Search Tips
There are three ways to use the search facility for the database:
'Search in' and 'Details' Fields: You can search using these two fields together to narrow your search. The 'Search in' field provides a drop down menu of different options (name of provider, contact details, location, subjects studied etc.). You can click on any of these to define your search but you must then enter the relevant information in the 'Details' field.
For example: to search for providers in Kent, scroll down the drop down list until you reach 'location' and click on that. Then type 'Kent' in the details box and search. This will give you a list of providers in Kent. You must use the local authority name to search by area — the system will not recognise place or area names within local authority areas. So if you are a school in Ramsgate, type in 'Kent' in the details box, not Ramsgate.
To search for part time provision, click on the 'Part time/full time' option from the drop down menu in 'Search in' and then enter 'part time' in the 'Details' box. This will give you a list of the providers who have said that they can offer part time provision.
If you click on 'Part time/full time' from the drop down menu in the 'Search in' box but do not specify whether you want full time or part time, you will get a list of providers who can do both or either. So for the 'Search in' box to be effective you must have a relevant entry in the 'Details' box as well. It follows that if you click on the 'subjects studied' in the drop down menu but then put the local authority area in the 'Details' box, the search may come up with a nil return.
The best options to use from the drop down list are probably name of provider (if known), location, subjects studied, key stage and needs met.
'Details' Field: You can also search using the 'Details' field on its own (leaving the 'Search in' field as 'All Fields'). Enter the relevant details in the text box, click search and a list of matching providers will appear on the screen. Clicking on a provider's name will take you to their entry. For example, if you want to simply search for a provider in your area you can type the name of the local authority area, click on the search button and it will give you a list of the providers who are currently operating in that area.
The A to Z: this should be familiar to most people and is probably best used when you know the name of a provider you are interested in. Clicking on the relevant letter will bring up a list of all the providers on the database whose name begins with that letter. Clicking on the relevant name will take you to that provider's entry.
IMPORTANT:
Inclusion of a provider on the database does not constitute a mark of quality assurance or endorsement by DCSF. No checks have been made on the information put forward by the providers, including Companies House, Charity Commission or HMRC registration information. We do not inspect, audit or appraise the providers who appear on the database. Inclusion on the database is not, therefore, an indication that DCSF has 'approved' a provider or the provision it offers and the DCSF is not responsible for the quality and conduct of any of the providers registered. Local authorities and schools should take the same care that they already do in assessing the suitability of providers, including ensuring that they have the relevant health and safety, insurance and safeguarding processes in place.
Commissioners must ensure that private providers are registered with the DCSF as independent schools, where appropriate. Local authorities and schools should not offer contracts to a provider which should be registered as an independent school but is not registered as such. Any provider which operates in these circumstances is acting unlawfully.
If in doubt, Commissioners should check the registration of
independent schools website to see whether a provider qualifies to register as
an independent school. The relevant address is — http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/reg-independent-schools/
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