The ISC was first established in 1974 by the leaders of the associations that make up the independent schools. In 1998, it reconstituted as the Independent Schools Council. Schools that are members of the associations that constitute ISC are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. Since December 2003, ISI has been the body approved by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for the inspection of ISC schools and reports to the DfE under the 2002 Education Act. ISI was part of ISC until, in late 2007, the ISI became its own limited company, thereby separating itself from ISC. The current chairman of ISC is Barnaby Lenon. ISC is run by the chief executive, Julie Robinson. ISC's Election Manifesto for 2017 can be .
Partnerships with state schools
Figures from the 2019 ISC Annual Census show 11,466 partnerships were recorded in that year. The types of partnerships vary from academy sponsorship to seconding teaching staff, serving as governors at state schools and sharing facilities to partnering for activities and projects. The ISC has published an annual report of cross-sector partnership work between independent and state schools called Celebrating Partnerships. Nearly 5,000 examples of cross-sector projects can be viewed on the schools together website at
Operation
ISC has five principal activities:
Provide authoritative research and intelligence about the sector
Provide legal and regulatory information/guidance
Provide online access and support informing parental decisions
Promote the sector through lobbying and communications
In 2011, the ISC challenged the Charity Commission in relation to the latter's statutory guidance on public benefit. The Upper Tribunal heard the judicial review, which was combined with an Attorney General's reference, over five days in May 2011 and reserved judgment until October 2011. The lengthy ruling upheld ISC's main ground of complaint, which was that the guidance did not reflect the true state of charity law on public benefit and charities which charge fees. A subsequent hearing and ruling in December 2011 ordered that the Commission withdraw large parts of its guidance or face a quashing order. The disputed guidance was withdrawn shortly before Christmas 2011, and replacement guidance was put out to consultation in 2012.
Constituent associations
Girls' Schools Association - the main association to which heads of girls' senior independent schools belong.
Independent Association of Prep Schools - represents the heads of more than 670 boys', girls' and mixed preparatory schools for children mainly between the ages of 7 and 13. Many IAPS schools take children from age 3, however, and some schools go up to the age of 16.
Independent Schools Association - ISA members include heads of over 370 schools for children of all ages. They represent both boarding and day schools, co-educational and single gender, and specialist schools in the arts and music.
Society of Heads - represents the heads of independent schools of all sizes, many of which have a long tradition of boarding.
