Four illegal schools have been operating in the South West, according to new figures published by Ofsted.

The education watchdog handed warning notices to four settings in the region that it believed were operating illegally as unregistered education providers.

An unregistered school is defined as a setting that is operating as an independent school without registration. It is against the law to operate an unregistered independent school in England.

Ofsted says: "Children attending them are at risk because there is no formal external oversight of safeguarding, health and safety or the quality of education provided. Ofsted investigates and inspects suspected illegal schools." Across the South West, Ofsted opened investigations into 37 different settings. An investigation is opened when Ofsted receives a referral about a setting.

As a result of these investigations, 20 settings were inspected and some may have been inspected more than once.

Four settings in the region were then issued warning notices. Inspectors issue a warning notice when they consider a setting to be operating as an illegal school.

The full set of data, which has never been published before, shows that Ofsted has investigated 521 settings, inspected 259 settings, and handed out 80 warning notices across England between January 2016 and December 2018.

Of the 71 settings handed warning notices, 15 have since closed and four are still under investigation.

Ofsted estimates that as many as 6,000 children are being educated in the unregistered settings it has inspected to date.

Ofsted’s Deputy Director in charge of the unregistered schools taskforce, Victor Shafiee, said: "We continue to have serious concerns about unregistered schools. As today’s data shows, this is not simply an issue with faith settings, nor is it limited to certain areas of the country. Unregistered schools come in many shapes and sizes, and not all of them are run with malicious intent. But, all children deserve the best. These settings deny children a proper education and can leave them at risk of harm.

"The problem here is first and foremost about safeguarding. Many of these places are unsafe – with poor facilities and hygiene, badly trained or untrained staff, who may not have had any employment checks made on them, and little care for children’s health and well-being.

"We need to make sure children are safe and receiving a good education that prepares them for life in modern Britain. Ofsted will continue to do everything we can to investigate and inspect unregistered schools, and where necessary we will seek to prosecute those running them."