School inspections are changing
Overview
An introduction from His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education
Making education better for every learner
As Scotland’s inspectorate of education, we have a duty to uphold the rights of children and young people and to ensure the education system delivers what they need to thrive.
Why inspection matters
Our role is to shine a light on what works, share effective practice, and support improvement across the system. But we also recognise that for some children and young people, the system isn’t yet delivering as well as it should. When that happens, we have a duty to act.
Inspection helps us understand what’s working well and where there’s room to grow. It’s not just about assurance, it’s about improvement. It’s about making education better, for every learner, in every school.
Reviewing school inspection
To do this well, both the framework and models must be fit for purpose. They must achieve what we need it to and change where it doesn’t.
That’s why we’re carrying out a full review of school inspections.
Why we’re doing this consultation
This consultation is a key part of the education inspectorate system-wide review of school inspections. It will inform how we strengthen inspection as a driver of improvement, assurance and public value.
To fully understand what’s working in the current inspection system, and where improvements could be made, we want to ensure that a wide range of views and experiences are represented.
This consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding. An Easy Read version of this paper is also available.
Translated versions and alternative responses
You’ll find the consultation questions at the bottom of this page in English and Gaelic. If you need them in another language, or if you can’t complete this online questionnaire but would still like to share your views, please contact us.
If you do send your response by email, please also fill in the ‘Respondent Information Form’ at the bottom of this page and attach it to your email.
Consultation sections preview
The consultation sections are included here for your reference. Please click ‘Begin consultation’ at the bottom of this page to proceed.
Section 1 People involved in inspection
Section 2 Inspection frequency and selection
Section 3 Use of grades in inspection
Section 4 Notification of inspection
Section 5 Pre-inspection
Section 6 Design & content of a school framework
Section 7 Reporting on the outcome of inspections
Section 8 Inspecting nursery classes
Section 9 Inspection follow-up
Useful information about responding to this consultation
As you complete your responses, each page will provide the option to ‘save and come back later’ at the bottom. This means you can save your progress and return to the consultation at any time before it closes. If you don't use this feature and leave the consultation midway through, your response will be lost.
Once you have submitted your response, you can enter your email address to get a PDF copy of your answers sent to you.
On the ‘About You’ page at the end of this consultation, organisations will have the opportunity to tell us more about their work and/or how their response was informed.
After the consultation has closed, all relevant submitted responses will be analysed. This may be carried out by third-party organisations who we may contract to do this work. Such data sharing will be governed by appropriate contractual arrangements to keep your data secure.
We will publish an analysis report after the consultation has closed. This report will summarise the findings based on all responses submitted. It will be published on the HMIE website.
Why your views matter
It’s important we listen to a wide range of voices and experiences, so they can help shape how school inspections evolves in the future.
Your feedback will shape how we make inspections fairer, more transparent, and more focused on what matters most for children and young people.
Give us your views
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- Children and Families
- Education
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