixth Form, it’s very clear that our ‘matrix’ approach ensures that each age and development stage has local leaders, management and administration in place with whom parents can ‘work and tweak’ accordingly. At the core of Claires Court though is a central leadership and professional administration that carries much of the heavy lifting when issues such as building works or looming government threats arise. School overall is not yet fully ‘Out for the Summer’ as we have a CCF residential camp, Duke of Edinburgh Silver paddling expedition, athletics and rowing training, national trials and Brit championships too, but for the vast majority, let me simply wish you a great summer break!

Key highlights of the Year 2023-24

There have been so many amazing and positive events throughout the year that I’ll leave the ‘Highlights reel’ until our Court Report is published in September. Central to the school’s very existence has been the acceptance by ISI (the Independent Schools Inspectorate) that our choice to separate boys and girls for secondary education is both appropriate and well-judged. The progress monitoring report made this really clear in summation on the qualities of leadership and management in the school: “Since the previous inspection the school has formally recorded its rationale for the positive action taken to educate male and female pupils separately between ages 11 and 16. It has identified that male and female pupils at the school would otherwise suffer a disadvantage and that they have different needs. The action taken is proportionate and the directors and school leaders show good understanding of any unintended consequences.”

Bringing the Junior boys and girls together at Ridgeway has clearly helped us make the major breakthrough in uniting juniors under one roof for their teaching, learning and co-curricular opportunities whilst releasing Senior Girls and Sixth Form to grow in size and activity substantially too. Mrs Kirby, Mrs King and the junior teaching staff can of course take the lion’s share of the credit at Ridgeway, whilst Mr Hope and Sixth Form team the same for the remarkable expansion of scale and enterprise shown post 16. This has made our choice to unite the secondary leadership of Senior education under Mr Richards (Head) and Mrs Ruddick (Deputy) the final logical step for the future development of the school’s 11-16 age range provision. Conveying an understanding the sheer scale of our endeavour is really important for my brother Hugh and I to convey to both staff and parents; covering the needs of some 1000 children across a footprint that reaches Middlesex and Surrey yet covers the Thames Valley and South Bucks is a genuine challenge that can change on a daily basis. To still be able to celebrate that we have a growing school which remains academically ambitious and now competes in 10 sports to international standard is really no mean feat in 2024. 

My work moving forwards

As Academic Principal, it’s been my job to design the paths pursued by teachers and learners. I’ll always have to worry about the practicalities of life when third parties impact dramatically (closing Cookham Bridge) on the way we work. I’ve spent some of the last year working in the classroom academically (History) whilst developing new ways of working in Technology (Drones & Food Tech) and exploring with our ICT & Computer science specialist staff how to integrate AI into our ways of working in the Classroom. 

So as I step aside from working with Senior Boys for much of my working day, I step back into leading the school as a whole, giving that my full attention, and as such serving the ISA National Executive Council for the next 3 years too. As I wrote last week, we have a new government to work with, and in turn a new Department for Education in formation. Behind the scenes, meetings with officials and introductions to this new DfE have commenced with our sector and our own Association very actively involved in the dialogue.  Serving on ISA’s Council keeps me close to these matters of great interest and the experience we offer to our sector as the largest school of our kind is genuinely valued. 

The threat to costs for parents

Claires Court is in the strongest position we could be currently, secure financially and with new development proposals clearly managed and kept under review to ensure further cost rises are controlled. Our choices over many years to work in partnership with our local arts and sports clubs mean that we have brilliant access to amazing facilities in community ownership. The further expansion of our sports facilities at Ridgeway is not just benefitting the school, but over 1000 adults and children playing sports every week for clubs and societies, including most notably the home for Maidenhead Royals Cricket Club and Maidenhead United Football Club Juniors. We are now celebrating our 46th year with Maidenhead Sailing Club, and 40-year partnerships with both Maidenhead Rowing Club and Phoenix Rugby Club. The genuinely magnificent facilities for a school at Braywick with Maidenhead Rugby Club are now matched with the Sixth Form able to access the David Lloyd centre within easy reach. 

I’ve been very conscious of the need to grow additional revenue streams for the school, and the successful ongoing development of the Claires Court PTA Foundation as an independent charity has played a central part in this strategy. As we make further progress through the summer and autumn, I will be able to say more in this area; I am very proud that the various channels in the PTA ‘Just Giving’ programme have already begun to receive donations and funding which cover costs otherwise to be met by the school. For example, the Foundation is able to make available from existing and new donations 75% of the costs to the school for the provision of school places for our Ukrainian refugees into the third year here. New plans for the installation of an artificial playing surface are well underway at Ridgeway, with hopefully more to follow at Taplow, both because of generous proposals being submitted to the Foundation or the Principals. In short, we are committed to providing parents and students with the assurance that the teachers, equipment and facilities offered by Claires Court will remain the best they can be, yet strive as highlighted to ensure other funding opportunities are exploited to ease the strain.

Central to everyone’s concerns is the yawning gap arising in the availability of teachers to work in schools and colleges. Our significant contribution to teacher training within RBWM is well documented; with teacher training now able to be accessed through the apprenticeship levy, we’ve been able to expand our own programme further, such that new talent and new areas can be opened in-house. As a consequence, whilst we say farewell to some brilliant teachers into jobs elsewhere (mainly overseas it must be noted) our inward recruitment of new staff is strong and refreshing, introducing further exciting opportunities and new ways of working. To this end, I celebrate the success of Miriam Harris (English), Harriet Odell (Primary), Amy Walters (Primary) and Noelle Freeman (Early Years), the latter with a first class BA degree in Child Development & Learning. 

Farewells

The Court Report will cover these more fully, but in this closing letter I’d like to congratulate five of our staff for the significant contributions they have made to the school during their employment with us. To Veronica Foster (37 years as individual music specialist), Nick Butterfield (19 years secondary and primary PE). Paula Copeman (17 Years as our Head Librarian), Huw Buckle (13 years in the Business Studies Department and the last 2 as my deputy), and Joel Wareing (10 years Head of Art) – their contribution as teachers (also as parents) in our community has been superb. As it has been for so many of our employees (and Principals), Claires Court has been the start, middle and end of their careers in Education, their ‘safe space’ amongst the maelstrom of life. 

Conclusion

Between now and the State Opening of Parliament next Wednesday (17 July), all the new Members of Parliament are being sworn in. It’s then we will learn more about the government’s proposals for their first parliamentary year, how their proposals in detail for Education and VAT will play out. It’s clear from the first speech given by the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, that she has to take very great care to craft proposals for future taxation that meet the needs of the country. In that first address, her focus was on promoting growth, and refreshing Green Belt policy so that much needed development in areas under pressure can take place. It may be that we might actually have found an ally there, given the local planning difficulties we’ve faced for years! More seriously, having outlined above all the positive developments that Claires Court has managed to date, please feel assured that Hugh and I will continue to work through this period of uncertainty, in turn assured by the incredible support you as parents and guardians have shown throughout the last 12 months. Our school Motto is “Ut Omnes Unum Sint”, which translates as “So that all may be one” – so be it, we stand together – thank you all. 

Hugh and James Wilding

12 July 2024