Digital Education Resource Archive

Making significant changes (‘prescribed alterations’) to maintained schools : Statutory guidance for proposers and

decision makers : March 2025

IntroductionThis commentary discusses the findings from Ofsted’s work investigatingsuspected unregistered schools since 2016.The statistics show the latest published data as at 31 March 2025 from ourUnregistered schools management information - GOV.UK.It is a criminal offence to run an independent school in England that is notregistered with the Department for Education (DfE).[footnote 1] Children attendingunregistered schools are at risk because there is no formal external oversight ofsafeguarding, health and safety, or the quality of education. In January 2016, weset up an unregistered schools team, funded by the DfE, to investigate settingsthat are suspected of operating as unregistered schools.Identifying potential unregisteredResearch and analysisInsight from Ofsted’s investigationsof unregistered schoolsPublished 24 June 2025Applies to EnglandMenuHome Education, training and skills Inspections and performance of education providersInspection and performance of schools Unregistered schools investigations: statistical commentariesContentsIntroductionIdentifying potentialunregistered schoolsInvestigating suspectedunregistered schoolsLooking aheadAnnex: data tables for figuresschoolsIllegal schools operate under the radar. We first become aware of a suspectedillegal school through a referral.[footnote 2]Between 1 January 2012 and 31 March 2025, Ofsted received 1,661referrals from a variety of sources.[footnote 3]Over half of these referrals come from within Ofsted itself (55%). We oftenidentify suspected illegal schools through our inspections of other schools andproviders. For example, we may inspect a state-funded secondary school anddiscover they have commissioned alternative provision from an unregisteredprovider.Referrals are also received from local authorities, the DfE, members of the public,other government agencies and the police. Referrals can be made anonymously,and we can receive more than one referral for the same setting.Figure 1: Proportion of all referrals received, by source, between 1January 2012 and 31 March 2025View data in an accessible table format.In the last 3 academic years, the number of referrals we have received hasincreased. Since 2022/23, the number of referrals received each year has beenover 200, and we have already received 200 referrals so far this academic year (1September 2024 to 31 March 2025). However, in the years before this (2015/16to 2021/2022), the average was under 150 per year.We review all referrals we receive to decide whether to open a criminalinvestigation. We risk-assess all referrals and deal with any safeguarding or otherconcerns that may arise from them, regardless of whether we open a full criminalinvestigation.Investigating suspected unregisteredschoolsBetween 1 January 2016 and 31 March 2025, we opened 1,574investigations into 1,414 settings.[footnote 4]Once a criminal investigation is opened, Ofsted’s unregistered schools team willgather evidence to establish whether we believe the setting to be operatingillegally. Some types of settings do not need to be registered as a school in orderto operate. In such a case, the investigation may end and not lead to aninspection.Some settings have been investigated more than once. This can happen ifadditional evidence comes to light after a previous investigation has ended.InspectionsWe may decide to inspect a setting if there is reasonable cause to believe it isoperating illegally. During an inspection, inspectors gather evidence. This caninclude taking copies of documents and records, taking photographs, andrecording footage of the inspection using body-worn video cameras.[footnote 5]Between 1 January 2016 and 31 March 2025, we carried out 945inspections of 669 settings.Unregistered settings can vary considerably in their purpose and provision. Theymay be classed as general educational settings, religious instruction settings,alternative provision, tuition centres, care farms, language academies, sportsclubs/academies or other provision types. Until sufficient evidence is gathered,some setting types may remain unclear, even after inspection.If there is enough evidence, inspectors may determine that a setting has aparticular faith ethos. There are also settings whose core purpose is to providereligious instruction.Of the 669 settings inspected since 1 January 2016, 18% weredetermined to have a faith ethos.Inspectors will also determine whether, in addition to the possibility of a settingbeing run illegally, there are specific areas of concern for children attending thesetting. Since 2016, we have identified 205 settings as having health and safetyconcerns such as unsafe electrical fittings, unsanitary conditions, blocked orunsuitable fire exits and missing fire equipment.[footnote 6] We have also found 203settings with safeguarding concerns. For example, some had not completedDisclosure and Barring Service checks for all adults or did not have asafeguarding policy in place. In some settings, unsuitable adults had access tothe premises. In some settings, we identified both safeguarding and health andsafety concerns. Inspectors refer all health and safety and safeguarding concernsto relevant agencies to take action.We carry out unregistered school inspections as part of a criminal investigation.These inspections are not equivalent to routine inspections of state-funded orindependent schools. Inspectors do not make any graded judgements, and thevisit does not result in a published inspection report.Warning noticesDuring the inspection, if the inspectors find evidence that leads them to believethat a setting is operating as an illegal school, they will issue those responsiblewith a warning notice.It is not always possible to issue a warning notice after an inspection, even if theinspector suspects the provider is operating an unregistered school. This isusually because the team does not yet have sufficient evidence and needs toinvestigate further.As at 31 March 2025, Ofsted had issued 212 warning notices to 184settings.[footnote 7]The following chart shows the most recent status of all settings that have beenissued with a warning notice. The status of a setting may change over time. Forexample, we may close the investigation of a setting and then open a new one iffurther evidence comes to light.Figure 2: Most recent status of settings issued with a warning notice, as at31 March 2025View data in an accessible table format.The majority (64%) of the settings issued with a warning notice changed theservice they offered to comply with the current legislation, usually by reducing theirhours of operation or the number of children attending. A fifth (20%) of thesettings stopped operating completely, and 8% chose to register with the DfE asan independent school.We have taken no further action towards 2% of the settings. We may do this forseveral reasons; for example, there are limitations in current legislation and in ourpowers to investigate. The remaining 7% of settings are still actively underinvestigation.ProsecutionsThe vast majority of settings take action to comply with the law once we haveissued them with a warning notice. However, people and organisations thatcontinue to operate outside the law might be prosecuted for the offence ofrunning an unregistered school.Since the unregistered schools team was created, there have been 7unregistered school prosecutions, resulting in 21 convictions of individualsor organisations.[footnote 8]Looking aheadWe will continue to draw attention to the dangers posed by illegal schools. We willwork in partnership with the DfE, the Crown Prosecution Service and otheragencies to hold wrongdoers to account. The Children’s Wellbeing and SchoolsBill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, is designed to give usstronger powers of entry and investigation to tackle illegal schools. It also aims toclose legal loopholes that enable them to operate.[footnote 9] This legislation willhelp us to investigate suspected illegal schools and protect children frominadequate education in unsafe settings.Annex: data tables for figuresThis section contains the underlying data in an accessible table format for allfigures.Data for Figure 1: Proportion of all referrals received, by source, between1 January 2012 and 31 March 2025Source % referralsOfsted 55Local authority 15Members of the public 14DfE 12Other 4See Figure 1.Data for Figure 2: Most recent status of settings issued with a warningnotice, as at 31 March 2025Setting status % of settings issued a warningnoticeChanged service to comply with the currentlegislation64Setting closed 20Registered as a school 8Under investigation 7No further action 2See Figure 2.1. Section 463 of the Education Act 1996 defines an independent school as aschool that: is not maintained by a local authority; is not a non-maintainedspecial school; provides full-time education for either 5 or more pupils ofcompulsory school age, or at least 1 pupil of compulsory school age who hasan education, health and care plan or is looked after by a local authority (withinthe meaning of section 22 of the Children Act 1989). ↩2. If you wish to tell us about a possible unregistered school, please see theReport an unregistered school guidance. ↩3. A number of referrals were received from January 2012 onwards, beforeOfsted set up its unregistered schools team in January 2016.Refers to referrals that have led to an investigation by the unregistered schoolsteam. ↩4. A single setting may refer to a provider operating across multiple locations orpremises. ↩5. For more detail about what happens during an unregistered school inspection,see the following interview with Victor Shafiee and Sue Will, members ofOfsted’s unregistered schools team: ‘What we see are wasted lives’ – meet theOfsted illegal schools team. ↩6. Most health and safety concerns and safeguarding concerns relate to settingswe have inspected. However, a small number relate to settings we haveinvestigated but have not inspected. ↩7. As settings may have more than one inspection, or have inspections of multiplelocations, it is possible for a provider to be served with more than one warningnotice. ↩8. A person or organisation may also be convicted of more than one offence. Twoindividuals have been convicted twice between 1 January 2016 and 31 March2025. ↩9. For a summary of the bill and its progress through parliament, see Children’sWellbeing and Schools Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament. Forsupplementary evidence submitted by Ofsted on the bill, see Ofsted’sChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (3rd February 2025). ↩Back to topHelp us improve GOV.UKTo help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about yourvisit today. 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Insight from Ofsted’s investigations of unregistered schools : Published 24 June 2025

