Inspections/accreditation for private schools

[IWannaBeLikeYou]

I cannot find some of the private schools in my area on the Independent Schools Council website. Are there any other councils or associations of independent schools I could check? I know what is important is one's "feel" about a school, but still it would give a plus of confidence if the school is accredited in some way.

No one?

The ISC is the "blanket" body, covering registration under IAPS etc.
I would give them a call, myself. I would prefer some kind of accreditation too.

I've actually arranged to visit some of these schools and was thinking of asking the question, but I don't know if it would be out of place on first visit ...?

Good question for the first visit - find out who checks up on them

Lack of accreditation isn't necessarily a bad thing, but IMO a school should be ready with a sound answer as to why they have not chosen to be accredited via one of the ISC routes.

My dd's school belongs to IAPS

Thanks for all the answers.
I checked the IAPS website and the Independent Schools Inspectorate and can't find two of the schools in my area. I find this rather strange, as none of them is a new school and they seem to have good reputation, or at least long waiting lists.
I will ask the question when I go to visit.

If the school is a primary, it may well have had OFSTED too - for the reception age class.

If you can't find anything, ask the school. Do they have links via a website to the inspection reports? The school should be able to provide you with access to a copy of any reports.

All schools have ofsted I believe

Ok. I found the schools on Ofstead. One of them only has a report for the nursery.

AFAIK, basically, after concerns were raised that non-ISC member schools were not being inspected by anyone, an agreement was reached that all non-member schools would be inspected by OFSTED. This catch-up process is still underway Iwannabe, so maybe the other school hasn't yet been done.

ISCIS and IAPS are the mainones . Reception wodul be Ofsteded and possibly after school care too.