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The Standards for British Schools Overseas are changing
The BSO (British Schools Overseas) scheme was implemented in 2010 to give parents and other stakeholders an assurance that a school had been inspected by the UK government’s Department for Education (DfE), and that it had been judged to have met an acceptable standard. There are more than 140 BSO accredited schools around the world. In order to display the BSO logo, the school had to have had a successful BSO inspection within the last three years.
After a period of consultation the Department for Education (DfE) are implementing new Departmental Advice for British Schools Overseas from 1st September 2017.
What are the standards for British Schools Overseas?
According to advice from the DfE, “overseas schools describing themselves as ‘British’ are subject to recognition by the British government under the voluntary inspection scheme. The Department for Education (DfE) has put in place arrangements for inspection against a common set of standards that British Schools Overseas can choose to adopt.”
“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 and 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.”
From September 2017 the standards will change.
The Department for Education wanted to bring the standards for inspection of overseas schools in line with the standards for independent schools in England and so ran a consultation from November 2015 to February 2016 and the response is posted on the DfE website.
What do the Standards cover?
The standards are far reaching and cover the 9 key areas below:
- Quality of Education provided
- Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils
- Welfare, health and safety of pupils
- Suitability of staff, supply staff and proprietors
- Premises of and accommodation at schools
- Provision of information
- Manner in which complaints are handled
- Quality of leadership in and management of schools
- Minimum standards for boarding
Equality Act 2010
The key difference is the inclusion of reference to the UK Equality Act 2010. This, in particular, has focused attention on how schools can manage the disparity with UK law and local regulations, it is the governance within this act that puts schools in a difficult position as promoting same sex marriages would be at best culturally unacceptable, and at worst, illegal.
The consultation looks into this difficulty in more detail: “Whilst it is expected and hoped that all schools will encourage and develop respect for a wide range of life choices and situations, including those listed in the Equality Act, in certain countries it would be impossible to be as specific in teaching and learning activities as the regulations appear to demand. Promoting respect for gay, lesbian and bisexual people, where the practice of homosexuality is illegal in certain countries, would have a “dramatic effect” in that Head teachers in British international schools in certain jurisdictions overseas would face imprisonment.”
Global versus local
The standards are clear that “where there is a conflict, the requirement of the host country take precedence and advises that any departures from the standards due to host country requirements are notified to inspectors and included within inspection reports.”
Schools are not expected to implement anything that contravenes local laws.
And whilst it is generally felt that British rules are more stringent when it comes to matters such as Health and Safety, there are some areas that are not covered by UK standards which are vital for many international schools, such as regulations relating to the prevention of mosquito breeding or regulations relating to workers when the temperature exceeds a certain point.
Response by the Council of British International Schools (COBIS)
EduCare and COBIS work together to ensure International schools can access a range of courses that meet COBIS’ requirements for Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
COBIS Chairman Trevor Rowell responded to the publication of the DFE's revised standards for BSOs in a statement on the COBIS website. He commented that:
“In a well-intentioned wish to reflect English standards, the opportunity to acknowledge international value of British schools overseas and the importance of education for international understanding seems to have been lost. The standards for leadership and governance also remain unambitious, and concerns about the consistency or quality of some inspections (and Ofsted monitoring, apparently in abeyance for over three years) have not yet been addressed.
“For some schools, these very English standards will still be a preferred choice - and in some countries will still be acceptable. In others, they will not. COBIS will respect this choice.”
He went on to say that “In these circumstances, the standards published by COBIS for the COBIS Patron´s Accreditation are even more important for BSOs in providing a high-quality alternative that reflects the best current professional practice in British international education and which also supports school improvement.
COBIS and EduCare
COBIS require all member schools to have completed two essential Safeguarding training courses. Safer Recruitment for International Schools and Child Protection for International Schools which have been produced by EduCare in conjunction with the Professional Development Team at COBIS.
The two courses are included within EduCare for Education: International, EduCare's online learning service which has been designed specifically to reflect the unique needs of an international audience. The service combines over 20 high quality courses with a robust reporting suite that will evidence learning to inspectors.
COBIS member schools are entitled to a 10% discount off EduCare for Education: International, EduCare also work with other international school membership organisations including BSME, AISA, FOBISIA and AAIE.
If you would like to know more about EduCare for Education: International, please get in touch today.
