Ofsted closes six more unregistered schools

Statistics published by inspectorate on action taken against unregistered schools up to the end of February reveals that during the month a total of seven suspected illegal schools were identified, one warning notice was issued and six were either closed down or ceased operating illegally.

In total 16 suspected illegal schools were investigated by Ofsted during February. Since January 2016, 366 possible illegal schools have been identified and 208 inspections have taken place, with 51 warning notices issued and 44 settings either closed down or no longer operating illegally.

Last month Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman issued a plea for greater powers to further clamp down on illegal schools, amid concerns that children could be at risk of radicalisation and abuse.

In particular, she wants inspectors to be able to seize evidence and prevent school staff from removing documents and data, both of which they are currently unable to do.

However, in its response to a consultation published this month on out-of-school settings, the government confirmed that it does not intend to pursue proposals to beef up Ofsted powers regarding illegal schools.

In January junior education minister Lord Agnew of Oulton had indicated that the government had no plans to strengthen the inspectorate's powers.

"We want to ensure any future system of regulation that we may introduce appropriately targets the small minority of settings which may be exposing children to harmful practices, without causing undue burdens on the sector as a whole," the government response to the consultation on out-of-school settings states.

"We believe it is equally important that we ensure any future system carefully takes into account the differences within such a diverse sector, where settings vary considerably in terms of their characteristics, and types of activity and education they offer.

"This system should ultimately build on and complement existing legal powers to ensure that any new regulation adds the most value, making the current safeguarding regime more effective.

"For this reason, we have decided not to pursue the model proposed in our call for evidence but instead intend to develop further the evidence base for a national approach, including future legislation where gaps in existing powers are identified."

Three quarters (74.6 per cent) of those responding to the consultation urged the government not to extend Ofsted's powers to investigate out-of-school settings.