ICEQC-ORG-2200 — International Schools and Programmes Education Quality Certification Standards

1.1 This document is ICEQC-ORG-2200, International Schools and Programmes Education Quality Certification Standards. 1.2 It may be cited as the International Schools and Programmes Certification Standards.

2.1 These Standards establish how an ICEQC education organization certification scope identifies, selects, combines, assesses and publicly describes an international school or school-based international programme applicability route and component module. 2.2 These Standards distinguish whole-school international education, bounded international provision within another school and international early childhood education without creating a quality level or approving education content.

3.1 These Standards form part of the controlled ICEQC-ORG certification architecture and apply with ICEQC-ORG-2000 and ICEQC-ORG-2010.

4.1 The certification object remains the education organization and the exact organizational system and scope confirmed under ICEQC-ORG-2000. 4.2 A school, early childhood component, international section or school-based international programme may be included only where the responsible organization demonstrates accountable and effective control of its educational operation. 4.3 A curriculum, syllabus, qualification, examination, textbook, learning resource, platform, trademark, licence, person or public claim does not become certified merely because it is used by or associated with the organization.

5.1 Application of these Standards determines voluntary ICEQC education-quality requirements only. 5.2 It does not confer or imply: (a) legal authority to establish or operate a school; (b) governmental approval or regulatory recognition; (c) institutional or programme accreditation; (d) authorization, registration or approval by a curriculum, qualification or examination owner; (e) recognition, equivalence or transferability of a qualification, credit, transcript or credential; (f) authority to use a third-party name, mark, protected material or descriptor; (g) guaranteed admission, examination performance, progression, graduation, visa or destination; or (h) approval of substantive curriculum, belief, doctrine, language, national identity or subject content.

6.1 A route, component module, profile, delivery mode, curriculum model or scope descriptor under these Standards shall not create a score, percentage, grade, rank, star, tier, award level, maturity level or comparative position.

7.1 Every certification scope using these Standards inherits ICEQC-ORG-2000, ICEQC-ORG-2010, ICEQC-QF-1000 and every other applicable controlled ICEQC document. 7.2 These Standards supplement and do not replace the primary sector module required for each affected scope component. 7.3 Where requirements differ, the requirement providing the stronger protection of learners, evidence integrity or certification confidence shall apply. 7.4 Schedule 6 identifies the principal inherited requirements addressed again by these Standards. An entry in Schedule 6 shall be treated as a route-specific application or control of the cited requirement, not as a replacement requirement. Conformity with the cited requirement and with the additional route-specific condition shall both be established; the same evidence may support both where it is sufficient and traceable. 7.5 No requirement authorizes conduct contrary to applicable law. Where an applicable law prevents the organization from implementing a requirement in its ordinary form, the organization shall identify the authoritative source, exact conflict, affected scope and learner consequence and shall implement every lawful alternative control reasonably available. A legal conflict does not automatically establish NA. An unresolved conflict, an inadequate alternative or a resulting protection or evidence gap shall prevent a positive conclusion for the affected requirement or scope. 7.6 Schedule 7 identifies the normative ICEQC documents and controlling editions applicable to this edition. A later edition shall apply only through a controlled incorporation or transition decision.

