How to give employees' families a school shortlist

This article is for HR staff who have been asked by an employee heading overseas, "Which school is good for my child?" Giving a school shortlist is less about ranking schools and more about organising information so that families can check it themselves. After reading, you will be able to decide what to put on the sheet, how to word accreditation statuses, and which questions to hand over with it.

A shortlist is a starting point, not a verdict

If the list you hand over reads as "this is the right answer", it weighs on both the family and the company. A 2015 article in the American Foreign Service Association's journal (as of December 2015) says international schools set their own admissions policies, so families need to contact each school directly and complete its application. It helps to explain that your list simply narrows down whom to contact.

The same article advises learning the conditions of any employer education allowance early. For example, if the sheet also states what the allowance covers and when to apply, families can plan costs while they look at schools. Conditions differ by company, so base this on the latest guidance from the internal department that owns it.

What to put on a school information sheet

When you are unsure which items to include, another country's public standard can be a reference. Schedule Part 6, 'Provision of information', of England's Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (point-in-time version of 1 November 2021) lists what a school must tell parents: address, telephone number and head teacher's name; the school's ethos and aims; admissions, misbehaviour and exclusions policies; provision for pupils with educational needs and for pupils with English as an additional language; academic performance in the preceding year; the complaints procedure; and inspection reports. It applies only to independent schools in England and can be amended, so use it as a prompt for items, not as a legal benchmark.

The admissions principles of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) (as of November 2026) are also worth a look. They ask schools to share full costs before families commit and to publish clear dates and procedures for notifications, waitlists and financial obligations. These are member best practices, not law, and real procedures differ by school. So we suggest including a line on the sheet such as "get dates and costs in writing."

Write accreditation wording with the status and the date checked

School websites often say 'IB school' or 'accredited', and the same words can point to different statuses. On the sheet, it is safest to put the accrediting body, the status and the date you checked side by side.

• IB: The International Baccalaureate Organization's 'Guide to school authorization' (March 2022) describes three stages: consideration, candidate and authorization. Candidate schools must make clear that authorization is not guaranteed. When a school says 'IB school', check the IB's official school search to see whether it is a candidate or an authorized school.
• NEASC: Its 'Become Accredited' page (as of November 2026) says candidacy is a first step before membership and that accreditation is an ongoing cycle. 'Candidate' and 'accredited' should be read as different statuses.
• ACS WASC: Its process overview (as of November 2026) says the standard cycle is six years, with some schools on five or seven. The 2018 status explanation describes five statuses, from six-year accreditation to probationary accreditation and withheld accreditation. The phrase 'WASC accredited' alone does not tell you the current status.
• Cognia: A press release of 6 November 2025 introduces an American School Certification as a separate scheme from accreditation. When a school mentions Cognia, have families ask whether it holds accreditation or this newer certification.
• CIS and COBIS: The CIS about page (as of November 2026) presents International Accreditation as a quality-assurance mark and says it is not a ranking. The cycle is not on the page, so check it with the school or CIS's list. On 22 May 2023 the UK's QAA published a positive review of the COBIS Patron's Accreditation and Compliance scheme, but that assesses the scheme, not any individual school.

These are terms set by each body and can change over time. On the sheet, leave a date such as "checked on the body's website on [date]".

Hand over questions that fit each family

Even with the same list, each family worries about something different first. It helps to turn the points raised in the AFSA article (as of December 2015) into questions.

If the move is off-cycle from the school calendar, online or home-school programmes with rolling starts are an option, and some high-school students consider boarding for continuity. IB and AP offerings and the order of maths courses are also worth checking, since the article notes that integrated maths can complicate transfers. For a child who needs learning support, ask whether it is offered, whether there is space and whether it will continue, because services can change as staff rotate. Keeping school records and lists of textbooks and syllabi at every move helps the new school place the child and award credit.

Safeguarding is easy to overlook. The Department for Education's 'Keeping children safe in education' is statutory guidance for schools in England, and the 2026 version came into force on 1 September 2026. British-curriculum schools overseas may not be bound by the same legal duties, so tell families to ask any school who its safeguarding lead is and how concerns are reported.

Point families elsewhere for Korean community information

Families sometimes ask, "Are there many Korean families there?" The Overseas Koreans Agency's 'Overseas Koreans 2025' (as of 31 December 2024) publishes estimates by consular mission. For example, the area of the Consulate General in Houston is estimated at 118,884. But the figure counts Korean nationals and ethnic Koreans with other citizenships together, and it covers a mission's whole area, so it says nothing about a single neighbourhood or school. For everyday matters such as Korean grocers or weekend Korean schools, direct families to the local mission and Korean association.

Sam's one-line tip

Write beside each school name who checked what and when, and the sheet becomes a source families can trust rather than a recommendation.

Checklist

• A line states that the list is a starting point, not a ranking or recommendation
• Each school has space for address, contact, admissions steps and total costs
• Accrediting body, current status (candidate, accredited and so on) and date checked are written together
• IB status is checked on the IB's official school search, and other accreditation on the relevant body's site
• Employer education allowance conditions and timing are explained on the same sheet
• Family-specific questions (move timing, maths sequence, learning support) are handed over too
• Families are told to ask about the safeguarding lead and reporting process
• Korean community information is directed to the local mission and Korean association

Confirm with the owner

• Which internal department owns the allowance details (items, limits, application timing) and can brief families?
• Who updates the school information sheet, and how often?
• Have you agreed how to record the date each accreditation status was checked?
• Is there a contact point where families can come back with questions after contacting schools?
• Have you chosen wording that does not suggest the company vouches for any particular school?

Your next step

Take out the school sheet you use now and check whether every cell mentioning accreditation has three things: the body's name, the status and the date checked. If any are missing, start by confirming them on the relevant body's website and filling them in.