The Council of British International Schools serves British International Schools around the globe, representing over 281 Member Schools in 79 countries and over 209 Supporting Member organisations. COBIS exists to serve, support and represent its member schools – their leaders, governors, staff and students by:
Facilitating mentoring and support programmes for Heads and school leaders
Promoting career opportunities within the global COBIS network
Brokering a cost-effective consultancy service between schools and approved educational support service providers
COBIS hosts a range of conferences and professional development events for teachers, middle leaders, support staff throughout the year, plus an annual conference in London in May for school leaders and Governors. In addition to accessing high quality training COBIS events provide excellent opportunities for colleagues to develop professional networks and contacts. COBIS represents its members with the British Government, educational bodies, the corporate sector and Ministries of Education worldwide and is committed to advancing the interests of British schools and British education overseas. From 2015, COBIS expanded its range of services to include a COBIS Diploma for Teaching Assistants and DITA for Early Years, both run in association with the TA College, as well as a COBIS summer school based at Cambridge University. Founded over 30 years ago, COBIS is governed by an elected executive committeeconsisting of headteachers and governors from member schools worldwide. The association is a constituent member of the Independent Schools Council and operates on a not-for-profit basis to reflect being a UK-registered company 'Limited by Guarantee'. The patron of COBIS is The Duke of York, the honorary president is Sir Roger Fry CBE, and the chairman is Mr Trevor Rowell. COBIS is led by CEOColin Bell and supported by the COBIS team based in London. In August 2015, COBIS head office moved from Twickenham to Russell Square in London's Bloomsbury area.
The Patron's Accreditation and Compliance
In October 2016, COBIS announced a new external validation scheme for British schools overseas to be known as The Patron's Accreditation and Compliance. The new scheme will officially be available to schools from April 2017 and will be offered as an alternative to inspections carried out by the Department for Education for British Schools Overseas.
