At a PFC on 5th March we explored the impact of the tax changes being implemented by the government in 2025, and our strategic response. Below are some FAQs in response to some questions we’ve received:

What are the new taxes and costs that are being introduced by the government?

• From January 2025 independent school fees were liable for 20% VAT. This increased cost of school fees is passed directly to the government. 
• From April 2025 independent schools that are charities will no longer receive charitable rate relief of 80% on Business Rates.
• From April 2025 Employer National Insurance contributions for all businesses will increase from 13.8% to 15.0%, and the threshold at which Employer National Insurance will be due will be on salaries over £5,000 - currently the threshold is £9,100.
• From April 2025 the National Living Wage will increase by 6.73% which is more than the increase that had been indicated of 3.9%.

What will the financial impact be for CFS?

In the first full academic year we have estimated that there will be in the region of £120k to £150k of additional taxes and costs for the school to accommodate.

How will CFS address the additional costs?

We have identified a number of levers that we can introduce over the next four years that will enable the school to continue to be sustainable for the 3rd Generation of the School. These will be introduced by means of a four year strategic plan and we will be developing the finer details of that over the coming months.

What are the key aspects of the four year strategic plan?

The plan needs to ensure that CFS remains sustainable, and is in a position to prepare its pupils for the life challenges they will face as adults in the changing landscape of the mid-21st century. 

In year 1: 

• We plan to begin to restructure aspects of the Primary part of the school by combining some year groups. This will reduce costs and provide a more socially integrated environment for pupils to learn in, while still having class sizes smaller than state maintained schools. 
• We will also introduce an extra couple of weeks’ holiday.  The terms dates can be viewed HERE and include a two week Autumn half term and a longer summer holiday, which will reduce the staffing costs whilst ensuring there continues to be a focussed delivery of the full curriculum. There may be an additional benefit of allowing some in the community to reduce the cost of family holidays.
• We will invest further in applying for grants from trust funds and developing strategic partnerships with some key Christian trust funds and churches. This will allow us to continue to invest in the school without taking budget away from the day to day operational costs. 

In year 2: 

• We will further develop our Lower School offering to provide an education nursery for pre-school children supported by local authority funding, which will enable greater cost efficiencies.
• We will further collaborate with other Christian schools, who share our Christ-centred values and approach to curriculum, to grow the delivery effectiveness of certain aspects of the curriculum and reduce staff costs.
• We will further develop outdoor and practical learning opportunities for pupils at all stages of their education. 

In year 3: We will develop our Christ-centred curriculum to provide new delivery channels incorporating online and remote learning services to support home educators and overseas workers. This will provide additional income built on our existing foundations. We are not planning to replace  in-person education with online education, although we expect to continue to take advantage of online learning platforms that can enhance the pupils' in-person learning experience, building on what we already know works well.   

In year 4: We will build partnerships with other like-minded schools to establish a Multi-School group or consortium with a common vision and curriculum but located on different campuses, using a range of digital tools to achieve operational and educational economies of scale.  

When will a detailed strategic four year plan be published?

Our four year strategic plan is a work in progress. The principles are described above and these will be further enhanced at regular intervals. As key aspects of the plan are fully established, there will be interim communications to the CFS community well in advance of changes being implemented.

When will the school fees for the new academic year be announced?

We are getting very close to establishing what the 2025-26 academic year restructuring changes in Primary and the adjustments to term dates should be. Once this has been finalised we will prepare the 2025-26 budget and aim to announce the new school fees in May.

Will the school conduct a consultation with its community?

The strategies for year 1 are primarily internal changes as an immediate response to short-term economic pressures. We are currently considering different options that will optimise learning outcomes for all pupils.  The provision of high quality, effective teaching is a priority and we are developing a model that will achieve this.  

The  changes we are proposing to make to the holidays are  critical to achieving the necessary cost savings.   However we appreciate that this may create a need for additional provision such as a Holiday Club for some families and we will look to consult with those who are impacted in this way. 

Beyond year 1 we will be looking to consult with our community, the Christian Schools Trust (CST), home educators, overseas workers and international schools, as we develop each delivery model.  

How many weeks of holiday would there be once the academic year is reduced?

In 2024-25 the pupils will have had 16.6 weeks holiday. Our expectation is that in 2025-26 this may increase to between 18.6 and 19.0 weeks.

At what point in the year will the additional holidays be?

Our expectation is that we will potentially break up a week earlier at the end of the summer term and introduce a two week Autumn Term break.  The start date for the Autumn and Spring Terms may be a little later.  The Autumn Term in 2025 will start on Tuesday 9th September. The specific finer details of this are being explored to identify the most beneficial outcome for the majority of the community - in establishing this we are considering the broad range of feedback we’ve received and how we can maintain our core strengths and sense of community. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to meet everyone’s preferences but aim to implement an academic calendar that optimises good learning outcomes.