ASTI - Ireland's main second level teachers union

The Inspectorate is a division within the Department of Education and Skills charged with the inspection and evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in schools.  While inspectors are generally recruited to work in either the primary or post-primary sector, the work of the Inspectorate is managed as a unified service, headed by the Chief Inspector and organised into two subdivisions, Regional Services and Policy Support, each headed by a deputy chief inspector.

The Inspectorate has a statutory quality assurance obligation in relation to educational provision, as set out in section 13 of the Education Act, 1998. The Act defines the functions of an inspector in his/her dealings with teachers, schools and school management, and outlines the duty of the Inspectorate in advising the Minister.  Other legislation, such as the Education Welfare Act, 2000 also has a direct bearing on the work of the Inspectorate.

The Inspectorate also has a role to play in procedures for dealing with teachers experiencing professional difficulties. For more information see here.

This page provides information on:

Subject inspection
Whole School Evaluation
Whole School Evaluation – Management Leadership Learning
Incidental Inspections
Procedure for the Review of Inspections

ASTI Member Feedback Forms on Inspection

Members who wish to give feedback on school inspection, please download, complete and return the relevant form below to clarem(at)asti.ie or to Clare Manning, ASTI, Thomas MacDonagh House, Winetavern Street, Dublin 8.

Incidental Inspection form
Whole School Evaluation form
Whole School Evaluation (MLL) - Management, Leadership & Learning form

Inspection in Schools

The Inspectorate’s annual inspection programme includes mainstream evaluation of the work of primary and post-primary teachers and schools and thematic evaluations of particular aspects of education provision.  The Professional Code of Practice on Evaluation and Reporting for the Inspectorate (2002) developed in accordance with the provisions of section 13 (8) of the Education Act (1998), sets out general principles and guidelines under which members of the Inspectorate engage in the process of evaluation and reporting. In essence, the code seeks to make clear the professional standards to which the Inspectorate works.

There are four main inspection models at second-level

-        Subject inspection
-        Whole School Evaluation
-        Whole School Evaluation – Management, Leadership and Learning
-        Incidental Inspections

Subject Inspection

Post-primary inspectors conduct Subject Inspections in post primary schools in curricular areas in which they have specialist knowledge and experience. Subjects are evaluated under the headings of whole-school provision and support, planning and preparation, teaching and learning, and assessment and achievement.

The inspection process is outlined in A Guide to Subject Inspection at Second Level (2004). Following the evaluation, a report is prepared and issued to the relevant teachers and to the management of the school.

A core principle guiding the Inspector’s report is that the report issued as a result of subject inspection will not make reference to the work of individual teachers.

The ASTI was successful in obtaining a number of inclusions in the final draft of A Guide to Subject Inspection at Second Level. These include:

• It is expected that teachers will be able to indicate to inspectors a broad written plan of their work on a termly and yearly basis. However, it is not necessary that teachers prepare individual written lesson plans for the purpose of subject inspection;
• It is now overtly stated that inspectors will take school context factors into account in evaluating examination results;
• Subject inspections will not take place during the first two weeks of the school year, the week preceding and the week following the Christmas holidays and the final week of the school year;
• Teachers will have an opportunity to apprise inspectors of circumstances that impact on the effectiveness of their work with particular classes - this will allow teachers to deal with resource issues, challenging pupils, etc.
• Two weeks notice will be given;
• Evaluation will not be prescriptive as to methodologies and must recognise individual teaching and learning styles and individual teaching approaches in accordance with the diverse needs of different pupils;
• The Guidelines highlight that the Inspection Report will not make reference to individual teachers.

Whole School Evaluation

Whole-School Evaluation (WSE) is a model of external evaluation for primary and post-primary schools that was formally introduced in the system during the school year 2003/2004. The process is outlined in Looking at Our School guidelines on school self-evaluation for primary and post-primary schools.

From the beginning, WSE was viewed as an evaluation mechanism that would complement internal continuous improvement activity in schools. It is designed to

• facilitate the full participation of the whole school community in the evaluation process
• contribute to school development by affirming good practice in schools and by providing advice and support to enable schools to develop
• ensure school and system accountability by providing objective, dependable, high-quality data on the operation of the individual school and the system as a whole
• enable teachers and schools to use the evaluation criteria for school self-review and improvement, and
• contribute to system improvement by providing information that can inform the discussion and development of education policies.

