Recommendation 8: Expand Ofsted powers for unregistered settings
From Child Protection in Religious Organisations and Settings Investigation Report, published 2 September 2021.
Recommendation
The government should introduce legislation to: change the definition of full-time education, and to bring any setting that is the pupil's primary place of education within the scope of the definition of a registered educational setting; and provide the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) with sufficient powers to examine the quality of child protection when it undertakes inspections of suspected unregistered institutions.
In brief (written by this site)
The UK Government has provided no direct response on the record, but in December 2023 the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse reported that the government stated on 2 March 2022 that it had considered responses to a 2020 consultation on proposals to amend registration requirements for independent education settings and would publish its response (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Dec 2023). The Inquiry also reported that the government noted a prior commitment by the Department for Education to increase the powers available to Ofsted when conducting inspections under section 97 of the 2008 Act, including in the Integrated Communities Action Plan 2019 (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Dec 2023).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
No government response to this recommendation is on the record yet.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from UK Government has been found in the sources searched (last checked 2 October 2026). This is separate from the response above.
What other bodies have found
In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (17 December 2023)
On 2 March 2022, the UK government stated that in 2020 it had consulted on proposals to amend the registration requirements for independent education settings. It confirmed that it had considered responses to the consultation and would publish its response. The UK government also stated that the Department for Education previously committed to increasing the powers available to Ofsted when conducting inspections under section 97 of the 2008 Act, including in the Integrated Communities Action Plan 2019 .
From: Recommendations - Child protection in religious organisations and settings
Site note: These are the Inquiry's own words, from its recommendations page for the Child Protection in Religious Organisations and Settings investigation report, captured by the Internet Archive on 17 December 2023. They are the Inquiry's account of what the body told it, not the body's own words.
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
Finding