Factsheet

A guide to ISI inspection reports

Introduction
Inspection reports provide objective and reliable accounts of the standards of provision within a school and
its compliance with regulations. Reports are intended to help schools to recognise and build on their
strengths and to remedy any weaknesses.

What a report can tell you about a school

All reports include an introductory section on the characteristics of the school, such as Its aims and ethos,
the age range, gender, cultural background and overall ability of pupils and whether they attend on a day
or boarding basis.
Reports make a clear statement about the schools compliance with regulations and if applicable, the
necessary action it must take to meet requirements. Recommendations are also made to help all schools to
identify and address any areas for improvement and to build on good practice.
Intermediate Inspection reports on boarding welfare provision or registered Early Years Foundation Stage
settings (for children under the age of three) focus chiefly on regulations, describing the schools provision
in relation to its compliance with these. Integrated Inspection reports provide a fuller account of a schools
provision, including qualitative judgements on pupils achievements, the curriculum, teaching, pupils
personal development, pastoral care, welfare, health and safety, governance; and leadership and
management. Where applicable, these reports also include findings on boarding provision and the Early
Years Foundation Stage. These reports focus on outcomes for pupils in terms of their academic and extracurricular achievement, and their personal development.

Grades
ISI does not make a single overarching judgement on a school but instead makes a clear judgement on each
aspect of its provision using one of the following four grades: excellent, good, sound and unsatisfactory. In
the context of pupils achievement, the grade exceptional may also be used. Registered Early Years
Foundation Stage settings are reported on separately and ISI is required to use the same terminology for
grades as in Ofsted reports: outstanding, good, satisfactory and inadequate.

Finding a report on a school

ISI publishes the latest reports on schools on its website: www.isi.net/reports. There may be more than
one report for schools whose most recent inspection was an Intermediate Inspection, or its equivalent
from the previous cycle of inspection, an Interim Inspection. The focus of both these types of inspection
has been compliance with regulations and so the report from the previous inspection is also made
available, to provide the fullest possible picture of the school.

Independent Schools Inspectorate 2013

Factsheet
A guide to ISI inspection reports

Variations in ISI Reports

The way in which schools are inspected has been influenced over time by changes in Government
requirements and educational practice, and by feedback from schools. The content of reports has reflected
these changes, although all reports have covered the same key information about compliance with
regulations. Each report provides information based on the framework of inspection in place at the time
the school was inspected. The most recent reports available on the ISI website are from the current
inspection frameworks Integrated and Intermediate Inspections, and from the equivalents from the
previous framework, Standard and Interim Inspections.

Comparing ISI reports with Ofsted reports

Both ISI and Ofsted report on independent schools compliance with the Independent School Standards
Regulations. However, they apply different frameworks and have different criteria for judging school
quality that are suited to the different types of schools they inspect. In particular, ISI reporting on pupils
achievement is designed to reflect the high levels of performance in both curricular and extra-curricular
activities typically found in schools in membership of the Associations of the Independent Schools Council,
whilst also making clear how pupils test and examination results compare with national benchmarks. The
grades used by ISI and Ofsted are different to reflect these differences in approach.
Both ISI and Ofsted inspection teams are led by professional reporting inspectors. In addition, ISI teams
include serving heads from other Independent Schools Council Association schools and so judgements
throughout ISI reports reflect expectations in these schools as well as those found in schools nationally. ISI
reports also include judgements on additional aspects, for example on the quality of governance,
leadership and management.

How reports can help in choosing a school for your child

A report provides a frank and objective account of a schools provision and outcomes for pupils. It should
indicate how well the education caters for pupils of different needs and abilities, how broad the education
is, what the atmosphere of the school is like in terms of the ethos, behaviour of pupils and relationships,
and how well pupils are cared for.
Reports, however, are no substitute for a personal visit to the school to evaluate for yourself the extent to
which you think it will suit the talents, character and needs of your own child. Our reports are not designed
to provide a ranking or league table of schools.

For more information about ISI inspections and to access the current Inspection Framework, visit
www.isi.net/schoolinspections.

Independent Schools Inspectorate 2013