Industry News
'Snap inspections' of private schools
Posted on 30th October 2007
The Charity Commission has revealed it could make snap inspections of private schools to ensure they are offering public benefit.
Any independent schools failing to prove they are benefiting poorer pupils could be stripped of their charitable tax breaks.
The Charity Commission's board meets tomorrow to discuss new guidelines and ways in which schools can justify their charitable status.
Rosie Chapman, an executive director of the commission, told the Guardian private schools will need to offer bursaries and other services to children in the area whose parents cannot afford the fees.
"What is new and will cause a shift in culture is that now trustees need to think about essentially why they are there, and what is it that organisation is doing to provide a public benefit," she said.
Chris Woodhead, spokesperson for Cognita, a for-profit private school group, told the Financial Times schools want freedom from "government interference"
He said the group is in talks with a number of schools who are considering abandoning their charitable status.
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