The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 private schools in the United Kingdom. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the business interests of its independent school members in the political arena, which includes the Department for Education. The ISC has received much positive comment for their work to support independent education in the face of ideological and politically motivated attack on the sector. Even critics of the ISC describe them as the "sleepless champion of the sector" and doing so in a "very forthright manner."