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Main findings
Introduction
Independent schools inspected by Ofsted
Independent schools inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate

Introduction

412 Around 2,200 independent schools in England cater for about 7% of the school population. Over half of the schools are in associations affiliated to the Independent Schools Council (ISC). The remainder (‘non-ISC schools’) are diverse in size and character, and include tutorial colleges, special schools and schools that are rooted in a distinctive ethos, culture or faith. In recent years there has been a major increase in the number of schools with a distinctive religious character, particularly Muslim schools.

413 Tutorial colleges specialise in post-16 education but are classified as schools if they have five or more pupils of compulsory school age. About one in eight independent schools has nursery provision and receives public funding. They cater for over 3,000 3 and 4 year olds. About a quarter of independent schools also cater for children under 3 years. A substantial number of independent primary schools have more nursery-aged children than pupils of compulsory school age.

414 Independent schools must comply with the standards required for registration by the DfES, but different arrangements exist for the regulation and inspection of them. Schools belonging to member associations of ISC are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), whose work is monitored by Ofsted.

415 HMI inspect non-ISC schools, including independent special schools. Most of Ofsted’s work in these schools has related to registration.

416 The attainment of 16-year-old pupils in GCSE examinations in all independent schools fell slightly in 2003: 82.1% achieved five A*–C grades.91 The proportion of 16 year olds who achieved no passes at GCSE/GNVQ rose slightly to 6.9%. The attainment of 16–18 year olds in GCE/VCE A/AS rose slightly from an average of 94.7 points per entry in 2002 to 95.7 points in 2003.92

Independent schools inspected by Ofsted

417 In 2002/03, HMI made registration visits to 301 non-ISC schools of which 109 were provisionally registered. Particular attention was given to these schools because of the new arrangements for registration and inspection of independent schools from September 2003 established by the Education Act 2002. The sample of schools inspected, therefore, was not typical of the non-ISC sector as a whole.

418 A high proportion of the provisionally registered schools have a distinctive religious character. Many are comparatively new, but other schools remain provisionally registered despite two or more inspections by HMI. By the end of the year, a large number of schools, 75 in all, representing about three quarters of the provisionally registered schools visited, had not met the standards to become fully registered.

419 Pupils make generally good progress in lessons although it is not as good in Key Stage 3 as in other key stages; a similar pattern is seen in the quality of teaching, which is also not as good in Key Stage 3 as in other stages. In sixth forms, achievement is high. Most students in tutorial colleges make at least satisfactory progress. Pupils’ progress in nursery settings is very rarely less than satisfactory.

420 Teaching was satisfactory or better in well over nine out of ten schools inspected and good in over two fifths.93 It was unsatisfactory in nine schools; all but one of these were provisionally registered. A shortage of expertise and experience of teaching pupils of lower secondary age, together with restricted funding for staff and resources, often had a detrimental effect.

421 Teaching was good or better in more than half of lessons in all year groups except in Key Stage 3 where it fell to around two fifths. Teaching of a high standard was seen in sixth form lessons. The strengths of teaching lie in a good subject knowledge, understanding of the examination requirements and very good relationships with pupils. Teachers’ understanding of how to talk with and involve foreign students in their work has improved, but it remains an area where some schools and colleges should focus staff development.

422 The curriculum in most schools is suitable for the needs and aptitudes of pupils and it is good in a fifth of schools. In almost a fifth of schools, mainly those that have a distinctive religious character, it is too narrow and insufficient attention is given to the secular curriculum. In four schools, the narrowness of the curriculum was a major weakness that was detrimental to pupils’ academic progress. A very narrow curriculum often contributed to a school not meeting the standards for registration. Just four theatre schools were inspected this year;each had a suitably broad curriculum.

423 Most of the 15 tutorial colleges inspected offer a good range of courses appropriate for the students, but the provision for personal, moral, social and health education remains weak in most, and not all provide physical education as they should. In the colleges inspected that include pupils in Key Stage 3, the quality of provision is satisfactory, but the social and educational context is not ideal for these pupils. They can be isolated from young people of their own age and do not experience the breadth of curriculum that they should.

424 In most of the schools inspected, the provision for extra-curricular activities is at least satisfactory, but it is poor in one school in ten. Twenty-one boarding schools were inspected. With just a few exceptions, they provide a rich and interesting range of activities; this is an area of strength in most of these schools. By contrast, extra-curricular provision is weak in most of the tutorial colleges inspected.

425 The assessment of pupils’ work is satisfactory or better in three quarters of schools and good in a fifth. It is unsatisfactory in a quarter of schools and rises to over a third in provisionally registered schools. In schools where assessment is good, effective programmes of assessment and guidance are supported by good monitoring systems and records of pupils’ progress. A few tutorial colleges do not assess students’ attainment on entry well enough, and staff have a very limited understanding of their special educational needs.

