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There have been numerous threads on NEG's Surgery Line.  It started with GPs changing their numbers to 0870xxx and then the Health Minister of the time, John Hutton, stopping this practice and the surgereis changing their numbers to 0844xxx. This was a small improvement and was due not in the least to the campaign conducted by this site.

There is however, a fundamental difference between GPs and schools.  Although both are funded by the state GPs are self employed business people but schools, and their headmasters, are not.

I think this thread ought to be moved to the discussion forum to examine various issues, principally the legitimacy of schools signing up to NEG's School Line.  I have little doubt that NEG had some discussions with the Dept of Education who must have at least "nodded through" the scheme. This may well be the subject of a future FOI enquiry.

Tks bbb_uk. I had a look in the NEG website, where it describes School Line as self-funding.
Perhaps one hundred lines: I must not lie to my customers and callers.

There is a very good chance that they were missold the SchoolLine on the basis that calls to their fancy new number are only charged at 'local' rate therefore not costing parents more to ring them.  I bet you NEG also state that it may even be cheaper for some parents as well.

As DaveM mentioned in the Maghull High School thread, complaints about the new more expensive number should also be sent to Ofsted and the School itself.

Shiggaddi wrote on Dec 17^th, 2006 at 3:44pm:
They probably weren't told it costs 5p/min just the same price as a 'local' call.

Prompted by this topic I decided to send Maghull High School an email requesting information about its use of an 0844 telephone number.  Today I received the following reply:

“Dear ..

Freedom of Information Act 2000

I am writing in response to your e.mail dated 17hDecember in which you requested information regarding the installation of a new telephone system at the school.

The school decided to update the telephone system for operational (the previous system did not meet the needs of a school), rather than financial reasons and therefore did not make a decision to use 0844 numbers. The new telephone number arose as a result of the change in system and was allocated by the telephone company.

The system was installed in August 2006 and we have just been made aware that there is a question about the level of call cost.

The school did not make the decision to install the new system based upon any income that may be received from call users, although the telephone company has confirmed that a reduction in the overall cost of the system is allocated as a result of a minor call charge being applied.

I can inform you that the school website maghullhigh.com now incorporates two direct dial numbers, one for main school and one for the sixth form.

Yours sincerely
M R Anderson
Headteacher .....END QUOTE

The reply did not disclose fully the information I requested and is crafted in typicaly enigmatic way.

Let us hope that he is not equally dialtory in keeping tabs on what the teachers in his school are teaching the pupils.

He just let the phone company allocate the numbers.  Ye gods where do they get these people from.