Bridge Schools Inspectorate
{{Short description|British schools inspection agency}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{use British English|date=March 2021}}
Bridge Schools Inspectorate was a schools inspection agency approved by the British Government to carry out inspections of certain independent schools on behalf of the Secretary of State in the Department for Education (DfE). The agency was approved in 2008 and operated within section 162 (A) of the Education Act 2002.
Schools within the BSI mandate are designated independent schools within membership of the Christian Schools Trust (CST) or the Association of Muslim Schools.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120916115434/http://www.bridgeschoolsinspectorate.co.uk/files/the_river_school_final_report_2010_doc.pdf River School report, lead section] Retrieved 26 February 2016 As of September 2009, 55 schools in the UK that provide a distinctive religious curriculum alongside secular studies, fell within the remit of the BSI.[https://web.archive.org/web/20130108121913/http://www.bridgeschoolsinspectorate.co.uk/files/2009_bsi_ofsted_report_1.pdf Ofsted report on BSI 2008/09] Retrieved 3 September 2010; [https://web.archive.org/web/20130108121920/http://www.bridgeschoolsinspectorate.co.uk/files/2010_bsi_ofsted_report_1.pdf 2009/10], [https://web.archive.org/web/20151125135930/http://www.bridgeschoolsinspectorate.co.uk/files/ofsted_annual__report_2011.pdf 2010/11], [https://web.archive.org/web/20151125140041/http://www.bridgeschoolsinspectorate.co.uk/files/bsi_ofsted_report_2012.pdf 2011/12], [https://web.archive.org/web/20151125140204/http://www.bridgeschoolsinspectorate.co.uk/files/ofsted_annual_report_2012-2013.pdf 2012/13]
The work of the BSI, which was monitored by Ofsted, was to report whether the schools fulfill the government's requirements and whether its religious content conformed to the requirements of their religious associations to the Department for Education. Inspections were carried out by retired HMI schools inspectors.[http://www.bridgeschoolsinspectorate.co.uk/home BSI home page] Retrieved 3 September 2010
It ceased operating on 30 September 2015, following a damning OFSTED report into their work.[https://web.archive.org/web/20151125140627/http://www.bridgeschoolsinspectorate.co.uk/files/bsi_ofsted_annual_report_2013-14.pdf Ofsted report on BSI 2013/14][https://web.archive.org/web/20151125140713/http://www.bridgeschoolsinspectorate.co.uk/files/response_to_the_2014_bsi_ofsted_annual_letter.pdf Bridge Schools Inspectorate response to Ofsted 2014 report][https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34910176 "Ofsted warning over private faith schools"], BBC, 24 November 2015