Requirements vary depending on the type of membershipRequirements for Membership
For Full Membership
a) Candidates for Membership
To be elected to Full Membership of the Association, Members (Heads/Principals/School Leaders) are required to:
- be the person in day-to-day control of the school;
- hold Qualified Teacher Status (or to have sufficient relevant experience and/or relevant qualifications as recognised and agreed by Executive Council).
b) Inspection requirements
All schools/colleges with more than 5 pupils of compulsory school age are required to be registered with the Department for Education as an independent school and to undergo a Government approved inspection e.g. Ofsted or ISI. FE (Further Education) colleges with fewer than 5 pupils of compulsory school age may apply for full membership based upon a successful Educational Oversight Inspection. International schools are eligible for full membership if they are registered as such in their own jurisdiction and inspected by a body approved by Executive Council.
To be elected to membership satisfactory inspection standards must be reached and maintained.
Where there are no significant regulatory failings and where inspection judgements meet the standards, schools will be eligible to be brought into membership without requiring a separate accreditation inspection.
For registered Independent schools, where significant regulatory failings exist and/or standards are below an acceptable level the Association will ask ISI to carry out an Accreditation Inspection.
All members are required to send ISA any Ofsted or other public reports as soon as these are published.
For the cost of an ISI accreditation inspection please contact Anne-Marie Hodgkiss on anne-marie.hodgkiss@isaschools.org.uk or 01799 581694, as the costs are calculated by the Independent Schools Inspectorate on a school-by-school basis.
Members are then required to maintain their high standards by submitting their schools to ongoing inspections by an approved inspectorate. ISA offers regular training opportunities and support to help ensure that standards are maintained.
c) Accreditation procedure and the Interim List
In applying for full membership, a school will move through a number of stages:
(i) On receipt of the applicant's paperwork, ISA will review the application including the last inspection report.
Where standards are met the school will be moved onto the ISA Interim List.
Interim List
The Association operates an Interim List to help schools/colleges take advantage of some of the benefits of membership whilst the application process is being pursued. At this point schools/colleges under the Ofsted regime may access ISI inspection documentation. The school/college is charged the ISA base fee from this point.
Where standards are not met the applicant will be contacted by the Membership Officer who will discuss the areas in need of development and the need for a separate accreditation inspection. The Membership Officer will then liaise with ISI to set up the inspection.
(ii) Following inclusion on the Interim List the applicant's papers will be sent to the appropriate ISA Area Coordinator. He/she will contact the applicant to arrange to meet with them in the applicant's school/college. The purpose of this visit, which forms part of the accreditation process, is as much to ensure the applicant is aware of all that ISA has to offer as it is to see the applicant at work in their own environment.
(iii) Following their visit the Area Coordinator will write a report to be presented at the next meeting of the Membership Committee (these are held 5 times a year). The report will include a recommendation re suitability for ISA membership. ISA's Membership Committee will then make a recommendation to the Executive Council who will take the decision to move successful schools into full membership. From this point, the school/college will have access to full ISA benefits and, if it was previously, it will no longer be inspected by Ofsted. The school is presented with a plaque denoting the Head's Full membership and can use the ISA logo in its marketing. The school is charged the ISA base and per capita fees, as well as ISC fees (which ISA collects on ISC's behalf) and ISI fees which the school pays direct to the inspectorate.
The Membership Officer will keep the Head/Principal abreast of developments throughout the process
Requirements for Dual Membership
a) Candidates for Membership
Our Members (Heads/Principals/School Leaders) are required to:
be the person in day-to-day control of the school
hold Qualified Teacher Status (or to have sufficient relevant experience as agreed by Executive Council)
b) Accreditation
Following receipt of the application pack, to include a copy of the school's last inspection report, and a visit to the school by an ISA Area Coordinator, the Membership Committee considers the application. If the school meets the standards set, and shares the values of the Association, then accreditation will be approved by Executive Council.
Requirements for Affiliate Status (UK, Overseas and Group)
a) Candidates for Membership
Our Members (Heads/Principals/School Leaders) are required to:
be the person in day-to-day control of the school/college
hold Qualified Teacher Status (or to have sufficient relevant experience as agreed by Executive Council)
b) The school/college must:
-be registered/certified as a bona fide school/college in the country concerned and be legally constituted in that country (documentary proof is required)
-provide a curriculum taught in English and based on a British Curriculum. For secondary schools, recognised British Examination Boards should be used
-show through local inspection reports (as appropriate) and exam results that it is performing at an acceptable level of competence (where available a copy of the latest inspection report will be required)
c) Accreditation
Following receipt of the application pack, a review of the school's inspection report and a visit to the school by an ISA Area Coordinator, the Membership Committee considers the application. If the school meets the standards set, and shares the values of the Association, then accreditation will be approved.
Requirements for Associate Status (including: Head/Principal of group, school, life and former member)
Full/Dual members may put forward members of their staff, who have management/ leadership responsibility, for school associate status. Alternatively, a person overseeing the running of a group of schools, where the Heads/Principals of the schools within the group are in full membership, may apply for associate status. Retiring Heads/Principals may apply for life associate status and finally, ex members and ex school associates who have not retired but who have moved to work in non ISA schools, may apply for former member associate status.
In each case:
(i) On return of the application paperwork the applicant will be visited by an ISA Area Coordinator.
(ii) Following a successful Area Coordinator visit, the membership committee will take the decision to accredit the member.
The Membership Officer will keep the applicant and Head/Principal abreast of developments throughout the process