Research and analysis

Annual report on inspection work by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in 2022/23

Updated 29 November 2024

Applies to England

Letter to the Rt Hon. Gillian Keegan MP

The Rt Hon. Gillian Keegan MP
Secretary of State for Education
Department for Education
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT

Annual report on inspection work by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in 2022/23

Under section 107(1) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, I have a duty to prepare and send to you an annual report on the work of the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI).

In accordance with the directions made by your predecessor in November 2019, Ofsted will only report on the number of inspections carried out by the ISI in 2022/23 and on the collaborative work between Ofsted and the ISI over the same period. This is because, during 2022/23, the Department for Education did not commission Ofsted to carry out any monitoring of the ISI.

Yours sincerely

Amanda Spielman
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector

Letter to Vanessa Ward, Chief Inspector

Vanessa Ward
Chief Inspector
Independent Schools Inspectorate
Cap House
9─12 Long Lane
London
EC1A 9HA

Annual report on inspection work by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in 2022/23

Please find enclosed a copy of the 2022/23 annual report for the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), which I have today sent to the Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon. Gillian Keegan MP. The annual report will also be published on Ofsted’s website.

Thank you for the collaborative work that you and your colleagues have been involved with over the last year and for the information you provided to Ofsted regarding the number of inspections that the ISI completed during 2022/23.

Finally, I wanted to thank you for your cooperation over the last two years and wish you the best in your future work.

Yours sincerely

Amanda Spielman
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector

Annual report on inspection work by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in the academic year 2022/23

Introduction

The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved by the Secretary of State for Education to inspect registered independent schools belonging to the associations that make up the Independent Schools Council (ISC). This includes its registered early years provision and boarding provision. The ISI is approved to inspect registered early years provision in schools that belong to one of the associations that make up the ISC.

Under section 107(1) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) has a duty to prepare and send a report to the Secretary of State about the inspectorates for independent schools, at intervals of no more than a year. Under section 107(2), HMCI must have regard to matters that the Secretary of State may direct about the form and contents of the report.

Under the directions set out by the then Secretary of State to HMCI on 4 November 2019, Ofsted normally only reports on the number of inspections carried out by the ISI and on the extent of the collaborative work carried out. As in previous years, the Department for Education (DfE) did not commission any other monitoring activity by Ofsted in 2022/23.

When inspecting registered early years provision, ISI inspectors use Ofsted’s education inspection framework (EIF) to determine the quality of the early years foundation stage (EYFS), as set out in the ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’.^{[footnote 1]} This ensures uniformity of inspection for all registered early years providers and provides assurance to the Secretary of State, parents and child carers that consistent judgements are made across all registered early years provision nationally. Beyond this, the ISI inspects the EYFS in the schools that fall within its remit according to its own agreed framework.

The ISI’s inspection activity for 2022/23

The academic year September 2022 to July 2023 marked the final year of the ISI’s current inspection framework. Between September 2022 and July 2023, the ISI carried out 656 inspections. These comprised 331 educational quality inspections and 132 regulatory compliance inspections. Other types of inspection, including additional (44), material change (78) and progress monitoring inspections (71),^{[footnote 2]} account for the remaining 193 inspections. The ISI also carried out 23 inspections for British schools overseas and 29 educational oversight inspections of private further education colleges.

In May 2022, the ISI launched a consultation on its new inspection framework. Following this, the ISI carried out a 4-phase pilot inspection programme to test and explore its new inspection methodology across volunteer schools. The ISI’s new inspection framework commenced in September 2023.

Ofsted’s collaborative work with the ISI in 2022/23

Over the academic year, Ofsted and the ISI worked together in the following ways:

• We continued our programme of joint inspection shadowing, with a focus on inspecting safeguarding in independent schools. Through shadowing, we looked at how each inspectorate creates opportunities for gathering the views of pupils on inspection. This helped us to identify any potential barriers to gathering pupils’ views, particularly when using inspection surveys.
• We worked together to align the inspection of registered early years settings. We developed and delivered training for those inspecting Ofsted-registered early years settings in the independent schools. Ofsted developed a shadow programme for ISI inspectors on inspections of these settings to further align our practice.
• We worked together to produce the published guidance, ‘Regulating and inspecting association independent schools with an early years registration’.^{[footnote 3]} This guidance informs the settings and schools we inspect about how the inspectorates work together.
• We attended each other’s conferences and inspector training events, including the ISI’s reporting inspector conference, Ofsted’s early years conference and Ofsted’s independent schools training sessions.
• We continued to share safeguarding information about settings, where that information can inform the work of the other inspectorate.
• We continued to hold regular in-person and online keeping-in-touch meetings, at senior leadership level, between the two inspectorates

1. ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’, Department for Education, July 2023. ↩

2. These inspections were carried out under the ISI’s previous inspections framework. The current inspection framework came into practice on 12 September 2023: ‘Framework for the inspection of association independent schools, including residential (boarding) schools and registered early years settings’, Independent Schools Inspectorate, April 2023. ↩

3. ‘Regulating and inspecting association independent schools with an early years registration’, Ofsted, May 2023. ↩