Peace, Sarah

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     Responsible Statistician: Sarah Peace, Sarah.Pearce@ofsted.gov.uk Published on: 1 December 2015. Next publication: June 2016 1  Official statistics    Non-association independent schools’ inspection outcomes have declined    At the end of August 2015, 75% of schools inspected by Ofsted were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection. This is two percentage points lower than the proportion judged good or outstanding as at 31 August 2014.  Figure 1: Most recent overall effectiveness of non-association independent schools  1.  Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.  The number judged inadequate has almost doubled   At the end of August 2015, 70 schools (7%) were judged to be inadequate at their most recent inspection. This is almost double the number reported in the previous year, 43 (4%).   Yorkshire and Humber has the highest proportion of good and outstanding schools. West Midlands has the lowest  Yorkshire and Humber has 84% of schools judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection. The West Midlands has the lowest proportion of schools judged good or outstanding at 69%. Non-association independent schools inspection outcomes  This release contains:  final data for inspections conducted between 1 September 2014 and 31 August 2015   final data for the most recent inspection outcomes as at 31 August 2015       Responsible Statistician: Sarah Peace, Sarah.Pearce@ofsted.gov.uk Published on: 1 December 2015. Next publication: June 2016 2  Official statistics Key findings   As at 31 August 2015 there were 1,051 open non-association independent schools; 995 of which had been subject to a standard inspection.1 Of the 994 schools with an overall effectiveness judgement, 75% were judged good or outstanding, 18% required improvement and 7% were judged inadequate at their most recent inspection.2 The proportion judged good or outstanding is two percentage points lower than as at 31 August 2014. This is the first year there has been a decline in inspection outcomes since 2011.   At the end of August 2015, 70 schools (7%) were judged to be inadequate at their most recent inspection. This is almost double the number reported in the previous year, which was 43 (4%). This reflects higher expectations demanded by the new independent school standards, introduced by the Department for Education in September 2014 and supplemented in January 2015.  Figure 2 on the next page shows that London has the highest proportion of schools judged to be outstanding (18%), but also has the highest proportion judged to be inadequate (11%). Yorkshire and Humber has the highest proportion of schools judged to be good or outstanding with 81%, despite having the lowest percentage judged to be outstanding (3%).                                                         1 Not all open schools have received a standard inspection. Once registered, new schools receive their first standard inspection in their first year of operation, at the request of the Department for Education (DfE).  2 Where there are no pupils on roll at the time of the inspection, it is not always possible for the inspector to gather sufficient evidence to make secure judgements. The purpose of an inspection where there are no pupils on roll, is for Ofsted to report to the DfE on the school’s compliance with the independent school standards required for continued registration. Inspectors will comment on the extent to which the school is ready to educate and safeguard pupils.      Responsible Statistician: Sarah Peace, Sarah.Pearce@ofsted.gov.uk Published on: 1 December 2015. Next publication: June 2016 3  Official statistics  Figure 2: most recent overall effectiveness of non-association independent schools as at 31 August 2015, by region  1. Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.   Between 1 September 2014 and 31 August 2015, Ofsted carried out 280 standard inspections. A new judgement on early years provision was introduced in September 2014 and outcomes for this new judgement were the least positive, with just over a quarter of the 66 schools for which an early years judgement was made, judged as inadequate.   Ofsted also reports on the extent to which schools meet the independent school standards. The percentage of schools meeting all requirements in 2014/15 has decreased to 74%, from 79% in 2013/14. This is the first year there has been a decline in the proportion of schools meeting all standards since 2009.                  Responsible Statistician: Sarah Peace, Sarah.Pearce@ofsted.gov.uk Published on: 1 December 2015. Next publication: June 2016 4  Official statistics  Figure 3: percentage of non-association independent schools not compliant with independent school standards, inspected in each year since 1 September 2009   1. Percentages are rounded and may not add to 100.   During 2014/15, 72 progress monitoring inspections of schools previously judged not to comply with the independent school standards were conducted. Of these, 29 schools improved to meet the independent school standards, while the remaining 43 were judged as continuing not to meet all of the standards.       Responsible Statistician: Sarah Peace, Sarah.Pearce@ofsted.gov.uk Published on: 1 December 2015. Next publication: June 2016 5  Official statistics Background information  Independent school standards regulations Section 94 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 specifies that the Secretary of State must set out in regulations the standards that independent schools must meet. The standards must be about: quality of education; spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils; welfare, health and safety of pupils; suitability of staff and proprietors; premises and accommodation at the school; provision of information; the manner in which complaints are to be handled; and the quality of leadership and management.   The standards are set out in The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, which specify the provision a school must make.3 Schools must meet these standards in order to register, and to continue to be registered, as independent schools.  