On the go: A massive rise in the employer contribution to the Teachers' Pension Scheme could lead to the closure of 100 prep schools, according to the special education website TES, which first warned of the approaching crisis for the independent schools sector last month.
On November 6 education minister Nick Gibb confirmed that the costs to non-state funded employers of increasing the employer contribution to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme for the fiscal year 2020-21 would be £191m for the independent sector, £142m for further-education providers and £142m for higher-education institutions.
Chris King, chief executive of the Independent Association of Prep Schools, said he had written to Treasury minister Liz Truss warning that up to 25,000 children could be left without a school next term.
“I think the impact might well close over 100 schools in membership of IAPS,” he told the websiteTES.
“The vast majority of IAPS member schools are relatively small institutions. Many of them have 100, not much more than 200 pupils.
“These kinds of schools operate with pretty much break-even budgets, they don’t generate huge surpluses. But they often are really embedded in their local community – they serve the local community, they are specialists in what they provide.
The website Tes says schools were told in September that they must increase contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme by more than 40 per cent from next year after a government review into public sector pension schemes.
Headteachers have reacted with disbelief on hearing that they must increase employer contributions to 23.6 per cent from September 2019, up from 16.48 per cent now.
Gibb told Parliament in a written answer on 6 November that funding arrangements for the increased costs will be considered as part of the next spending review.
