The Charity Commission’s campaign to require independent schools to provide more tangible evidence of “public benefit” has sown uncertainty in the sector. Frayed nerves have not been soothed by apparent swings between toughness and emollience on the part of commission officials.
A warning from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator that four Scottish private schools must improve access for poorer families in order to keep their charitable status has further unsettled their counterparts south of the border. In England and Wales, governors and heads are awaiting the outcome of a pilot assessment of five schools expected by early summer.
