More than a quarter of all independent schools in England and Wales have withdrawn their staff from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), iNews has reported.

Following a Freedom of Information request from Wesleyan Financial Services, it was revealed that 480 independent schools have pulled out or partly withdrawn from the scheme, or have notified the government of plans to do so.

The Independent Schools Council chief executive Julie Robinson said that while schools would prefer to remain in the TPS where they can, it is becoming increasingly difficult as employer contributions rise,

Robinson added: “Most independent schools are small community schools that are already operating on tight margins, and they will be looking for ways to cut costs while keeping fees low. Like all responsible employers when faced with such increases, they will be considering alternative schemes available to them. Teachers are schools’ most valuable resource, and schools will be doing all they can to ensure their staff have fair pay and conditions.”

The article quotes the headteacher of an independent secondary school who said: “If Labour hits us with VAT next autumn and the employer contribution goes up for the TPS, those two things loaded up together would present quite a big financial shock to us.”