Our Mission
Choosing the right school is one of the most important decisions a family can make. This is true for all families, but the stakes are even higher for families at fee-paying schools. By definition, we hope that "it's worth it"—otherwise, why pay?
A private education is a "product" with a very high "switching cost". Moving schools is a huge disruption for our children, so it's really important that we make a good decision. "Buyer's remorse" is very hard to live with for so expensive a product.
But how do you look past the prospectuses, open days and social media feeds to find out what the day-to-day experience is like? How do you find a school that will be a good fit for you and your children's values, aspirations and personality types?
Our mission is simple:
“to help parents make confident, informed choices, and to help schools learn and grow through constructive, well-intentioned feedback.”
We believe feedback is a gift when it’s shared honestly and with positive intent. It's a gift for parents making one of the biggest decisions of their lives, and it's a gift to any school that embraces that feedback with a "growth mindset".
Indeparent exists to bring that spirit to the independent school sector, creating a community of parents that support one another and where schools gain meaningful insight into the experiences of their families.
Founder Story
Indeparent was born from a familiar experience: wanting the best for our children, but feeling under-equipped to choose confidently.
The information gap
We experienced the 'private school information gap' first-hand. Like many parents, we relied on a single recommendation, only to find the school wasn't the right fit for us.
We realised that while facilities are easy to compare, 'culture' and 'fit' are often hidden behind the school gates.
While the school we chose is very highly regarded—and many parents and kids absolutely love it—it turned out not to be a good fit for us and our child.
We had to learn this the hard way, and it feels like a very consequential mistake to have made.
Feedback
Although many parents absolutely raved about the school, there were lots of other families with misgivings and a sense of regret about their choice.
These parents would discuss their experiences in private, but rarely with leadership.
We did share our feedback, and the school welcomed it. A school leader even remarked, “I wish more parents would tell us what they really think.”
They had no idea how seriously that comment would be taken, and Indeparent was conceived following that exchange!
When our second-born was ready to go to school (the first-born was in Year 5 at that point), we defaulted to sending them to the same school in spite of our misgivings.
Better research
We did discuss moving first-born in Year 5 but felt that it would be too disruptive. Instead, we focused on making a more diligent choice for senior school.
However, open days felt staged and online information felt incomplete. They all boasted outstanding facilities, world-class academics, supportive SEND programmes and low student/teacher ratios.
What made the difference was speaking with parents who already had children at these schools. Real stories. Real opinions. Real experiences. The kind you can’t find on a website (until now!).
We visited each school on the short list several times, but also took the time to connect with a variety of existing parents to get their perspectives. From some schools, the responses were quite neutral. From others, parents were clearly passionate advocates.
Better choices
These stories, and the detailed context behind them, made all the difference. They gave us peace of mind that we'd made the best choice of senior school.
With a renewed sense of confidence, we challenged our "default" decision to send our youngest to the same prep school as the eldest.
Again, with thorough research and by making connections and having meaningful conversations with both staff and parents at each new candidate school, we decided to move our second child during Year 1.
This decision was transformative. Our child adapted very quickly to the new environment, and we felt a sense of relief that we'd found a school that really worked for us.
Indeparent exists to help other families make better-informed, more confident decisions, and to get it right first time.
Helping parents make confident, informed choices
Reviews
These are first-hand testimonies from the people who know the school best: parents, teachers, and others with direct experience of it.
The "Indeparent Score" is a single metric that sums up, on average, "how likely would you be to recommend this school to a parent just like you?"
Learn more about the Indeparent Score.
As well as the Indeparent Score, respondents can add star ratings for academics, culture, SEND provision and a variety of other useful insights, as well as text explanations for these scores.
This gives you the context you need to make the right choice for you and your family.
Detailed school listings
Our aim is to aggregate all of the information we can about every school in our directory to help you short-list and find the perfect match.
We detail religious affiliation, fees, admissions policies, facilities, boarding options, and anything else that will be useful; but also provide useful links and information for those that want to do more detailed research, such as inspection reports and Companies House records.
Learn more about how we manage school listings.
Independent School finder
With all of these details and attributes for each school, our school finder allows you to find the perfect match for you, even if your requirements are quite niche.
If you're looking for a boys' Catholic day school that's run by a charitable trust within 20 miles of you that has a golf course and offers music scholarships, then you can find it here.
The blog
Making a confident choice isn't just about having useful information about the schools themselves, but also about understanding the independent school journey.
These are the conversations we raise and debate with the community on the blog.
The forum (coming soon)
Why wait for us to publish a blog post to start a conversation? The forum allows you to ask your own questions and get answers from the community.
Gain clarity and confidence, and add your voice to the conversation—it all helps parents make confident and informed decisions.
The school concierge (coming soon)
With a completed profile detailing your values and your child's unique needs and preferences, our concierge matches you with schools recommended by parents just like you.
The tutor directory (coming soon)
For the biggest milestones on our children's journeys, we may look for additional outside help.
Whether transitioning to grammar and extra support is needed for the 11+, or for children that need a little help with French, a great tutor is like gold dust.
Our tutor directory details their credentials and experience, specialisms, and, most importantly, parent testimonials.
Helping schools learn and grow through constructive well-intentioned feedback
On the positive side, it's always great to hear that you're doing a good job. Positive feedback helps parents find the best schools, but it also helps schools understand what's working well for their families.
But growth comes from the less-positive feedback.
Even parents at the "best" schools will see room for improvement. Schools can't please everyone, and one family might consider their culture far too disciplinarian while another sees the discipline as too 'soft'.
Your honest, well-intentioned feedback will help schools to spot the themes, identify genuine issues, and put a plan in place to address that feedback.
Join the mission
By posting a review or contributing to the conversation, you're helping parents make informed decisions and helping schools to learn and grow.
Sign up today and share your insights and opinions.