Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons why unregistered and illegal schools continue to operate in England.

It is a criminal offence under section 96 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 to conduct an independent educational institution unless it is registered. Section 97 of that Act permits no-notice inspections of settings believed to be operating in breach of this registration requirement.

Between 1 January 2016 and 31 August 2021, 114 settings inspected under section 97 were identified as operating as an unregistered independent school. Joint work between the Department for Education and Ofsted has led to 101 of these settings changing their provision, meaning they no longer operate unlawfully, in breach of the 2008 Act. In that time, groups responsible for operating illegal settings have been successfully prosecuted five times.

The department and Ofsted continue to investigate and, if needs be, prosecute those conducting any settings where intelligence or evidence suggests the operation of an unregistered school.

The department consulted in 2020 on extending the registration requirement to settings that operate full time but only offer a very narrow curriculum, which are currently allowed to operate without registration. The department will respond to this consultation soon, setting out next steps. The department has also committed to taking forward measures to make it easier to investigate and prosecute such settings, including in the 2019 Integrated Communities Action Plan. The department intends to take forward such measures when a suitable legislative opportunity arises.