Unregistered independent schools and out-of-school settings : guidance for local authorities : Published 29 May 2025

Transparency dataIndependent schoolapplications, materialchanges and closuresPublished 30 October 2025Applies to England  MenuHome Education, training and skills Inspections and performance of education providersInspection and performance of schools Inspection of independent schoolsIndependent schools: applications, changes and closuresDepartment for EducationPrint this pagePre-registration applicationsapprovedTo open an independent school in England, applicants mustcomplete a registration process with the Department forEducation (DfE).Applicants must demonstrate they are likely to meet theIndependent School Standards once registered.This table shows the number of independent schools registeredby DfE between the years 2020 and 2024.Change to chart viewYear Number of independent schools registered2024 1052023 922022 792021 992020 82Material change applicationsapprovedBefore making any substantial changes to their registereddetails, independent schools must submit a material changerequest to DfE and obtain prior approval from, the Secretary ofState for Education. This requirement applies to any significantalteration, including changes in:ContentsPre-registrationapplications approvedMaterial changeapplications approvedIndependent schoolclosuresschool addressage range of pupilsthe maximum number of pupilsThis table shows the number of material change applicationsthat DfE approved between the years 2020 and 2024.Change to chart viewYear Number of material change applications approved2024 3092023 4662022 3512021 2802020 320Independent school closuresWhen an independent school decides to close voluntarily, itmust notify DfE, so that its details can be removed from theRegister of Independent Schools.This table shows the number of independent schools that DfEremoved from the Register of Independent Schools betweenthe years 2020 and 2024 as a result of voluntary closure andregulatory and enforcement action.Change to chart viewYear Number of independent schools closed2024 582023 852022 632021 662020 63Services and informationBenefitsBirths, death, marriages and careBusiness and self-employedGovernmentactivityDepartmentsNewsGuidance and regulationBack to topIs this page useful?YesNoReport a problem with this pageChildcare and parentingCitizenship and living in the UKCrime, justice and the lawDisabled peopleDriving and transportEducation and learningEmploying peopleEnvironment and countrysideHousing and local servicesMoney and taxPassports, travel and living abroadVisas and immigrationWorking, jobs and pensionsResearch and statisticsPolicy papers andconsultationsTransparencyHow government worksGet involvedHelp  Privacy  Cookies  Accessibility statement  Contact  Terms and conditionsRhestr o Wasanaethau Cymraeg  Government Digital ServiceAll content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except whereotherwise stated© Crown copyright

Independent school applications, material changes and closures : Published 30 October 2025

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Making significant changes (‘prescribed alterations’) to maintained schools : Statutory guidance for proposers and decision makers : March 2025