British schools overseas: how to get accredited

Accreditation

Applying helpsto informbecome schoola staffBSO

BSO andis parentsDfE’s aboutvoluntary howaccreditation Britishscheme schoolsfor overseas (BSOs)schools.

Schools alignmust withmeet the British schools overseas: standards appliedfor schools to independentget schoolsBSO inaccreditation. England.Approved inspectorates will use these standards when they inspect your school.

OverseasThese schoolsstandards whichare havecomparable notwith:

• the beenindependent accreditedschool asstandards

• the BSOsnational cannotminimum offerstandards statutoryfor inductionboarding toschools

They earlyshow careerhow teachers (ECTsBSOs). Findalign outwith morethe aboutstandards aboutfor statutoryindependent induction.schools in England.

HowBecome toaccredited getas accrediteda BSO

To getbecome accredited,a BSO, you will need to:to :

• arrange an inspection by an approved inspectorate
• demonstrateshow to the inspectorate that your school meets the BSO standards
• have an inspection every 3 years to show that your school meetscontinues to meet the BSO standards

British schools overseas: standards for schools lists the standards that schools must meet to be accredited as a BSO. Approved inspectorates will use these standards when they inspect your school.

The standards are comparable with the independent school standards and the national minimum standards for boarding schools used in England.

Arrange an inspection

TheDfE approves following organisations are approved to inspect overseas schools and reportproduce on BSOs:inspection reports. The organisations are:

• Education Development Trust
• Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI)
• Penta International

DfE approves organisations to inspect overseas schools and produce inspection reports.

Ofsted monitors these inspectorates and reports on the quality of their inspections annually.yearly.

Schools in Dubai should request an inspection through the Knowledge and Human Development Authority of the Government of Dubai, which works in partnership with the Education Development Trust.

Inspection fees

DfE has has no role in setting fees for overseas inspections.inspections as these are set by the inspectorate.

Inspection reports

Inspectorates are required to publish the results of all inspections for the past 3 years on their websites.

DfE also also publishes BSO inspection inspection reports.

School reference number

If your school meets the standards, it will be allocated a unique reference number on the national school reference system, get information about schools.

Early career teachers (ECTs)

Schools without BSO accreditation cannot offer statutory induction to ECTs.

Inspections affected by coronavirus (COVID-19)

DfE has iscontacted contacting all schools whosewhere inspectionCOVID-19 cycleaffected wastheir impactedinspection bycycles. COVID-19. We willhave askasked schools whothat have not been inspected in the last 3 years when they are schedulingplanning to schedule their next inspection.

Send any queries to BritishSchools.OVERSEAS@education.gov.uk.

Support for for BSOs

TheThese following organisations provide help and support to BSOs in in arranging and preparing for inspections:

• Association of British Schools Overseas (AoBSO)
• British Schools in the Middle East (BSME)
• Council of British International Schools (COBIS)
• Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA)
• Latin American Heads Conference (LAHC)
• The National Association of British Schools in Spain (NABSS)

Jurisdiction

DfE has has no jurisdiction over schools operating outside England. ComplaintsYou about a school should betake taken up complaints directly with the school.

Contact

BackYou can send any queries to topBritishSchools.OVERSEAS@education.gov.uk.