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Independent schools
These are schools that are independent of local or central government control.
They are financed by fees and endowments. There are about 2500 in all, the
vast majority of which are not secondary schools. They include traditional
public schools and private schools. They decide their own policies, priorities
and curriculum.
7% of schoolchildren in the UK are educated at independent schools. There
are staggering regional variations: 4% in Scotland and 11% in London and
the South East. A fifth of all sixth formers are in independent schools -
DfES statistics suggest that, at every level of ability, independent school
pupils achieve higher GCSE, AS and A-level scores than the total school
population. About half of the parents did not themselves attend independent
schools.
Independent school standards
While independent schools are exempt from any requirement to teach the national
curriculum, all independent schools must comply with the relevant requirements
of the Education Act 1996. They must provide satisfactory standards of premises,
accommodation and instruction. The 'proprietor and staff must be proper persons'.
If boarding is provided, they must safeguard and promote children's welfare.
All are subject to inspection. The inspectors' reports are published in full,
and schools produce follow-up action plans. Better information and assurance
about the quality and standards are becoming available as the inspections
continue.
There are two quite different inspection systems. All independent schools
are covered by one or the other, depending on the school's affiliation (or
lack of it).
All ISC school are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI),
which is part of ISC but operating at arm's length from it. Inspections are
conducted according to a framework approved by the DfES and Ofsted, and the
ISI advise the DfES on whether schools meet statutory requirements. ISI
inspections are conducted in all schools in membership of the five heads
associations within ISC, ie HMC, GSA, SHMIS, IAPS and ISA. This covers over
half the independent schools in England and Wales and about four-fifths of
independent school pupils. All ISI school inspection reports are published
in full on its website (www.isinspect.org.uk).
Non-ISC schools: Non-ISC schools that contain significant numbers of pupils
assisted from public funds are inspected by Her Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs)
from Ofsted. School inspection reports are available on the Ofsted website
(www.ofsted.gov.uk). Other schools receive a brief 'registration visit' every
five years (more often if the school is new or the subject of concern) to
ensure that they meet statutory requirements. These do not lead to published
reports.
The welfare of children accommodated in boarding schools - whether independent
boarding schools or state boarding schools - is separately regulated. They
are inspected by local social service departments, which make regular inspections
and report to the DfES (Section 87 of the Children's Act 1989). These reports
are not published. However, both ISI and HMI take account of them in carrying
out their reporting and monitoring.
Independent Schools Inspectorate
The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is the inspectorate for ISC schools
and all school inspection reports are published on their website
(www.inspect.org.uk)-
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