The Education Secretary has pledged to continue to crack down on dangerous
illegal schools to make sure children are safe and not exposed to
risky practices or extreme influences.
Ofsted will be given an extra £400,000 to help investigate
unregistered independent schools and support the regulator in
bringing together evidence for prosecution. The Secretary of
State has also reiterated the Department for Education’s
commitment to bring forward new legislation to strengthen the
watchdog’s powers.
This latest funding injection will build on the £3million
invested since 2016 to fund a joint Department for Education and
Ofsted team that has seen 72 illegal settings stop operating
unlawfully and resulted in three prosecutions - leading to
convictions on all three cases.
Education Secretary said:
Unregistered schools present a serious risk to children. They
often do not offer the kind of balanced, informative curriculum
all schools should, and can expose pupils to dangerous and
extreme influences.
That’s why I am determined that anyone found to be running one
faces the full force of the law. This extra investment in
Ofsted will build on the £3 million we have already committed –
and send a very strong message to illegal schools which
continue to operate.
We remain committed to strengthening Ofsted’s powers to make
sure they can shut down illegal settings, and helping
legitimate settings to make sure they know the rules.
In 2016, the Department for Education established a joint team
with Ofsted to tackle unregistered schools.
Between 1 January 2016 and 31 August 2019, Ofsted has undertaken
362 inspections of 293 suspected unregistered independent
schools, 83 settings were issued with a warning notice and Ofsted
made sure 72 of these stopped operating illegally. There have
also been three successful prosecutions so far. This additional
funding will allow Ofsted to continue this critical work and
ensure illegal activity is uncovered and justice is delivered.
To further address these issue and make sure Ofsted has the legal
powers it needs to tackle unregistered schools, the Government
intends to review and strengthen the legislation in place at the
next opportunity.
The government is also launching a consultation today, seeking
views on legislation which will require any setting attended
full-time by children of compulsory school age to be registered
with the Department for Education and meet the independent school
standards.
In addition to this, the department will soon be publishing a new
out-of-school safeguarding code of practice, to ensure legitimate
out-of-school settings such as part-time tuition centres, sports
clubs and religious settings offering education in their own
faith know how to create a safe environment for the children in
their care; and supporting guidance for parents – setting out key
questions to consider, and red flags to look out for, when
choosing a setting for their child.
