ISI reports - are schools ever failed?

[TheBeautifulVisit]

Or are independent schools ever rated less than approvingly?

Can someone please tell me how ISI reports work.

Who are the inspectors?

Who pays their wages?
Is there an ISI standard against which all independent schools are judged?
Do they have a set of standards for teaching, where can I find it?

northlondoncat - thanks. That sounds hopeless. I've read quite a few ISI reports now and they all say almost nothing in a generally approving tone.

I've noticed the same thing too. I read the reports of five schools (all of which I visited). I felt that they glossed over the faults and also failed to capture the essence of the places. Also one school got an 'outstanding' but as far as I could see it was a factory of children, NC levels up on the wall, working entirely out of Bond books. Bond books were even the homework. It was utterly depressing. I'm not sure why independent schools aren't properly monitored. Really depressing. Wish the government would have them Ofsted'd.

I seen one that listed examples of poor teaching. It also listed a series of areas where the school was unsatisfactory. It was a prep school and if it wasn't a common entrance subject it seemed to have poor teaching and unsatisfactory.

Lonecat - can you tell me the name of the school? Just so I can see an example of a less than glowing ISI report.

Fluffy cushions - how depressing about the Bond books.

I have pmed you the school name. They may have had another report since the bad one as I am aware that DT and IT facilities were rated poor and they now have a new building for this.

Thanks, Lonecat.

Look for the Hamilton School in Aberdeen, and see if you can find the reports from the care commission and Education Scotland. This school was investigated/inspected about a month ago, and closed down on the spot, leaving 107 pupils and a further 200+ nursery children without a school/nursery.

To be honest, I don't think some of what you're talking about is unique to independent schools.

I know that Ofsted are getting tougher all the time, but we know of plenty of maintained schools whose reports say 'parents/pupils complained of bullying/lack of communication/lack of discipline/whatever else but we found no evidence of this' when we know (friends who work there) that the concern is perfectly valid or even a really big truism.