British schools overseas: how to get accredited

Applying to become a BSO

BSO is DfE’s voluntary accreditation scheme for overseas schools.

Schools must demonstrate they meet the British schools overseas: standards for schools to get BSO accreditation. Approved inspectorates will use these standards when they inspect youra school.

These standards are comparable with:

• the independent school standards

• the national minimum standards for boarding schools

They show how BSOs align with the standards forused to regulate independent schools in England.

BecomeAccreditation accredited as a BSO

To becomeachieve a BSO, youaccreditation, a school will need to :to:

• arrange an inspection by an approved inspectorate
• show to the inspectorate that yourthe school meets the BSO standards
• have

Maintaining BSO accreditation is conditional on a school having an inspection every 3 yearsyears. This will be done by an approved inspectorate, to show that yourthe school continues to meet the the BSO standards  standards.

Arrange an inspection

DfE approves organisations to inspect overseas schools seeking BSO accreditation and produce inspection reports. The organisations are:

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

Ofsted monitors these inspectorates and reports on the quality of their inspections 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 no role in setting fees for overseasBSO inspectionsinspections. asThese these are set by the inspectorate.

What happens after an inspection

Inspection reports

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

DfE also publishes publishesthe most recent BSO inspection reportsreport. of all accredited BSO schools.

School reference number

If youra school meets the standards, it will be allocated a unique reference number on the national school reference system, getGet informationInformation about schoolsSchools.

Early career teachers (ECTs)

Schools without BSO accreditation cannot offer statutory induction to ECTs.

Inspections affectedThe byrequirements coronavirusare (COVID-19)

DfE hasexplained contacted schools where COVID-19 affected their inspection cycles. We have asked schools that have not been inspected in the laststatutory 3induction yearsfor whenearly theycareer areteachers planning to schedule their next inspection.guidance

Support for BSOs

TheseThe following organisations support BSOs in arranging and preparing for inspections:inspections. BSOs must be a member of one of these organisations as a requirement for providing statutory teacher induction to ECTs:

• 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)
• Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS)

Jurisdiction

DfE has no jurisdiction over schools operating outside England.

All YouBSOs should takehave upa complaints directlyprocedure in place, in compliance with BSO standard 7, which is outlined in the the British schools overseas: standards for schools. Complaints about a BSO should be made directly to the school.

Contact

YouAny canqueries sendshould anybe queriessent to BritishSchools.OVERSEAS@education.gov.uk.