So, you’ve been informed of an inspection? Don’t panic! We had a curriculum evaluation recently and although we had the initial fear of the ‘cigire’, it was an overwhelmingly positive experience for us. Read on to find out some helpful tips to approach the visit with ease.
It seems like the Inspectorate have a certain quota of inspections to complete before the end of the year as I am hearing of so many curriculum evaluations lately.
When we were informed of ours, the inspector sent us a guide to inspection in schools. This proved to be an invaluable resource for supporting us through the process.
You can search online for the latest Guide To Inspection in Primary and Special Schools which is on assets.gov.ie but a copy is linked here.
Navigating the guide
It’s a 70 page document, and time is of the essence when an inspection is looming, so I will highlight the key points for you.
This snippet from page 7 of the guide identifies the suite of inspection types that are currently being carried out.
The notice period varies by the type of inspection being carried out. Each type of inspection details the relevant notice period in the guide. We had five days notice for a curriculum evaluation.
Then, find the page in the document which relates to the type of inspection you are having. For us, it was a ‘Curriculum Evaluation’ (in Maths), which is laid out on page 37.
The really good news is that our experience of our inspection reflects exactly what is laid out in the table above. There were no surprises! The process was clearly laid out, transparent and very reassuring.
Organise the paperwork
Next up, it is important of course to get all of your paperwork in order. Again, the guide to inspections covers this for us! Page 67 clearly outlines the different types of inspections so you can check exactly what the inspectors will be looking for.
We found it helpful to gather up the relevant documents in a folder and have them ready for the inspectors on the first morning. This also helped us feel prepared and ready for anything.
Every school is different in terms of record keeping. For example, we store our Cúntaisí Míosúila on a shared drive so we arranged for the inspectors to have access to this, if they wished.
Safeguarding will be looked at
Every inspection will have a child safeguarding element and this is also covered in the Guide.
Different inspections will require different levels of information in relation to safeguarding.
Ours was a Curriculum Evaluation, so we ensured that we were up to date with Level One, as seen below.
We reminded all teachers to re-read their Child Safeguarding statement and to ensure that it is displayed in a prominent position in their classroom.
The day of inspection
When it came to the day of the inspection, we ensured that all staff were prepared and ready for a visit. The inspectors handed us a list of who they would like to see and off they went!
They requested a quiet space to feedback to each teacher for five minutes post observation.
Towards the end of the inspection they met with the leadership team and the maths co-ordinator for feedback.
After the inspection
Very soon after, we were issued with our report for factual verification. Our board of management wrote a response and the process was complete.
The report is now available on the Department website and our school website.
The inspectors included a lovely piece for the children about the work they had done in our school and their findings. We shared this with our pupils also.
Final thoughts
We viewed the inspection as an opportunity to showcase our school and the quality of the learning and teaching. Indeed, the inspectors had some valuable feedback for us, which we have discussed and we are beginning to implement.
We didn’t inform parents or pupils in advance of the visit. However, when the report was published we shared it with the parents and we shared the child friendly version that the inspectors had provided, with the pupils.
Overall, our experience was hugely positive, professional, collegial, and affirming!
Make sure you celebrate!
When it was all over, we ensured to treat our team to a celebration to acknowledge everyone’s hard work.
If you have any feedback or other comments about a school inspection to share, feel free to use the comments below.
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