An area I have a great deal of experience in - was trying to help...

Indeed - but there didn't seem to be any kind of useful reply. I wondered whether the poster might have an update also.

Have you asked for and gone through and followed the school's written complaints procedure? If you haven't, you must do so as soon as possible. Usually this will be a written complaint (try not to be emotional and belligerant) to the head teacher of the school in the first instance in which you will carefully details your complaint and thus the reason for withdrawal and disputing the requirement to pay a term's fees in lieu of notice to which you will receive a written reply. If you do not receive a written reply or are not happy with the reply you receive, you should write back saying so and escalate this further up the line - usually to the governors. An independent panel hearing will be arranged at which you can state your case and the panel will consider whether it considers you have grounds to dispute the fees in lieu. Be prepared for the school being robust about your claims. The panel may decide that they agree you should not pay the fees in lieu. If they do not it will be up to you to defend in due course a county court claim for the fees. A court will look carefully at whether they consider you have a claim - they will look at how your complaint was dealt with and will look at the notes from the hearing etc. In any event you can deal with the debt collectors in the ways already suggested saying that the matter is in dispute with the school - make suire it really is in dispute formally with the school though. This would have any judgement set aside if it got that far, or leave them having to deal with your defence. It may be worth writing to the school direct with an offer to pay £400, without prejudice, in the terms you have stated (£50 per month) enclosing the first payment. This could form part of your complaint letter.

Painful I know, but the sad fact is that you appear to have signed an acceptance for which is your agreement to the terms and conditions of the school. Sounds like you may not have read them in full - never a good idea! The clause you mention is common place. It is certainly not worth your while spending money on lawyers concerning this, but you may get somewhere if you write to the Head teacher of the school setting out your dismay, saying that you understand you will lose your £250 as this was explained, but that the contract clause was not pointed out to you even though you accept you should have read the terms yourself. In a situation like this where, however unfair you feel it to be, in legal terms the school is in the right, appealling to their better nature may be the only way forward. You may want to mention the fact that it wook them until October to send a bill. In terms of finding out who registered when and if the school is full for reception (which would mean your place was certainly filled), all you can do is ask the school directly. They do not, of course, have to tell you this.

I realise this will not be the news you want to hear, but my take on this is as follows. When your child started the school you will have signed a contract/acceptance form accepting the school's terms and conditions. One of those will have been to give a full term's notice of withdrawal of your child. You have not done this and so regrettably, you are pretty much stuffed and will indeed owe a term's fees in lieu of notice. Unfortunately for you the school's position is very strong here as the terms and conditions you agreed to contractually oblige you to give a full term's notice whether or not you consider it fair. A key issue here is when exactly did the school inform you that these additional charges for individual support would apply? If they wrote to you in the Easter holidays telling you this then they gave you a term's notice that additional charges would apply thus giving you the opportunity to give the school a term's notice that you would not be able to afford this and would therefore have to withdraw your child. If however you were not told about the extra charges for support lessons until near the end of term, you may have a case to write to the school saying it was not possible for you to give a full term's notice as you were not aware a term in advance that additional fees would now apply.