8.1 In these Standards: **complete academic year** means the complete approved and published annual teaching cycle from its ordinary opening through its ordinary closing, including the assessment, reporting, promotion, transfer or completion activities by which the organization evaluates the year's implementation. **bounded international provision** means a defined international section or school-based international programme that forms only part of a wider education organization or school. **financial viability** means, for these Standards, the demonstrated ability to maintain the personnel, services, facilities, learner protections, records, refunds, transition and completion arrangements required for current commitments; it does not mean that ICEQC issues an audit opinion, credit assessment or solvency rating. **governing authority** means the board, proprietor, governing body or other identified person or body holding ultimate oversight and corrective authority for the affected education organization or scope. **high-consequence assessment** means an assessment whose outcome materially affects grade placement, credit, progression, completion, an external submission or another important learner decision. **host school** means the wider accountable school within which a bounded international section or school-based international programme operates. **international early childhood education scope** means an early learning or preschool scope in which a declared international education model is materially integrated into the educational provision. **international education model** means a declared educational model in which cross-national, international, intercultural, multilingual or internationally mobile learning purposes and pathways are materially integrated into governance, curriculum, delivery, learner support and public information. **international education scope descriptor** means controlled public wording that identifies the exact whole-school, bounded programme or early childhood scope assessed under these Standards. **international school** means, solely for application of these Standards, an operational school whose complete included school scope is governed and delivered through a material international education model. **international section** means a defined organizational unit within a wider school that has identifiable leadership, learners, personnel, programmes and operational records for international education while remaining under the accountable control of the school organization. **programme owner** means an external entity that owns, controls, authorizes, registers or licenses a curriculum, syllabus, programme, assessment, qualification or related protected material. **material** means capable, individually or together with related matters, of affecting learner access, learning, assessment, protection, completion, the certification conclusion, the certified scope or the accuracy of a public claim. **protected reporting** means a confidential or otherwise safeguarded route through which a learner, family member, worker or other person may report suspected wrongdoing, interference or serious risk in good faith without retaliation. **route** means the controlled module-selection class identifying whether the affected scope is a whole international school, bounded school-based international provision or international early childhood education. **school-based international programme** means a coherent and bounded sequence of education delivered under a school's accountability, materially affecting a defined learner pathway and incorporating a declared international education model. **school system** means a group of schools or campuses operating under common accountability and an effective education-quality system sufficient to satisfy ICEQC-ORG-2000 multi-site requirements. **teach-out** means controlled completion, transfer or other protection for current learners when a programme, pathway, site or organization is discontinued or can no longer be delivered as committed. **through-school** means one accountable school organization providing both early childhood education and one or more K–12 grade spans through connected governance or operations. 8.2 The ordinary or local use of the word international does not by itself establish any definition in clause 8.1.

9.1 Each affected scope component shall be assigned one of the following routes: (a) Route IS-W — whole international school, applying ICEQC-ORG-2210; (b) Route IS-P — bounded school-based international provision, applying ICEQC-ORG-2220; or (c) Route IS-E — international early childhood education, applying ICEQC-ORG-2230. 9.2 A route identifies the certification object and scope treatment and is not a quality level. 9.3 Route selection shall be based on verified operating facts and shall not depend solely on the applicant's name, marketing category or preferred characterization.

10.1 An international school or school-based international programme route shall be used for initial certification only where completed educational operation exists to verify implementation and effectiveness across a representative period. Except under clause 10.4, the minimum completed operation is: (a) for Route IS-W, one complete academic year for the complete proposed school scope; (b) for Route IS-P, one complete academic year of the bounded programme or section and current operating evidence for every included grade or programme stage; and (c) for Route IS-E, one complete academic year or twelve continuous operating months, according to the organization's approved operating calendar. 10.2 An applicant without sufficient operating evidence may receive a non-decisional readiness enquiry under ICEQC-ORG-2000 but shall not receive certification under these Standards. 10.3 Project plans, intended policies, forecast enrolment, untested systems or construction completion do not replace operating evidence. 10.4 A scope extension by an already certified organization may be assessed before the periods in clause 10.1 are complete only where: (a) at least one complete term or operating cycle has been delivered; (b) the extension does not depend upon an untested safeguarding, assessment, staffing, site or external-status control; (c) the scope wording excludes any grade, completion stage or claimed outcome for which operating evidence does not yet exist; and (d) an enhanced surveillance point is established before the end of the first complete academic year or twelve-month operating period. 10.5 A positive decision shall not rely on clause 10.4 where the organization claims complete-pathway outcomes, graduation, destination or longitudinal effectiveness that cannot yet be verified.

11.1 Before route selection, the applicant shall identify the legal and trading names, responsible operator, licensing or registration dependencies, governing authority, school leadership and every entity controlling a material part of the proposed scope. 11.2 The accountable applicant shall possess or demonstrate enforceable authority to require correction and continuing conformity throughout the proposed scope. 11.3 A brand owner, investor, consultant, agent, curriculum provider or management company shall not be treated as the school operator unless actual accountability and control are established. 11.4 Determination — Conformity exists only where the accountable education organization and control relationships are unambiguous and verified for every proposed scope component.

12.1 The organization shall define its international education model, intended learners, learning purposes, curriculum or pathway structure, implementation responsibilities and claimed international characteristics. 12.2 The model shall be materially evident in current governance, curriculum, teaching, assessment, learner support, personnel arrangements and public information throughout the affected scope. 12.3 A name, teaching language, foreign textbook, foreign employee, foreign learner, overseas activity, examination entry, membership or commercial partnership alone is insufficient to satisfy clause 12.2. 12.4 Application — Applies before any route under these Standards is confirmed. 12.5 Non-applicability — NA is not available. 12.6 Determination — Conformity exists only where consistent and verified evidence establishes a substantive international education model rather than an isolated activity or promotional identity.

