Open up to communities or lose charity status, private schools told

INDEPENDENT schools have been told they must open their doors to communities – or face losing their charitable status.

Education secretary Michael Russell told private school headteachers they must do all they can to provide benefit to the wider public if they want to retain the tax-saving status.

Speaking at the annual dinner of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), he said: "While the independent sector is relatively small – around 4 per cent of the total number of pupils in Scotland – it is part of the rich tapestry of our education system.

"Many of these schools provide services to the community, including widening access to their facilities and working together with schools in the public sector and the wider local community.

"In return, they are being recognised by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) as meeting the 'charity test'. I welcome this."

OSCR has previously provided guidance on what independent schools must do to meet its public-benefit test – essential for the schools to retain the valuable status of a charity.

But Mr Russell added: "I want to impress on those who wish to gain or retain charitable status the crucial importance of being proactive in their communities to ensure they continue to provide real benefits to the Scottish public."

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It is understood Mr Russell has privately become concerned about the lack of efforts made by some schools to open their doors. But independent schools were adamant they were working hard to fulfil the demands of OSCR.

Judith Sischy, director of SCIS, said: "Of the 11 schools reviewed by OSCR to date, seven have passed the charity test with a clean bill of health and the remaining four are well on their way to doing so, having had their plans approved by OSCR."

She added: "As a sector, we pride ourselves on our public benefit which now has to be explicitly demonstrated to satisfy the regulator."

The remainder of the 46 independent schools will undergo the charity "test", which dictates schools must have only charitable purpose and provide a public benefit, over coming months.

Latest statistics show that there are 30,725 pupils being taught in independent schools in Scotland – 4.3 per cent of the total number of pupils in the country.

An OSCR spokesman said: "The factor that the minister has mentioned is part of a wider range of measures that such charities could adopt.

"In assessing public benefit, we would consider the organisation's activities as a whole, including levels of fees and access to bursaries, as well as wider access to facilities or services for outside organisations."

Rod Grant, head of Clifton Hall School, at Newbridge, Edinburgh, which is still to undergo the test, said Mr Russell's comments echoed previous OSCR advice.

He said: "In my experience, all independent school heads are actively engaged in developing strong community links and in widening access to those who cannot afford the fees.

"In my own school, we have excellent relations with local state-maintained schools and also have several local community groups using our facilities.

"In fact, we see ourselves as very much a positive force in our community."