Independent school registration (Wales): Welsh Ministers and Estyn
What a proprietor must do to register an independent school in Wales under Part 10 of the Education Act 2002 and the Independent School Standards (Wales) Regulations 2024, the standards Estyn inspects against, the returns and approvals that follow registration, and the penalties for running an unregistered school.
If you run a school in Wales that meets the legal definition of an independent school, it must be on the register of independent schools in Wales, which the Welsh Ministers keep under Part 10, Chapter 1 of the Education Act 2002 (sections 156A to 172). You must apply and be registered before you admit pupils. The Welsh Government is the registration authority. Estyn (His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales) inspects the school and reports to the Welsh Ministers, who decide whether to register it.
An independent school is a school that provides full-time education for five or more pupils of compulsory school age (5 to 16), or for at least one pupil of that age who has a statement, an individual development plan or an education, health and care plan, or who is looked after by a local authority, and that is not a school maintained by a local authority. A tutor, a part-time club or a provider with fewer than five full-time compulsory-age pupils and none of the special cases above is not an independent school. Independent schools in England are regulated separately under the Education and Skills Act 2008, not under these rules.
- Statutory source
- Education Act 2002, Part 10 Chapter 1 (sections 156A to 172), which applies to independent schools in Wales only
- Standards regulations
- The Independent School Standards (Wales) Regulations 2024 (WSI 2024/27), in force since 14 February 2024, replacing the 2003 Regulations
- Information regulations
- The Independent Schools (Provision of Information) (Wales) Regulations 2024 (WSI 2024/26)
- Registration authority
- The Welsh Ministers, through the Welsh Government (independentschools@gov.wales)
- Inspector
- Estyn for education and the standards; Care Inspectorate Wales for boarding accommodation and residential provision
- Who must register
- Any school providing full-time education for five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or for one or more pupils of that age with a statement, an individual development plan, an education, health and care plan or looked-after status
- Application fee
- The Welsh Government guidance lists no application fee
- Minimum time to register
- At least 4 months from receipt of all the information needed
- Initial return
- When the Welsh Government asks for it, within 90 days of the day the school first admits pupils, giving pupil and staff numbers and confirming criminal records checks (regulation 4 of WSI 2024/26)
- Annual return (the annual census)
- Within 30 days of the Welsh Government asking for it each school year (usually issued in January) (regulation 5 of WSI 2024/26)
- Failing to send a return
- The Welsh Ministers can remove the school from the register (regulation 6), and it is an offence on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (regulation 7)
- Estyn inspection cycle
- A full inspection normally at least every 6 years; schools making additional learning provision are usually monitored every 12 to 18 months
- Running an unregistered school
- Offence on summary conviction, with imprisonment of up to six months, a fine, or both (section 159). The Act still says 'level 5 on the standard scale', but section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 made a fine of that kind unlimited in England and Wales for offences committed on or after 12 March 2015
- Appeal
- To the First-tier Tribunal within 28 days of notice of a refusal to approve a material change, a decision to remove the school from the register, or an order (section 166)
What you must do to register
- Apply before admitting any pupil. Use the Welsh Government's online application form. The proprietor (the person or body responsible for managing the school, such as a sole proprietor, governing body, trustees or directors) applies and states the first date pupils will be admitted. The application must contain the information the regulations prescribe, including the age range of pupils, the maximum number of pupils, whether the school is for boys, girls or both, whether it provides accommodation for pupils, and the types of additional learning provision it makes (section 160).
- Send the supporting documents. The Welsh Government asks for a scaled premises plan (minimum 1:100), curriculum plans and schemes of work, your written policies (safeguarding, behaviour, anti-bullying, health and safety, first aid, complaints, boarding accommodation if you have it, and risk assessment), an enhanced DBS certificate issued within the last 3 years for the proprietor or responsible individual, and a certificate signed by the proprietor confirming that the statements in the application are accurate.
- Prepare for the Estyn inspection. When you apply, the Welsh Ministers notify Estyn, which inspects the school and reports on whether the independent school standards are met and are likely to continue to be met (section 160(3) and (4)). Estyn looks at the proposed premises, the curriculum and your welfare, health and safety policies. Allow at least 4 months in total.
- Wait for the decision. The Welsh Ministers consider Estyn's report and any other evidence. If the standards are met and likely to continue to be met, they enter the school in the register (section 161). They publish the list of registered schools (section 158).
The standards you must meet
The Schedule to the Independent School Standards (Wales) Regulations 2024 sets standards in seven areas: quality of education; spiritual, moral, social and cultural development; welfare, health and safety; suitability of proprietors, staff and supply staff; premises and boarding accommodation; provision of information; and handling of complaints. In the welfare, health and safety part, the proprietor must make sure that:
- a written safeguarding and welfare policy is drawn up and effectively implemented, having regard to guidance issued by the Welsh Ministers, and that all staff, supply staff, volunteers and pupils are trained in it, with a written record of the training;
- written behaviour, anti-bullying, health and safety, first aid and risk assessment policies are in place, including for activities outside the school premises;
- the school complies with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005;
- pupils are properly supervised, and admission and attendance registers are kept;
- if the school provides boarding, there is a written boarding accommodation policy that has regard to the National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools or for Residential Special Schools; and
- each policy is reviewed regularly, with a written record of when it was reviewed and updated.
Staff suitability rules include that nobody barred from regulated activity relating to children may work at the school.
After you are registered
- Initial return and annual census. Send an initial return within 90 days of admitting pupils, and complete the Welsh Government's annual return (the census, usually issued in January) within 30 days of the request. Failing to send either can lead to the Welsh Ministers removing the school from the register (regulation 6 of WSI 2024/26), and is also a criminal offence punishable by a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (regulation 7).
- Get approval before any material change. A change of proprietor, a change of address, or a change to the age range, maximum number of pupils, single-sex or co-educational status, boarding provision, or the additional learning provision you offer needs the Welsh Government's consent first. Email independentschools@gov.wales. For a change of proprietor, the application comes from the proposed new proprietor. The Welsh Ministers can remove a school from the register if it makes a material change that has not been approved (section 162).
- Expect inspection. Estyn inspects for compliance with the registration standards, normally at least every 6 years.
If a standard is not met
If the Welsh Ministers are satisfied that one or more standards are not being met, they can determine that the school is to be removed from the register if there is a risk of serious harm to pupils' welfare. Otherwise they serve a notice naming the standards and requiring an action plan by a set date. They can reject the plan or approve it with or without changes. If you do not submit a plan, or miss a step in an approved plan, they can make an order requiring you to stop using part of the premises, close part of the school's operation or stop admitting new pupils, or remove the school from the register. Breaking such an order is an offence on summary conviction with imprisonment of up to six months, a fine (unlimited, because section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 lifted the level 5 cap for offences committed on or after 12 March 2015), or both (section 165).
You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal within 28 days of the notice (section 166).