Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that independent schools are subject to the same inspection standards as state-funded schools.

The regulatory regime for private schools, as set out in the 2008 Education and Skills Act, is based on compliance with the independent school standards, and failure can lead to a notice to improve, restrictions being placed on school operations or, following long-term or very serious failures, deregistration which requires closure. Private schools do not receive public funding, so are regulated to ensure that they provide a safe and suitable education as required by the independent school standards, whilst being able to operate as independent private businesses.