11 October 2008
The Council of British International Schools (COBIS) welcomes the Government's announcement regarding plans to implement a system to formally recognise British schools abroad that have been inspected by an inspection body that is quality assured by Ofsted.
One of the main priorities for COBIS over the past few years has been representing and promoting high-quality British International Schools in order to encourage the British Government to recognise the work of British schools outside the UK. Baroness Morgan, UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children, Young People, and Families, announced on October 11, 2008 that schools based abroad claiming to give children a British education will have to meet standards similar to independent schools operating in Britain, and undergo regular inspections. COBIS schools have been undergoing inspections by the UK Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) since 2000. ISI is monitored by Ofsted, and these inspections are equivalent to those carried out on independent schools in the UK. COBIS is pleased that the Government has recognised the need to ensure that all British schools abroad meet the same high standards. COBIS looks forward to contributing further to the ongoing UK Government consultation on accreditation of overseas British schools in order to ensure recognition for British schools of quality worldwide and promote British International Education.
COBIS is a member of the UK Independent Schools Council. The Independent Schools Council (ISC) in the UK issued the following response:
The Independent Schools Council (ISC) welcomes the Government's intention to introduce an inspection and certification scheme for international schools overseas that want to be known as British. The high reputation in other countries of British education, and in particular that offered by the independent sector, is a matter of pride, and represents a major asset for the UK economy and for our standing in the world. We are pleased that the Government recognises its value and is preparing to safeguard the UK's reputation by settings standards for "British" schools to meet.
ISC, in close consultation with The Council of British International Schools (COBIS), is ready to work with the Government on setting up this scheme. COBIS is a member organisation of ISC. It represents quality British schools abroad that have met rigorous standards. COBIS requires its members to undergo inspections by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. These are equivalent to those carried out on independent schools in the UK which are quality assured by DCSF. Depending on the outcome of the Government's consultations, ISC also looks forward to cooperating with the British Council on how they can build up and support the scheme after its launch.
For more information on ISC please visit www.isc.co.uk
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