Overseas schools describing themselves as “British” are subject to recognition by the British government under the voluntary inspection scheme. The DfE has put in place arrangements for inspection against a common set of standards that British Schools Overseas can choose to adopt. The intention is to inform parents of pupils in British Schools Overseas how standards measure up against the standards that apply to independent schools in England.
Inspectorates approved by the DfE and monitored by Ofsted are available to inspect British schools overseas and produce inspection reports which are made available to parents and prospective parents. These reports will inform parents and prospective parents about the quality of provision within the inspected school, and its compatibility with independent schools in England. An essential element of the inspection is considering the extent to which the British character of the school is evident in its ethos, curriculum, teaching, care for pupils and pupils’ achievements. By achieving UK inspection based approval, participating schools will be able to demonstrate that they provide a British education that has similar characteristics to an education in an independent school in England.
Within the BSO Standard it is recognised that:
• Schools in different countries may have to produce and implement policies, or take action, in accordance with local regulations. It is not the purpose of these standards to ensure compliance with local regulation. However, the expectation is that the standards implemented by schools will ensure policies and procedures of a quality at least as high as those required in independent schools in England.
• Schools must provide evidence to their inspectorate body that each standard has been met, and confirm to the inspectorate that to the best of their knowledge and belief, the school complies with all local regulatory requirements, and that there is no information available to them that indicate that the school would have to close in the foreseeable future. Where there is a conflict between these standards and local requirements, the requirements of the host country take precedence. Any departures from the standards due to host country requirements should be notified to inspectors so that they can be noted in inspection reports.
• Where the standards require a school to make available information or a document the requirement is satisfied by placing a copy on the school’s website (if a website exists), or placing a copy in the school for examination and informing parents of the availability of the information or document, or supplying an electronic (email) or paper copy to parents on request.