As required by law, ISI is independent of the schools it inspects and accountable to the Department for Education.

[5] These inspections provide reports on the quality of education in organisations holding a Tier 4 licence to sponsor international students under the Points Based System.

[6] ISI has an independent board of directors,[7] which holds the senior management team to account for the delivery and quality of inspections.

The standards are split into eight main parts and cover all aspects of school life: Where there is cause for concern the Department for Education may make an unannounced Additional Inspection,[12] and a Monitoring Visit to report on previous findings.

[needs update] Routine inspections were suspended between March 2020 and September 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, and replaced by a limited number of remote reviews.