School inspections will not go ahead as planned in the new year, Education Scotland has announced.
The national inspection body said late this afternoon that, having taken into account “ongoing challenges [that] settings and schools face dealing with Covid-19”, inspectors “will not resume the routine early learning and childcare and school inspection programme as originally planned”.
From mid-February, if Covid-19 allows, inspectors will carry out a selection of “recovery” visits, which aim to “support the education sector as it continues to respond to the impact of the current pandemic”.
The inspection body added: “They will not report on specific quality indicators or give grades as part of the visit.”
Gayle Gorman, chief inspector of education, said: “I am acutely aware of the pressures schools remain under currently, and have been engaging with school leaders and others and listening to the day to day experiences they are dealing with. It is with this understanding of the daily challenges that we make this announcement.”
School inspections won’t resume as normal in the new year
She said that during “recovery visits”, inspectors “will want to hear from educators about how they are addressing the impact of Covid-19”, adding: “We want to learn about what is working well, as well as the ongoing challenges schools are dealing with. We will gather evidence of the range and quality of learning children are experiencing and the school’s approaches to safeguarding.
“We will continue to keep our plans under review to changing circumstances linked to the pandemic that staff and learners may face.”
Over recent months, inspectors returned to schools after a long Covid-enforced absence, visiting over 200 schools and services that were due to have a further inspection and were part of “national thematic inspections”.
The EIS, Scotland’s largest teaching union, has welcomed this afternoon’s announcement from Education Scotland that it will not resume “scrutiny” inspections of schools in the New Year.
It said that updated plans published today “confirm that inspectors will focus on ‘recovery’ visits as a means of supporting schools as they concentrate on education recovery for young people”.
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS teaching union, said: “The Covid pandemic has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on all aspects of school life and it is entirely appropriate that Education Scotland and inspectors should focus their efforts in assisting schools in overcoming the huge challenges that our education system continues to face.”
Mr Flanagan added: “Teachers in our schools have worked flat out throughout the pandemic to seek to deliver a high-quality educational experience for young people. Teachers are under huge pressure, and the prospect of a return to scrutiny inspections in the New Year was a source of considerable concern amongst our members.
“The EIS raised these concerns directly with Education Scotland on several occasions, and it is welcomed that these concerns have now been listened to.”
Mr Flanagan said this afternoon’s announcement was “a sensible and practical decision, which will be welcomed by Scotland’s teachers”.
He added: “It will ensure that schools and school staff can continue to concentrate on their most important priority, which is to ensure the best possible educational experience for our young people despite the continuing challenge of the Covid pandemic.
“Our hope is that information gathered during ‘recovery’ visits by Inspectors will result in any requisite additional support and resources being delivered quickly to schools and early learning and childcare settings to support ongoing education recovery.”
Janie McManus, Education Scotland strategic director of scrutiny, said: “There is no doubt the pandemic has brought many challenges to the education sector and we do not wish to add to the pressure those working in education are facing in supporting children and young people.
“Our planned recovery visits will provide an opportunity for us to explore the range and quality of learning children and young people are experiencing, and the work being done to meet children’s and young people’s learning needs and support their wellbeing during this challenging time.”
