March 2010

Summer 2009 seems a long time ago now and especially the excitement around the publication of the Charity Commission's assessments of the public benefit provided by five charitable independent schools.

There have been a number of other developments since then that are helping inform schools' approaches to public benefit.  Dame Suzi Leather (the Chair of the Charity Commission) has told the HMC that schools have five years to comply with the new requirements, but this does not mean the impetus or need to address the public benefit reporting requirement have lessened.  Proactive decisions from governors, heads and bursars are still needed now in order to put their schools in the best possible position should they be subjected to an assessment.

Developments in Scotland

Scotland continues to hit the headlines on public benefit.  The Scottish charity regulator (OSCR) has now approved the "remedial plans" for the four schools who were initially assessed as failing the test.  The plans have not been published in detail, but OSCR has released summaries of their content.  In addition to increased funding for means-tested bursaries, the plans contain proposals to work with other schools to provide teaching for subjects not otherwise available and support to other schools in the development of their syllabuses.  OSCR has required that there be specific and measureable objectives in the plans, rather than general statements of intent and policy.

In contrast to the Charity Commission, it is clear that OSCR is placing more emphasis on activities such as working with other schools, opening up facilities to the local community, providing summer schools etc.  To count in Scotland, these activities must be regular, timetabled, related to the school's charitable purposes and be targeted at children other than the school's current pupils.  Whether the Commission will feel able to place more weight on these activities in England and Wales remains to be seen.  To date the signs have not been encouraging.

OSCR has also published an attempt to quantify the school fees it believes can be afforded by most Scottish families without impacting on the ability to pay (coming in at around £1,500 per year).  The demographics in England and Wales are of course different and the financial modelling is acknowledged as not perfect.  It is not being used to determine individual cases but a similar exercise would be welcome from the Commission here.

Developments in England and Wales

The Charity Commission is still developing its procedures for public benefit assessment and in particular what questions will be asked when schools approach the Commission and ask it to exercise its legal powers (commonly when changing a constitution, making schemes and orders etc.).  The fear had been that any approach to the Commission would result in an assessment being triggered.  Over Christmas the Commission had considered a "self-certification" approach to public benefit to overcome these worries, but this has now been discounted. 

We understand that the Commission is developing a standard set of questions and answers which will  be asked when necessary.  At the time of writing, the content of these are not known, but it is likely that they will ask for details of any bursary schemes, the school's fee structures and any external activities undertaken with the local community.  Schools with detailed public benefit and bursary policies will easily be able to answer these questions.  Schools may think they can keep their heads down and avoid the Commission's scrutiny for the foreseeable future, but no charity can (or should even try) to avoid its regulator.

Fresh approach

• Recent experience has shown that it is vital to approach your public benefit offering from the point of view of a parent who does not have detailed knowledge of the school and believes that your school is inaccessible to his or her child because of unaffordable fees.  Is financial help available?  Is the nature and extent of the funding advertised on the school's literature?  Are full details on the school's website, including how to apply and when?  These might seem obvious points to a governor, head or bursar, but to an outsider a lack of information up-front can be an inadvertent barrier to access.

It is also important to be prepared to justify any barriers or limits on a bursary scheme.  Are admission bursaries only available on entry to the senior school?  Are there fixed percentages of bursaries available - and importantly - do these extend to 100% of fees?  Could a parent also afford the additional costs of sending a child to school (uniform, books, school trips, transport etc.)?   These barriers may be justified by the need to budget for financial viability in an increasingly competitive market, but governors must explain in their annual report how they are satisfied the school is operating for the public benefit despite any potential limits on access.

Time flies…

The five years given by the Commission to the sector should not be squandered.  The Commission is an independent regulator and not subject to ministerial control.  Although a new government may be able to persuade the Commission to change some of its views, it cannot force it to do so without primary legislation. 

Most schools with financial years ending in August will need to submit their annual accounts for 2008/9 shortly and these must include the governors' annual report with a detailed explanation of the public benefit offered by the school and the steps the governors are taking to improve access.  We recommend that this includes reference to a detailed public benefit policy and a fair bursary policy. 

It is likely the Commission will be reviewing annual reports as they come in and these are just as important as any policy or website information.