A headteacher has said that her school is not under threat – after an MP raised concerns about its future.
The York Steiner School needed support to stay open, MP Rachael Maskell told the House of Commons yesterday.
She raised her concerns in the light of the government’s plans to remove the VAT exemption and business rates relief for private schools.
York Steiner School headteacher Ruth Crabtree sought to reassure students and parents today.
She told YorkMix: “Rachael Maskell is a huge supporter of our school and educational ethos and while we are grateful she has championed us in the House of Commons over this worrying new policy, we would like to clarify that the future of the school is not under threat.
“It is true that we keep our fees at a bare minimum in order to be able to welcome families inclusively, but due to rising pupil numbers and in many areas, oversubscribed class lists, we know we will be able to weather the new government legislation at the same time as continuing to push for a much fairer approach for those schools, like us, who are non profit making and a registered charity.
“The government cannot treat micro-independent schools in the same way as schools such as Winchester and Harrow.
“We will be working with Rachael to push for a more nuanced response which takes into account the size and fee structure of each individual school.”
The York Central MP has secured a meeting with education minister Stephen Morgan following her question yesterday.
Labour is imposing VAT on private schools to enable funding for 6,500 new teachers in state schools.