426 In two fifths of the schools inspected, management is good or better, and satisfactory in almost another half. However, it is unsatisfactory in one school in seven overall, rising to a quarter of provisionally registered schools. The quality of management in the tutorial colleges inspected this year is better than in those inspected last year.

427 In the Steiner/Waldorf schools inspected, the collegiate approach in which staff work together as a group, rather than having a headteacher, has some benefits. For example, it encourages staff involvement in decision-making and management relating to whole-school issues. However, it is sometimes difficult to identify who has responsibility for particular matters such as child protection or health and safety.

428 Most schools have enough suitable staff, but a minority experience considerable turnover of staff and most of these schools use large numbers of part-time teachers. The proportion of schools that have failed to make the regulatory checks on staff has fallen markedly, but 18 schools had still not carried out these checks; these schools do not have full registration.

429 All the tutorial colleges inspected have well-qualified staff who are experts in the subjects that they teach. In a minority of colleges inspected, teachers who specialise in teaching English as an additional language were not deployed effectively enough, for example, to support whole staff training or other teachers in lessons.

430 Most schools have suitable resources for learning but the quality varies; resources are unsatisfactory in about a fifth of schools. Most schools and colleges have improved their facilities for ICT in response to a demand for courses, but in about a fifth of schools, not enough use is made of ICT in teaching across the curriculum. Facilities tend to be used mainly to support specific ICT courses.

431 In about one in eight schools, the accommodation is unsatisfactory. This is a slightly better position than in the schools inspected last year, but the poorest features still relate to the size of classrooms, the quality of accommodation, inadequate library provision, a lack of social space for pupils, and toilet provision that does not meet guidelines set by the DfES. Classrooms for specialist teaching are sometimes cramped. In science, there are occasionally features that present health and safety hazards.

432 In most of the 24 schools with boarding provision that were inspected, boarding accommodation was satisfactory, although in three, all provisionally registered at the time of inspection, it was inadequate. Provision for the welfare of boarding pupils is improving, but it was unsatisfactory in a quarter of the schools inspected. Several schools do not have adequate complaints procedures or effective child protection policies and procedures. In the tutorial colleges inspected that involve boarding, provision for students’ welfare was mixed; in two colleges it was good, in three it was satisfactory and in one it was unsatisfactory.

433 A quarter of the schools inspected this year did not fully meet statutory requirements in relation to admission and attendance registers or regulations relating to welfare or health and safety.

Independent schools inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate

434 HMI monitor and assess the quality of inspections carried out by the ISI. 94 The quality of these inspections continues to be mainly good, but the coverage of boarding provision in inspections has been uneven. Currently, parents have no guarantee of access through reports to comprehensive findings on the quality of boarding provision in schools and its contribution to pupils’ education.

435 In part of the year, the ISI had some difficulties in putting together teams for inspections. This led to inconvenience for schools, but it did not affect the quality of inspections. Thirty-five reports published by the ISI have been reviewed by HMI. All but one was at least satisfactory, and just fewer than half were good. Compared with last year, the proportion of reports that are unsatisfactory has declined, but so has the number of good-quality reports.

Findings reported in ISI inspections

436 The ISI inspected 195 schools, all members of associations affiliated to the ISC. Achievement is high, the quality of teaching is mostly good in senior and preparatory schools, and learning and behaviour and also good. Pupils with special educational needs are catered for at least satisfactorily in all but a very few schools. The ethos and good pastoral care for pupils are strengths in almost all schools.

437 The curriculum is usually suitably broad and balanced, although in a few schools the curriculum could be broader to match the needs of pupils better. The curriculum is enriched by good extra-curricular provision in most schools. ICT is an area of strength in a few schools, but, in some, there is a shortage of staff with expertise in ICT. In many schools. ICT is not always used sufficiently across the curriculum.

438 Facilities such as libraries and resource centres are satisfactory in most schools; in some they are significant strengths, but in a minority they are weaknesses. They are not always used to their full potential in supporting learning.

439 Leadership and management are strong in just under half the schools inspected and the monitoring of teaching and learning is carried out appropriately in most schools. The most common weakness in management is that procedures in subject areas do not always match with whole-school policies on assessment.

440 Teachers are nearly always well qualified and experienced, but staff development is not always linked to their needs as identified through appraisal arrangements or in school development plans.

441 In 30 of the schools inspected, about one in seven, statutory requirements were not fully met. These related mainly to admissions or attendance registers and, in a smaller proportion of cases, checks on staff.

91 Statistical first release, 29/2003, DfES, 2003.
92 At GCE A level, points are assigned to grades as follows: A=120, B=100, C=80, D=60, E=40; for AVCE courses, the points scores are double while for GCE AS level they are half those of A level.
93 In independent schools ‘satisfactory’ has a distinctive interpretation in defining a baseline for teaching to meet the requirements of the Education Act 1996.
94  By agreement between the DfES and the ISC, the ISI inspects schools that are in associations affiliated to the ISC.