A landmark new document has set out how school inspection will change in Northern Ireland.

Empowering Improvement: New Framework for Inspection is published by the Education and Training Inspectorate, which says the new approach was “co-designed” by “all education stakeholders”.

In a foreword, chief inspector Faustina Graham says: “We are determined to lower the stakes but raise the impact associated with inspection.”

She added: “We listened intently to what you told us during consultation and co-design and have transformed the inspection process. We have completely changed the reporting format which now takes explicit account of the context and uniqueness of each school or organisation.”

Some other key changes to inspection in Northern Ireland include:

• “An enhanced focus on the context, ethos and culture of the school or organisation and its vision and values”.
• “Five questions as the core of all inspections” (see below).
• “A renewed focus on the centrality of the learner”.
• “An increased emphasis on professional dialogue during inspections”.
• “The use of a school’s or organisation’s existing documentation as evidence”.
• “Stronger emphasis on the identification, reporting and sharing of highly effective practice”.

‘Very significant milestone’

The NAHT NI school leaders’ union wrote in a post on social media platform X that it “recognises the enormous body of work that has been invested in developing the new model of school inspection in NI”.

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It added: “This is a very significant milestone - the direct result of progressive thinking and meaningful consultation with trade unions and the profession.”

The five “core questions” for inspection are:

1. What is the school’s/organisation’s vision and what informs it?
2. How is the school/organisation setting about achieving the vision, within its own context?
3. How does the school/organisation monitor how well it and its learners are doing and how responsive is it to overcoming challenges and barriers?
4. How does the school/organisation define, celebrate and embed success for all learners?
5. How is the school/organisation creating the right conditions for the growth and development of a community of learning?