The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) have both urged the government to delay the imposition of VAT on private school fees, planned to begin in January, City AM has reported

In a submission to the Department for Education’s consultation on the plans, Lynne Horner, independent schools specialist at the ASCL, wrote: “We would strongly recommend that the government undertakes and publishes a comprehensive impact assessment and a full consultation on these proposals… and that it delays their implementation until September 2025 at the earliest.”

The ASCL’s submission added that implementation from January would mean “significant additional administrative burdens for taxpayers, schools and HMRC” and be “logistically extremely challenging”.

The NASUWT’s submission to the Department for Education cited an Institute for Fiscal Studies study that warned of difficulties with the policy.

The union’s general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said the policy risked “creating job loss, cuts to terms and conditions for teachers and support staff, or school closure”, as well as affecting “teacher retention”.

Roach added: “We request that impact assessments take place in terms of the effects on the special needs systems in the four UK nations, and in particular the effect on local authorities where more mainstream places may be needed.

“We request that a more reasonable time frame is proposed in order to implement the change fairly and without excessive disruption for teachers, pupils and parents.”