Membership Benefits - Council of British International Schools

COBIS membership opens up a wealth of benefits for your whole school community.

From CPD and professional development to student competitions and world-leading quality assurance, see how working with us can take your school to the next level.

Hear from other schools on what they value the most about their COBIS membership

Hear more about our membership benefits from Natalie Williams, COBIS Membership & Engagement Officer.

Become a member

Take a look at our Member Benefits in more detail

Services

COBIS membership enables your whole school community to access services which benefit British international schools of global quality.

World-Leading Quality Assurance

COBIS membership enables your school to access quality assurance which will take your school to the next level. Choose our Patron’s Accreditation and Compliance schemes in order to benefit from peer-to-peer support and a wealth of school improvement advice.

Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment

COBIS is committed to safeguarding children in all educational settings; this is central to the COBIS Standards. Click here for more information about your school can access vital safeguarding services to ensure the highest levels of child protection in your school.

Recruitment

We know recruiting quality staff is a top priority for our schools and our recruitment pages are among the most visited on our website. If you are advertising a vacancy in your school at any level, posting it on our Global Jobs page will ensure it is seen by colleagues working in British education worldwide.

Representation

COBIS represents member schools on the global stage to ensure the issues facing British international schools worldwide are at the forefront of the education debate. We work with key partners including the Department for Education, the Department for International Trade and in-country ministries to take the questions you ask and find answers to move your school forward.

Research

COBIS is committed to furthering knowledge about the British international school landscape through quality research. Our member schools are invited to participate in these research projects for the benefit of the whole school community. Visit this page for more information.

Voting Rights and AGM

All COBIS schools are invited to vote at our AGM in order to shape the make up of the COBIS Board. All members are encouraged to consider standing for election so they can contribute to the important work COBIS does every day.

Events & Training

COBIS provides all members of the school community with access to world leading CPD and professional development while the students in our schools can access fantastic competitions and events.

Reduced Rates for Conferences and Training

COBIS offers a programme of conferences and training, both face to face and online, for all members of the school workforce, with reduced rates available tor member schools. Visit our Professional Learning section for more details.

Student Competitions and Events

We are proud to offer a wide range of student competitions and events for our global community of students. These enable students to compete on the global stage and to forge friendships across the globe. With both residential and online competitions and events on offer, visit our Forthcoming Events & Activities page to see how your students can get involved.

Webinars

Webinars are an excellent way for your staff to access valuable CPD and professional development, no matter where you are located in the world. Our webinar programme is diverse and regular so you are kept up to date with information of interest. We invite all members to consider hosting a COBIS webinar in order to share your valuable expertise with our network.

Promotion

Member schools are encouraged to promote their status with COBIS through the use of our logo and the dedicated school member page on our website.

COBIS Logo

Your school is invited to use the relevant COBIS logo on your website, email signatures and marketing materials to promote your membership with COBIS. Your COBIS membership shows that your school is committed to rigorous quality assurance and investing in your staff, students and school community. We encourage you to promote this message widely through your school and beyond.

School Profile on Website

All member schools are listed in our School Directory. We encourage you to link to your profile page from your school website in order to promote your links with our association and our global family of schools.

Communications

As a global association, we are committed to ensuring our members can communicate easily and effectively in order to learn from colleagues and companies within our network.

ConnectED

Online networking is an ideal way for members to interact when they are based all around the world. Our ConnectED sessions enable schools to discuss important issues on a regional level so they can benefit from the wealth of knowledge in our network.

Newsletters

COBIS produces several newsletters for members and non-members. Our monthly newsletter is COBIS Connect, COBIS Headlines is our weekly update of educational news and we also send colleagues subject specific newsletters around Safeguarding, CPD, Student Engagement and Events and Supporting Associate activity based on their preferences. Click here to sign up if you're not a COBIS member.

Blogs

Blogs are a popular source of content on our website. An effective way to present case studies or text-based content, we invite you to read the blogs posted by fellow members and Supporting Associates and consider sharing your expertise in a blog.

Social Media

COBIS is active across many social media platforms and we find this an effective way to promote our schools and Supporting Associates. We can share your school activities via our social media channels and we invite you and your school community to interact and engage with us through our social media channels.

view our benefits (pdf)