Independent schools will have to meet new standards from September

Many private schools are worse run than their state-run counterparts, the head of the education watchdog Ofsted has said.

David Bell told a conference of mainly independent school head teachers that they must do better from September, under stronger laws on performance.

Private institutions faced the same problems of incompetent staff and an inadequate curriculum as those in the state sector, he added.

Mr Bell's comments referred to the 1,120 private schools inspected by Ofsted.

One in seven was poorly run, compared with just one state primary in 17 and one comprehensive in 25, it found.

'Among the worst'

Mr Bell said: "While the independent sector contains very many schools that are very good, it also includes a number of schools that are among the worst in the country."

Until the 2002 Education Act was passed, owners of Ofsted-inspected private schools could, with relative ease, flout health and safety rules as well as provide a poor quality education, he added.

They could open a school without having to be checked before applying for provisional registration.

Once registered, they could be bought or sold, change their name or staff without any need to re-register.

Tougher standards in force from September will make it easier to crack down on such schools, Mr Bell told the conference at Brighton College.

Owners will have to show they can meet minimum standards before opening new schools.

Ofsted will make a preliminary visit prior to opening and return for a full inspection during the first year.

Mr Bell said: "One of the arguments for lighter regulation in the independent sector is that market forces will result in poor schools going out of business and good schools prospering.

"However, to work effectively a market needs reliable and easily available information.

"And for consumers to exercise choice in a market, they require good information."

Around 80% of privately educated pupils attend schools covered by the Independent Schools Council (ISC). Its members are not inspected by Ofsted.

But the ISC's internal inspections are regularly monitored by it.

The ISC's national director, David Woodhead, said: "The current basic legal requirements which independent schools must meet have remained unchanged since the 1940s. It is high time they were brought up to date.

"One of the main reasons this is needed is that the Independent Schools Council and its constituent associations have in recent years taken major steps to give parents greater confidence in, and more information about, standards in their member schools.

"Under the government's proposals, the kind of improvements in inspections that ISC schools have themselves chosen to introduce will be required in the 1,000 non-ISC schools.

"That is exactly what the government should do."