13.1 Route IS-W shall be selected only where the complete school scope proposed for the international school descriptor operates through the international education model. 13.2 The scope shall include every material school function, learner group, grade span, programme, site and delivery mode that a reasonable reader would understand to form part of the claimed school, subject only to explicit and non-misleading exclusions permitted under ICEQC-ORG-2000. 13.3 A selected department, international section, programme, grade span or high-performing site shall not use Route IS-W where the wider school remains outside the international education scope. 13.4 Determination — Route IS-W is confirmed only where whole-school identity, completeness and control are verified.

14.1 Route IS-P shall be selected where a school controls a bounded international provision but the complete school is not within a whole international school scope. 14.2 The bounded provision shall have identifiable learners, educational purpose, responsible leadership, curriculum or programme structure, delivery period, personnel, records and entry and completion boundaries. 14.3 Route IS-P shall use one or both of the following profiles: (a) Profile IS-P1 — International Section; or (b) Profile IS-P2 — School-Based International Programme. 14.4 The profile shall not be represented as a separate certificate, quality level or recognition status. 14.5 Determination — Route IS-P is confirmed only where the organization can separate the bounded provision from the wider school's unassessed activities without concealing any material dependency or shared control.

15.1 Profile IS-P1 applies where the bounded provision has a defined organizational identity, delegated leadership and separately traceable learners, personnel, programmes and operating records within a wider school. 15.2 The wider school's governance, safeguarding, finance, facilities, complaints, records or other shared controls remain within the assessment boundary wherever they affect the section. 15.3 Use of Profile IS-P1 shall not permit the international education scope descriptor to apply to the complete school.

16.1 Profile IS-P2 applies where the bounded provision is a coherent educational pathway but does not operate as a separately organized international section. 16.2 The programme shall extend beyond isolated content exposure and shall comprise a controlled educational pathway with: (a) a defined learner group and entry point; (b) planned curriculum, learning time and responsible educators; (c) at least two coordinated subjects or learning domains governed by a common progression or completion structure; (d) planned assessment, reporting and learner support; (e) an operating duration of at least one complete academic year, unless a shorter duration is inherent in a formally defined school pathway and includes a complete entry-to-completion cycle; and (f) a defined completion, transfer or exit point. 16.3 A short course, single subject, standalone credit-bearing course, extracurricular activity, examination entry, preparatory class, resource purchase or overseas visit alone shall not qualify for Profile IS-P2. Use of an external curriculum or qualification name does not change this rule.

17.1 Route IS-E shall be selected for each early childhood scope component that satisfies the international education substance gate. 17.2 Route IS-E may describe: (a) a complete international early childhood organization; (b) an early childhood component of a through-school; or (c) a bounded international early childhood programme within a wider early childhood organization. 17.3 The scope descriptor shall distinguish the cases in clause 17.2 and shall not describe a bounded programme as the complete organization. 17.4 Determination — Route IS-E is confirmed only where the age group, care-education boundary, international model, responsible organization, site and service scope are verified.

18.1 A through-school including early childhood and school-age provision shall map Route IS-E to the early childhood component and Route IS-W or IS-P to each affected K–12 component. 18.2 Common governance and shared services may be assessed once where evidence remains sufficient and traceable, but age-specific module requirements shall not be replaced by the common assessment.

19.1 The organization shall record every model profile material to the affected scope, including as applicable: (a) an overseas national curriculum model; (b) an international or cross-national curriculum framework model; (c) a host-national and international dual-pathway model; (d) a multiple international programme model; or (e) an internationalized host-national curriculum model. 19.2 A model profile describes operating context and is not a separate certification, endorsement or quality level. 19.3 Selection of a model profile does not establish authorization, recognition or ownership of any named curriculum or qualification.

20.1 ICEQC-ORG-2110 shall apply to every primary, secondary or through-school component under Route IS-W or IS-P. 20.2 ICEQC-ORG-2120 shall apply to every early childhood component under Route IS-E. 20.3 A scope containing both early childhood and K–12 education shall apply both primary sector modules to their affected components.

