‘My son has special needs – and Labour’s private school tax raid threatens his future’

Children with special needs could be forced out of their “comfortable environments” under Labour’s private school tax raid, parents have warned.

They warn those with special needs are missing out on crucial funding because of the huge challenge – and the proposed tax plans could make the problem worse. In Wales, families are having to wait two and a half years before they can go through neurodevelopmental assessments that will secure their child a state-funded place at an independent special school. This has left some paying out of their own pocket for a school that can support their child’s complex needs.

Labour’s plans to add VAT to private school fees could force parents to move their child “out of the environment where they have become most comfortable”. One mother, a Labour voter, said that she will not vote for the party because of its policy.

It comes as the representative body for Welsh independent schools warns that Labour’s plans could force the closure of 18 schools in the country. Sarah – who asked us not to use her real name – said her son has been waiting five years for diagnoses of suspected attention deficit disorder and autism spectrum disorder. It took three years of repeated

referrals before he was finally accepted on to the NHS’s two-year waiting list.

During this time, his mental health deteriorated so severely that he began to self-harm. On the advice of their GP, Sarah and her husband took the decision to move him to a small independent school. Here, Sarah said he has been much happier. “Some special educational needs kids can’t cope in the larger classes you get in state schools. My son gets overwhelmed by sensory stimuli. Now he’s gone from a class of 30 to a class of 10. It’s a smaller, greener environment. He has friends and is happy and relaxed in school for the first time.”

However, the move came at a significant financial cost. The fees add up to £14,000 a year, which she said the family can only afford because their son is on an academic scholarship, so the costs are discounted. Now, she is preparing to move her son into a state school as she expects Labour will get into power and impose VAT on private school fees, a flagship policy.

Labour has said it will exempt special needs children from fee rises provided they have an education, health and care plan (EHCP). But this means the parents of over 95,000 children with additional needs who do not have an EHCP could be hit with fee rises.

A Labour spokesman said: “We recognise that there are inexcusable delays in SEND diagnosis because of Conservative mismanagement of our NHS and their failure to recruit the staff needed are a source of real stress for families.”

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We are working hard to support the increased demand for neurodivergence services.”

Families who chose private schools for children with extra needs could face tax raid