Independent Schools Regulation
Schools only have to register if they provide full time education for children of compulsory school age to 5 or more pupils or 1 or more with an EHCP.
The GOV.UK page on independent school registration is here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-school-registration
The GOV.UK page on regulating independent schools can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulating-independent-schools
There is no legal definition of full time in the independent sector although the government has given 18 hours a week as a guide. Much of the investigation of whether a school is full time (and therefore subject to registration and inspection) hinges on the timetable for an individual child, and not on how many hours the school is open.
If the education provided does not include literacy and numeracy but eg is purely religious instruction, then the institution does not have to register as an independent school. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – if enacted – will change this, read more here
Full time independent schools must comply with regulations covering the welfare health and safety of pupils, breadth of curriculum, quality of educational provision, suitability of teaching staff and proprietors, appropriate premises, and record-keeping. See Independent school standards guidance
Independent schools are inspected either by Ofsted or by other inspectorates approved by the Secretary of State. Since September 2014, independent schools have also been required to actively promote “fundamental British values” and ensure that there is political balance in teaching and other activities.
Illegal Schools
Illegal schools are not the same as unregistered schools because not all establishments have to register. However, in future with the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill this will change. Read more here
Ofsted publishes information on unregistered schools twice a year (latest statistics October 2025) See also Insight from Ofsted’s investigations of unregistered schools published in June 2025.
In its Annual Report published in December 2025 [LINK] Ofsted said “Since January 2016, when we first set up an unregistered schools team to investigate settings suspected of operating illegally, we have carried out just under 1,680 investigations of nearly 1,500 suspected unregistered schools. Following our investigations, we have carried out over 990 inspections, issued around 220 warning notices and successfully prosecuted 7 unregistered schools, resulting in 21 convictions.”
Independent schools: regulatory and enforcement action policy statement
Reference to “Ofsted inspections” of illegal schools is quite confusing. It can refer EITHER to an investigation of how many hours a child is being taught, OR to pre-registration inspections where a school is supposedly in the process of registering even though it is already operating. It might even refer to registered schools which repeatedly fail inspections where people believe they should be shut down.
Illegal schools are schools which meet the criteria for registering as independent schools but where the proprietors have opted NOT to register. If they weren’t closed down they would have to make big changes as well as teaching a broader syllabus.
Schools successfully prosecuted to date include: Aysha Tuition Centre Sheffield; Rabia School Luton; Freiston Hall, Lincolnshire; Ambassadors High School, Streatham (twice under different name); Al-Istiqamah Learning Centre, Southall
Local councils have no power in law to inspect registers or check individual pupils’ timetables if the school won’t co-operate. The only body which can do this is Ofsted under section 97 powers. This has not prevented Ofsted from blaming councils in the past for not doing enough.
Regulating Part Time Schools
Part 4 of The Education and Skills Act 2008 covers regulation of part-time schools (12.5 hours or 15 hours) in the same way as full-time schools but it only has “prospective” status and successive governments have opted NOT to bring these provisions into force.
The Wellbeing Bill proposes to remove part-time educational settings (12-15 hours etc) from the scope of the 2008 Act. In practice, however, these provisions have never been in force and so educational settings which do not operate on a full-time basis will not be impacted by this change.