21.1 ICEQC-ORG-2150 shall apply in addition to the route and primary sector module wherever remote, online or digitally mediated delivery is material. 21.2 Online delivery does not by itself establish or prevent international school status. 21.3 A platform or resource provider that does not accept accountable control of the complete educational provision shall not be treated as an online international school.

22.1 ICEQC-ORG-2160 shall apply where language education is itself a material learning object or separately represented programme within scope. 22.2 Use of more than one language or use of a language different from the host jurisdiction does not by itself establish an international education model. 22.3 Language-of-instruction support integral to an international school remains subject to the applicable requirements of ICEQC-ORG-2210, 2220 or 2230 whether or not ICEQC-ORG-2160 separately applies.

23.1 ICEQC-ORG-2180 shall apply where tutoring or preparation for an examination, admission process or competition is a material service within scope. 23.2 A tutoring, test-preparation or examination-entry service shall not be represented as an international school or school-based international programme unless every applicable route condition is independently fulfilled.

24.1 Boarding, residential provision, homestay, guardianship, transport and extended-care arrangements are conditional scope characteristics and do not create a separate international school route. 24.2 Every arrangement in clause 24.1 that is provided, arranged, required, recommended or materially relied upon by the organization shall be identified and mapped to applicable ICEQC and recognized external evidence requirements. 24.3 ICEQC assessment of an arrangement in clause 24.1 is limited to the education organization's responsibility, selection, information, supervision, handover, monitoring, complaint, incident and continuity controls. Compliance of accommodation, transport, guardianship status, fire safety, building safety, health regulation or another regulated matter shall be supported by suitable recognized external evidence and shall not be independently approved by ICEQC. 24.4 Where evidence necessary for a material safety or regulated matter is unavailable, unsuitable or materially limited, ICEQC shall withhold the affected conclusion or limit the certification scope and public wording. The organization shall not claim comprehensive ICEQC certification, accreditation or approval of boarding, residence, homestay, guardianship or transport.

25.1 An international trip, exchange, placement or mobility arrangement shall be treated as a conditional activity and shall not independently establish an international education model. 25.2 The activity shall remain within scope wherever the organization selects, arranges, controls, requires, represents or accepts educational responsibility for it.

26.1 A multi-campus or school-system scope shall satisfy ICEQC-ORG-2000 requirements for common accountability, effective control, complete population information, corrective authority and reliable sampling. 26.2 Each school, campus and central function shall be separately identified and mapped to the applicable route, module, profile and conditional requirements. 26.3 A central-office conclusion shall not automatically establish conformity at every school or campus. 26.4 A school or campus outside the assessed and decided scope shall not use the international education scope descriptor or certification mark.

27.1 A franchise, brand licence, membership, curriculum supply or management-support relationship shall be recorded according to its actual control and responsibility. 27.2 A collection of independently controlled operators shall not be certified as one international school system solely because it shares a name, owner, curriculum, service supplier or marketing identity. 27.3 Certification held by a brand owner, parent, member or affiliate shall not transfer to another entity without assessment and an express scope decision.

28.1 The organization shall identify each material external programme owner, awarding organization, examination organization and authorization, registration, licence or centre relationship on which the declared provision or public claim depends. 28.2 ICEQC shall verify the identity, holder, scope, site, programme, status, effective period and material limitations of evidence relied upon without making the external decision itself. 28.3 Absence, expiry, suspension, limitation or uncertainty of an external status shall not be concealed, replaced by an ICEQC conclusion or represented as pending approval where no such status exists. 28.4 A verified external status does not by itself establish conformity with these Standards.

29.1 A third-party name, mark, descriptor or protected material shall be used only on the basis of authority held by the organization and in a manner consistent with the evidenced status and scope. 29.2 ICEQC records and certificates shall use neutral descriptions unless a third-party name is necessary for accurate scope identification and its use is lawful, factual and non-endorsing. 29.3 An ICEQC mark shall not be combined with a third-party mark to create a joint, composite or endorsed identity.

30.1 ICEQC shall not select, prescribe, approve or rank a substantive curriculum, subject, language, national model, pedagogical doctrine or examination system through these Standards. 30.2 Assessment shall address how the organization defines, governs, implements, supports, evaluates and accurately represents its declared educational provision. 30.3 A module requirement shall not make compliance with a proprietary external standard an undisclosed or unavoidable condition of ICEQC certification.