During the evaluation the inspection team takes particular account of the school’s own review and development work, and inspectors are also concerned to acknowledge and affirm good practice and achievement. During school and classroom visits the inspectors observe teaching and learning, interact with pupils, engage in discussion with teachers, and examine planning documents. Information is gathered from a range of sources within a school to ensure that judgements made by the inspectors are valid, reliable, and consistent. The inspectors meet boards of management and officers of the parents’ association or parents’ council, where such a body has been established in line with the Education Act (1998).

Following the evaluation a draft report is prepared, in which the strengths of the school are acknowledged and clear recommendations made in relation to the further development of education provision in the school. Post-evaluation meetings with the principal and staff and with the board of management provide an opportunity for further dialogue in relation to the inspectors’ findings and recommendations. Following the verification of factual content with the principal, the WSE report is issued to the school.

Whole School Evaluation- Management, Leadership and Learning

WSE-Management, Leadership and Learning school inspections examine school management, leadership and learning in a whole-school context. WSE-MLL is not a replacement for the standard WSE model, operating in schools since 2003. It is a separate and new inspection process with a focus on management and leadership and the quality of teaching and learning.

In advance of the in-school MLL inspection, the inspection team will meet with members of the Board of Management and the Patron/Trustees to find out about the operation of the school and the school context.  Questionnaires will be distributed to a sample of parents and students in order to gauge their impression of the operation of the school. Questionnaires may also be distributed to teachers to gather their perspectives about their own work and about aspects of management, leadership and learning in the school.

The in-school inspection phase of the evaluation normally lasts three days. The inspection team will use that time to evaluate the quality of school management and leadership, the quality of teaching and learning, the implementation of recommendations from previous evaluations, and the school’s self-evaluation process and capacity for school improvement. This will include reviewing school documents, meeting with management and teachers and classroom observation.

Incidental Inspection

Incidental inspections are short one-day inspections conducted by one inspector and focusing on aspects of teaching, learning, student achievement and support for students in a school. Schools are selected for incidental inspection as part of the process of inspection planning managed by region. No advance notice is provided to schools that an incidental inspections to be carried out.

An incidental inspection typically involves the evaluation of teaching and learning during a number of lesson periods throughout the day. The lessons are selected by the inspector during the first period of the school day and teachers of these classes are notified at that time.

Classroom observation will focus primarily on evaluating the quality of learning and teaching. Requests for documentation are kept to a minimum. While there is an expectation that teachers are able to present their written plans of work on a termly and yearly basis, inspectors base their evaluation of preparedness principally on the content, structure, pacing , methodology and assessment procedures of the lessons observed. Following classroom observation brief oral feedback is provided to individual teachers and at the end of the day the inspector provides oral feedback to the principal or deputy principal on the aspects of educational provision in the school that have been evaluated.

For more information see A Guide to Incidental Inspections in Second-Level Schools and Centres of Education.

Procedure for the Review of Inspections 

A teacher or the board of a school may request the Chief Inspector to review any inspection carried out by an inspector that affects the teacher or the school. The review procedure applies to all inspections affecting schools or teachers, including all evaluations and reports arising from such inspections and evaluations, other than those required under existing procedures for teachers experiencing professional difficulties.

Click here to read http://www.education.ie/servlet/blobservlet/des_rvw_schtchrs_fore.htmla Procedure for Review of Inspections on Schools and Teachers

A review of an inspection leads to one of three possible outcomes:

• that the inspection and/or inspection report is upheld
• that an element or elements of the inspection is/are regarded as not in keeping with the Professional Code of Practice on Evaluation and Reporting for the Inspectorate, and /or that the inspection report is amended and reissued
• that the inspection and/or the inspection report is withdrawn and a further inspection or part inspection, as appropriate, is carried out by an inspector or inspectors other than the inspector/inspectors involved in the original inspection.

 

For more information

Looking at our School – An Aid to Self-Evaluation in Second-Level Schools  Prepared by the Evaluation Support and Research Unit of the Department of Education and Science

Education Act 1998