Divorce and Separation can impact children in a number of ways and often a big concern for parents with children at a fee paying school is how those fees can and will be continued to be paid.  School fees are not covered by child maintenance. The court can however make an order for the payment of school fees over and above maintenance payable through the Child Maintenance Service.  

It has been noted by the courts that ‘private education is a luxury and must be balanced against the welfare and needs of all of the family’, but regard will also be had to the welfare of the child, and in T v T (Financial Provision: Private Education) Bennett J noted that where plans had been made for the child to be privately educated ‘to pull the plug’ would be ‘not just unfair’ but ‘damaging’. 

If one parent has refused to pay the fees, then the school may seek to recover them from the other parent depending on their terms of business. If you are concerned about fees that are imminently due, the first thing you should consider is approaching the school. They may have a bursary or other system in place that can assist with any transition whilst you try to sort out your finances. 

It may be that dividing a joint household income into two renders school fees unaffordable, where there is good state school provision in place parents may agree that the children should stop their private schooling. The courts may also be more likely to view private schooling as a luxury. It is important to consider that as children grow older the level of fees which are payable increases with their age. Different schools also charge different fees. Older more established institutions may charge more than newer ones. The type of independent school your child attends can also become a consideration.

Sometimes, even if both parents agree that the children should continue to be privately educated, there may need to be compromise elsewhere within the family or an agreement that income capacity is increased. This is especially true where one parent works part-time or not at all. Where both parents are determined that private education should be continued at all costs it may be possible to agree to ringfence part of the matrimonial capital in order to pay the school fees on an ongoing basis. It is possible that some schools will offer a modest reduction in overall fees if those fees are paid upfront. Parents should be aware that the security of fees paid upfront is ultimately bound to the school’s financial security. Using matrimonial capital in this way would mean that is not available to meet other expenses and parents may have to compromise elsewhere, for example with the size or cost of their homes. 

Parents need to discuss and ideally agree on what is to be covered by a school fees order. Does it, for instance, include extras? Does it include the cost of trips, uniform, sports equipment, music lessons, etc? Are there boarding or flexi-boarding payments that need to be considered? If a judge is imposing a school fees order clear guidance needs to be sought from the court as to the extent of the order that is being created and what extras the judge intends to include.

We recommend that you obtain early expert legal advice in order that your children face as little disruption to their education as possible. There are a number of independent primary and senior schools within proximity to our Milton Keynes, Harpenden and Luton offices so we have experience in assisting parents with the issues mentioned above. We offer an initial Fixed Fee meeting which gives you an hour with a specialist family lawyer - click on the link below to find out more. Call 0330 0945 500, email family@nevesllp.co.uk  or complete our Contact Form and we'll get back to you.