The BSA has the twin objectives of promoting boarding education and developing quality boarding through high standards of pastoral care and boarding facilities
Today’s high-quality boarding schools provide their pupils with a safe and challenging environment, where communication with home is easy, and boarding facilities and pastoral care are of the highest order. The BSA and its members are committed to this vision for boarding.
A school can join the BSA only if it is a member of one of the constituent associations of the Independent Schools Council or, for state-maintained boarding schools, a member of SBSA (the State Boarding Schools’ Association). These two bodies require member schools to be regularly inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) for education or by Ofsted, which is currently responsible for inspecting boarding in both independent and state boarding schools in England. Parents and prospective pupils choosing a boarding school can therefore be assured that BSA member schools are committed to providing the best possible boarding environment for their pupils.
Relationship with Government
The BSA is in regular communication with the Department for Education (DfE) on all boarding matters. The Children Act (1989) requires boarding schools to conform to national legislation. Promotion of this legislation and the key area training required to carry it out are matters on which the DfE and the BSA work closely together.
The BSA also liaises with Ofsted on the inspection of boarding schools under the Care Standards Act using the Minimum National Standards for Boarding Schools. Ofsted reports on boarding at individual schools can be viewed on the Ofsted website.
Professional development for boarding
The programme of training for boarding staff of BSA member schools is supported and sponsored by the DfE. The Utting Report, The Safeguards for Children Living Away from Home, highlighted the importance of developing a ‘policy, practice and training for services for children who live away from home’. It focuses on the right of parents to expect that staff looking after children are competent to do so, and the responsibility of central government to secure consistent national standards in promoting the welfare of children away from home.
As part of its training programme, the BSA organises four residential conferences a year for heads, deputies, housemasters and housemistresses, matrons and medical staff, where further training takes place in formal sessions and in sharing good practice.
The BSA works with the DfE to provide the following range of training and information:
• Professional qualifications for both teaching and non-teaching staff in boarding schools. The BSA has been responsible for the development of Certificates of Professional Practice in Boarding Education. These Certificates, the result of at least two years’ study, are awarded by Roehampton University.
• A rolling programme of more than 40 day seminars on current boarding legislation and good practice, such as child protection and understanding the needs of overseas boarders.
The significance of the training programme is confirmed by the fact that, in the last five years, over 5,200 boarding staff have been through the programme.
The BSA also publishes a wide range of books and guides on the best boarding practice. The full list can be found on the Association’s website.
State-maintained boarding schools
Children from the European Economic Area (EEA), or from outside the EEA with rights of residence in the UK, may attend state-maintained boarding schools, of which there are 34 in England and one in Wales. These schools provide free tuition, with the parents paying only the boarding fees. More information about the current maintained boarding schools can be found on the SBSA website.
Help and advice for parents
So how can the BSA further help parents when they are choosing a boarding school? Parents are invited to contact the Director for information on:
• choosing a boarding school
• why boarding would benefit your child
• the 500+ BSA member schools.
Parents are also invited to contact the Director to request four useful BSA publications: Choosing a Boarding School, The Parents' Guide to Maintained Boarding Schools, Being a Boarder and Parenting the Boarder.
For further information, please contact:
The Director, Boarding Schools’ Association
Grosvenor Gardens House
35–37 Grosvenor Gardens
London SW1W 0BS
Tel: +44 (0)20 7798 1580 Fax: +44 (0)20 7798 1581
E-mail: bsa@boarding.org.uk Web: www.boarding.org.uk