Independent schools Independent schools are defined by section 463 of the Education Act 1996, as amended. They provide full-time education for:  five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or  at least one pupil of that age for whom a statement is maintained under section 324, or who is looked after by a local authority (within the meaning of section 22 of the Children Act 1989). It is immaterial if full-time education is also provided at the school for pupils under or over compulsory school age.4  The DfE’s policy position with respect to full time education is contained within Part A of the departmental advice ‘Registration of independent schools’.5  There are nearly 2,400 independent schools in England. Ofsted only inspects the educational provision in independent schools which are not members of independent schools associations (referred to as non-association schools). Schools which are members of independent schools associations are inspected by inspectorates approved by the Secretary of State for this purpose: the Independent Schools Inspectorate and the School Inspection Service. All inspections are carried out at the request of the Secretary of State, which is the registration authority for all independent schools.                                           3 The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 came into effect on 5 January 2015. 4 This definition of ‘independent school’ forms part of the definition of ‘an independent educational institution’ for the purpose of the 2008 Act. 5 www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-school-registration.       Responsible Statistician: Sarah Peace, Sarah.Pearce@ofsted.gov.uk Published on: 1 December 2015. Next publication: June 2016 6  Official statistics Inspection types Emergency inspections  Emergency inspections of independent schools are conducted under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. They are carried out at the request of the Secretary of State for a variety of reasons, for example as a result of a complaint or concern made to the DfE. The issue that triggered the inspection will be used as the main line of enquiry for the inspection, and Ofsted will report to the DfE whether the school meets the independent school standards relevant to the issue. Emergency inspections are conducted at no notice and reports of these inspections are only published at the request of the Secretary of State. Standard inspections  Standard inspections of independent schools are conducted under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. Ofsted will report to the DfE on the extent to which the school complies with the independent school standards, and will also make evaluative judgements about the quality of the school under Ofsted’s common inspection framework.6 Ofsted will normally contact the school by telephone to announce the inspection around lunchtime on the day before the inspection is due to start. Integrated inspections When the inspection of educational provision in non-association independent boarding or residential special schools is due at the same time as the welfare inspection, they are combined into an integrated inspection of the whole school. Inspections of welfare provision are carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 having regard to the national minimum standards for boarding schools or residential special schools, as appropriate. Material change inspections  Ofsted carries out material change inspections of registered independent schools at the request of the Secretary of State, out of the normal inspection cycle, when the school wishes to make a material change to their premises, intake or age range, or to the provision they make for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. These inspections are conducted under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008.  Inspectors will consider the implications of the material change and report to the Secretary of State whether the school is likely to meet the relevant independent school standards, if the material change is implemented. The school cannot implement the proposed change until the Secretary of State grants permission.                                         6 The common inspection framework: education, skills and early years, Ofsted, 2015; www.gov.uk/government/publications/common-inspection-framework-education-skills-and-early-years-from-september-2015.       Responsible Statistician: Sarah Peace, Sarah.Pearce@ofsted.gov.uk Published on: 1 December 2015. Next publication: June 2016 7  Official statistics  Pre-registration inspections The Secretary of State is the registration authority for independent schools in England, and maintains a register of independent schools.  When a proprietor has made an application for registration of an independent school the Secretary of State will commission HMCI to inspect the school. The purpose of the inspection is to report to the registration authority on the extent to which the independent school standards are likely to be met if the school were to be registered. Such inspections are conducted under section 99 of the Education and Skills Act 2008.  When a proprietor makes an application for a new boarding or residential special school, an integrated pre-registration inspection is made by both an education and a social care inspector. Progress monitoring inspections Ofsted conducts progress monitoring inspections at the request of the Secretary of State to check the progress made by independent schools to address weaknesses identified at their last inspection. These inspections are conducted under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008.  The Secretary of State issues schools identified as having weaknesses with a notice. Schools must submit an action plan to the Secretary of State setting out the steps they will take to address their weaknesses and meet the relevant independent school standards and/or national minimum standards. Action plans must specify the timescale within which the steps will be taken.  In progress monitoring inspections, inspectors assess and report on the amount of progress schools have made with implementing their action plan. They will check whether the previously unmet independent school standards or national minimum standards are now met.  If you have any comments or feedback on this publication, please contact Sarah Pearce on 03000 130 632 or Sarah.Pearce@Ofsted.gov.uk  Acknowledgements Thanks to the following for their contribution to this statistical release: Sallieann Harrison and Paul Grainger.  © Crown copyright You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London, TW9 4DU or e-mail: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk 

Non-association independent schools inspection outcomes

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