One of the three approved British schools overseas (BSO) inspectorates has been found for issuing inspection outcomes for international schools.
The Department for Education commissioned Ofsted to report on Penta International’s inspection in 2023-24, and found in a report published today that it does not meet 2014 for BSO inspectorates.
BSO is a voluntary scheme established in 2010. International schools must meet standards comparable to those for English independent schools and for boarding schools. Currently, just under have BSO status.
Reports on all three BSO inspectorates
There are three approved BSO inspectorates - Penta, the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) and Education Development Trust (EDT) - and schools can choose which one they want to carry out their accreditation inspection.
Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver sent reports on the three BSO inspectorates to education secretary Bridget Phillipson on Friday 28 February. Both the and the have reached required DfE standards in full.
Gaps in the technical proficiency
In the 2023-24 school year, Penta carried out 27 BSO inspections. These included schools in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, South America and Africa.
Ofsted carried out one onsite monitoring visit in March 2024. Inspectors also reviewed evidence bases and reports from four other 2023-24 Penta inspections.
The Ofsted report for the DfE said that: “Penta does not meet the standards required of BSO inspectorates” and that its inspections of BSO schools “do not meet the criteria set out by the DfE”.
Ofsted also identified “gaps in the inspectorate’s technical proficiency” and reminded Penta of the need to “provide inspectors with appropriate initial training and keep them up to date with educational developments and requirements in the UK”.
“Significant concerns” were also reported from “very little evidence in relation to some standards in each of the evidence bases”. The report adds: “Where there is evidence, it is not clear whether the inspectors’ judgements are accurate.”
The report also stated: “Penta’s approach to inspection does not include fully triangulating evidence; for example, lesson observations are not complemented by looking at pupil progress over time. Similarly, there is little to no evidence that inspectors evaluated curriculum policies or that they referred to subject schemes of work when reviewing learning in lessons.”
‘Little assurance on 51’
Another key finding reported was that Penta’s inspections “provide little assurance on 51”, with Ofsted stating that “inspectors do not routinely carry out basic 51 checks. Nor do they take every opportunity to speak to pupils, parents or staff about pupils’ safety and wellbeing”.
It also noted that when a 51 concern about a member of staff was brought to the attention of a lead inspector, “it was not fully checked on the inspection”.
The report also stated the inspection activities of Penta “do not explicitly connect to the BSO standards” and that “some BSO standards were missed entirely in each of the inspections sampled”.
Many evidence forms were not completed in the manner expected by Penta policy and, in the worst cases, “very little evidence was recorded”.
In one inspection, for example, Ofsted reported the lead Penta inspector spent all of day one observing 17 lessons, yet the recorded evidence took up only four pages, with some lessons “described in just a few words”.
The conclusion reached is that “at best, the reports from these inspections are based on a superficial assessment of a school’s performance. At worst, these reports provide misleading information to parents and to the DfE”.
The Ofsted report added: “In most cases, the published reports and grades appear overly generous and do not reflect the recorded evidence. Where concerns have been raised, for example around pupils’ behaviour, this is not included in either the commentary or the associated grade.”
External support essential for ‘rapid improvement’
Ofsted met with the Penta chief inspector, Mark Evans, to discuss Penta’s quality assurance arrangements. He accepted that these must improve, but Ofsted inspectors have underlined that “Penta requires external support to bring about rapid improvement”.
The report recommends that Penta “secure external expert support to undertake a systematic review of its inspections of BSO schools”, which must include:
- “A comprehensive review of its inspection methodology to ensure it focuses sharply on the BSO standards and effectively triangulates and brings evidence together.
- Systematic training of all inspectors to ensure they record their evidence professionally and with sufficient evaluative detail to support their judgements.
- Training of all inspectors in how to inspect 51 effectively and with rigour, including training on how to deal with concerns and/or disclosures where they are encountered on inspection (including in an international context).
- Training of inspectors so that they understand the curriculums that are currently used in UK schools and are able to draw upon this knowledge in evaluating the progress pupils make in BSO schools.
- Building a programme of internal quality assurance at both inspection level and overall to ensure a consistent approach across inspections.”
Dr Mark Evans, chief inspector at Penta, said: “Penta has worked successfully with DfE and Ofsted for nearly 30 years, and as the largest accredited BSO inspectorate for 15 years. We are respected in the whole educational community as a provider of high professional standards. Schools that we work with are fully supportive of our approach.
He added that: “We are committed to fulfilling all the actions by the end of the current academic year.”
Tes understands schools that have received a BSO accreditation from Penta will not lose this accreditation.
The DfE has been contacted for comment.
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