Independent School Inspections – A Model Worth Preserving

If you inhabit the Independent School world, you will know all about its own particular Inspection System but if you don’t, I thought you might be interested to read about my own experiences. So what follows is a very personal view from a Team Inspector.

The whole thrust of independent school inspections is that all the inspectors are either current serving teachers or those who have recently retired. This style of inspection by peers leads to a highly rigorous, focussed approach. This is no comfortable fireside conversation, it is a highly vigorous examination of a school. Every member of the team has been through a thorough training programme and has had to pass through an assessment process. Team inspectors are also called up for further training as appropriate to accommodate the almost endless changes in the regulations.

Every inspection starts with a team meeting, a frank exchange of expectations, a reminder of the code of conduct and also a useful exercise to refresh memories of the evaluation form, they key to the evidence gathering process.

A ‘Lead Inspector’, a fully trained expert in the subject of school regulations, heads up each team of inspectors. That poor person spends endless hours examining school web-sites, cross-examining Governors, grilling Heads, Bursars and staff to ensure that every school complies with every facet of regulatory compliance.

This, I believe, is a wonderful system of school inspection and one worth preserving.

Mike Abraham, Recruitment Director, TES Prime