Accreditation & Associations

Council of International Schools (CIS)

OIS is accredited by the Council of International Schools. Accreditation is a process by which a school seeks approval/validation from an outside agency. The purpose of the CIS accreditation programme is to provide a professionally sound scheme of self-evaluation and independent inspection, particularly for international schools. Involvement in the programme provides a valuable stimulus for schools to think more deeply about their situation and opportunities, and to plan for improvements.

Once accredited, the school is locked into a process of regular reviews to ensure continued quality assurance. After undertaking a comprehensive review, OIS was first accredited in Autumn 2002, then again in 2010. The school was fully re-accredited by CIS and NEASC in June 2021.

CIS is a not-for-profit membership association of schools and post-secondary institutions. It defines standards and provides services that support the continuous improvement of international education. CIS supports member institutions with an integrated portfolio of services that are world-class, professional and competitive.

International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO)

The two last years of the Upper Secondary School at OIS are authorised as a world school by the International Baccalaureate Organisation. The IBO is a non-profit educational foundation, motivated by its mission, focused on the student. The programme for students helps develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalising world. Founded in 1968, IBO currently works with 3,659 schools in 146 countries to develop and offer four challenging programmes to over 1,131,000 students aged 3 to 19 years.

Norwegian Educational Authority

OIS (Year 1 - 10) is approved by the Norwegian Educational Authority as an Educational Act §2-12 school since 2004. This implies that OIS has to comply with a limited number of provisions in the Norwegian educational regulations, mainly related to student safety and well-being as well as the obligatory Norwegian language and culture programme. The school is, however, exempted from a detailed regulation of areas such as the curriculum, admission policy and tuition levels. The school does not receive any public school funding.

Norwegian Kindergarten Authority

The OIS Pre-School is approved by the Norwegian Kindergarten Authority. This implies that OIS has to comply with all the provisions in the Norwegian kindergarten regulations. The school receives public financial support for the Pre-school programme.

 

Educational Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS)

ECIS is a global membership organisation that provides services to support professional development, curriculum and instruction, leadership and good governance in international schools to its members who are comprised of international schools, individuals and educational organisations.

Nordic Network for International Schools

The Nordic Network is a collaborative network that serves International schools in the Nordic and Baltic Regions. The network seeks to enhance communication and collaboration between its participants to ensure best practices in international education.

Abelia & Forum for Friskoler

Abelia is an employers' and business association of knowledge and technology enterprises with nearly 1250 member companies and more than 40,000 employees nationwide. Abelia has members in areas such as IT, telecommunications, education, research, consulting, creative businesses and organisations. Forum for Friskoler is a member organisation for private schools that are approved under the Private School Act and the Education Act. It organises 20 private schools with over 4,000 students and aims to: safeguard members' professional and economic interests, promote the private schools as an educational alternative, be a partner and consultative body to public authorities, and to promote quality in member schools.

Private Kindergarten Association (PBL)

Private Kindergarten Association (PBL) is a national professional body and employer's association for private kindergartens. PBL aims to increase the quality and added value in member daycare for the benefit of children, parents / guardians, employees, shareholders and society at large.