31.1 The applicant shall provide the information in Schedule 3 for every proposed scope component. 31.2 Information shall distinguish applicant statements, official or external records, verified facts and unresolved claims. 31.3 Omission of a material school, learner group, programme, site, delivery mode, operator or external dependency shall prevent scope confirmation until resolved. 31.4 Application information shall disclose material ownership or financing dependencies, planned or reasonably foreseeable opening, expansion, suspension or closure, and any condition that could prevent the organization from completing commitments to current learners.

32.1 The confirmed scope shall identify at least: (a) the accountable certified organization; (b) the applicable route and module; (c) the school, section or programme name using factual wording; (d) sites and virtual environments; (e) learner ages and grade spans; (f) included programme or pathway categories; (g) delivery modes; (h) material conditional services; (i) applicable external-status dependencies; and (j) exclusions required to prevent misunderstanding. 32.2 The scope shall not use an unbounded group, brand, global-operation or all-programmes statement unless every included component is identified and assessable.

33.1 The certificate and public register shall identify the applicable route and exact assessed scope using the controls in Schedule 4. 33.2 Route IS-W may use an international school scope descriptor only for the complete school scope confirmed under clause 13. 33.3 Route IS-P shall use a school-based international programme delivery scope descriptor and shall not identify the complete organization as an ICEQC-certified international school. 33.4 Route IS-E shall state whether the certified scope is a complete early childhood organization, a through-school early childhood component or a bounded early childhood programme. 33.5 A module code, route or profile shall not be displayed as an additional certificate, accreditation or quality award.

34.1 A public claim shall remain limited to the certified organization, route, programme, learner group, site, delivery mode, edition and validity period shown in the public register. 34.2 A claim shall not imply ICEQC approval of the curriculum, qualification, examination, legal school status, external authorization, graduate outcome or unassessed part of the organization. 34.3 Database listing, application, readiness review, consultation participation or draft use shall not be represented as certification. 34.4 Where a third-party status is mentioned near an ICEQC claim, the identity and separate authority of each issuer shall remain clear.

35.1 The assessment plan shall identify route-specific evidence, shared controls, affected scope components, independently selected samples, live remote verification, recognized external evidence and unresolved limitations. 35.2 Evidence shall cover a representative operating period and material variation in learners, programmes, personnel, sites, delivery modes and outcomes. 35.3 Applicant-selected examples shall not be the sole basis for a conclusion where complete populations or independent samples are reasonably available.

36.1 Each applicable requirement in these Standards, the selected component module and every inherited core or sector requirement shall receive C, NC or confirmed NA in accordance with its controlling document. A component-module conclusion shall not conceal, duplicate or override the conclusion recorded for an inherited requirement. 36.2 Conformity exists only where current, attributable and verified evidence demonstrates implementation and effective control throughout the applicable scope. 36.3 A positive certification decision is prohibited while any applicable requirement is NC, any nonconformity remains open or evidence is insufficient for the proposed scope. 36.4 Route, module or profile selection shall not be used to omit a material activity, risk or public claim.

37.1 A failure to satisfy an applicable route, scope, identity, external-status, public-claim or module-composition requirement is NC. 37.2 A misleading whole-school claim for a bounded provision, a false external authorization claim, deliberate scope concealment or unauthorized transfer of certification shall be classified under ICEQC-CER-003 according to its effect on learners, evidence integrity and certification confidence. 37.3 One conforming programme, campus or control shall not compensate for a nonconforming applicable requirement elsewhere in scope.

38.1 Surveillance shall confirm continuing route eligibility, international education substance, scope completeness, external-status accuracy, public claims and representative module conformity. 38.2 Surveillance shall address earlier findings, complaints, incidents, learner transitions, programme results and changes affecting included components.

39.1 A change in operator, ownership, legal status, school identity, route, model, curriculum pathway, authorization, learner group, grade span, site, delivery mode, external provider or public claim shall trigger applicability and scope review. 39.2 A new school, campus, section, programme or online mode shall not be represented as certified before assessment and a positive scope decision. 39.3 Loss or material restriction of an external status on which the declared provision depends shall trigger immediate impact review and any necessary scope or public-status action.

40.1 The route, modules, profiles, scope components, external dependencies, decision status and public descriptors shall be consistent across the application, assessment record, certificate, public register, website and machine-readable data. 40.2 A database category or search label shall not override the controlled certification scope.