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Benefits of SCIS membership

Representation, CPD, policy guidelines, legal and regulatory issues, marketing support and research

Below is a summary of the main benefits of SCIS membership. To become a member, a school must be registered with the Registrar of Independent Schools at the Scottish Government (Telephone 0131 244 4502) and have had a satisfactory HMIE inspection. Helpful guidance notes that lay out expectations of a school before it can be registered with the Registrar of Independent Schools are available to download here. To discuss joining SCIS, please call Sarah Randell on 0131 556 2316. Further information about the work that SCIS does on behalf of its member schools can be read in the Annual Review 2010-2011, ‘Commitment, Contribution, Collaboration', available in a PDF on the right.

Representing the interests of member schools

SCIS represents the interests of its member schools by engaging with the Scottish Government and numerous educational and regulatory bodies, review committees and working groups. Throughout 2010, the SCIS team met regularly with around 30 external organisations to discuss a wide range of issues e.g. HMIE, Child Protection, SQA, Additional Support Needs etc. The full list of organisations and committees can be seen in the PDF on the right.

Extensive programme of CPD at not-for-profit rates

Member schools benefit from an extensive programme of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) with workshops and seminars, charged at not-for-profit rates, running every day of the school year. CPD is provided to all school staff, both teaching and support staff, who enjoy the opportunity to connect with colleagues in other schools.

Policy documents and templates

SCIS provides member schools with guidance documents on a range of legal issues along with templates for schools to use, which saves them incurring costly legal fees. Topics include Employment legislation, Admissions policies, Accessibility guidance, Complaints procedures etc. SCIS also offers a ‘help desk' service.

Regular updates about education and legal/regulatory issues affecting schools

Member schools receive a regular e-bulletin with topical, ‘need to know' information including updates about educational issues and legal and regulatory changes. An extensive archive of information for schools, under the four main headings of ‘Education', ‘Regulation', ‘Promotion' and ‘Collaboration', is provided in the password-protected members' area of the SCIS website.

Marketing support

SCIS is active in promoting the benefits of independent education at mainstream, special and specialist schools. SCIS runs an annual advertising campaign and a full information service for parents. Various publications are produced, in addition to the SCIS website, which includes profiles of all member schools and links to their websites. Member schools also benefit from the work of SCIS's in-house research specialist who provides facts and statistics on a wide range of topics and conducts ad hoc research projects to assist schools with their marketing.

Negotiating services on behalf of member schools

SCIS negotiates pupil insurance for its member schools as well as licenses for recording and copyright. These provide significant cost savings for member schools.