Inspecting boarding and residential special schools

Inspecting education and residential provision in boarding and residential special schools

We inspect the boarding provision in maintained boarding schools and independent boarding schools which are not members of associations affiliated to the Independent Schools Council, once every three years. In independent, maintained and non-maintained residential special schools, we conduct an annual inspection of the residential provision.

Where the inspection of the school’s education provision and the residential inspection are both due at the same time, they are usually combined into an integrated inspection of the whole school.

The education provision of independent schools which belong to the Focus Learning Trust, and schools linked to the Christian Schools’ Trust or the Association of Muslim Schools are inspected by the School Inspection Service and the Bridge Schools Inspectorate respectively. Wherever possible, we try to carry out our inspection of the boarding or residential provision of these schools at the same time as the independent inspectorate’s education inspection, where the inspections are due at the same time. Where this is possible, it is known as an ‘aligned’ inspection.

The purpose of inspecting a school's residential provision is two-fold. Inspectors check the extent to which the school has met the national minimum standards for boarding or residential special schools, as appropriate. They also make judgements about the quality and effectiveness of the principal areas of the school’s work and their impact on the experience and outcomes of boarders or residential pupils.

Further information is available in our leaflet for schools, Inspection of residential provision in schools.

Before a boarding or residential special school inspection

The Before an inspection page will tell you what happens before an inspection. It covers issues like the lead inspector’s contact with the school and the lead inspector looking at the school’s evaluation of their provision (if available) and other pre-inspection evidence. There is additional information for you about preparing for an inspection.

During a boarding or residential special school inspection

The During an inspection page will tell you what happens during an inspection. It covers activities that take place on different days.

After a boarding or residential special school inspection

The After an inspection page will tell you what happens after an inspection. It covers issues like the lead inspector’s contact with the school and the inspection report. There is additional information about the school post-inspection survey and monitoring inspections.

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