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UK Private schools

Private schools (also known as ‘independent schools’) charge fees to attend instead of being funded by the government. Pupils don’t have to follow the national curriculum.

All private schools must be registered with the government and are inspected regularly.

Reports on Private Schools

All school reports are published online by the organisation responsible for inspecting them. Find out from the school which organisation inspects them.

Half of all independent schools are inspected by Ofsted.

The Independent Schools Inspectorate inspects schools that are members of the Independent Schools Council.

The Bridge Schools Inspectorate inspects schools that are members of the Christian Schools’ Trust or the Association of Muslim Schools.

Some other schools are inspected by the School Inspection Service.

UK State Schools

All children in England between the ages of 5 and 16 are entitled to a free place at a state school.

Most state schools have to follow the national curriculum. The most common ones are:

• Community schools, controlled by the local council and not influenced by business or religious groups
• Foundation schools, with more freedom to change the way they do things than community schools
• Academies, run by a governing body, independent from the local council - they can follow a different curriculum
• Grammar schools, run by the council, a foundation body or a trust - they select all or most of their pupils based on academic ability and there is often an exam to get in

Special schools

Special schools with pupils aged 11 and older can specialise in 1 of the 4 areas of special educational needs:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning

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