Glossary of terms in relation to youth work inspections

HMI: His Majesty’s Inspector of Education and Training in Wales

These are inspectors who work for Estyn to ensure the quality of provision on behalf of the Crown and the Welsh Government.

IC: Inspection co-ordinator

The IC is the first point of contact between the provider and the inspection team. They notify the provider of the inspection via a phone call before they forward the relevant background documentation. They will liaise closely with the nominee before and after the inspection, including the quality assurance and factual accuracy check period before the report is published.

ICF: Inspection contact form

This form is sent to the provider on notification. The provider shares practical and contextual details which helps the inspection process. This form is usually completed by the inspection coordinator during a phone call to the provider before the inspection. 

VIR: Virtual inspection room

This is a password protected, secure web-based system that allows providers to upload information before and during the inspection and to download guidance from the inspectorate about the inspection process.

RI: Reporting inspector

The reporting inspector will lead the inspection. The RI will liaise with the provider and the nominee both before and during the inspection.

Nominee:

The Nominee is a representative of the provider who liaises with the RI, helps with the practical management of the inspection and attends inspection team meetings, The nominee should be of sufficient superiority within the organisation being inspected to be able to ‘make things happen’ and understand issues fully. There can only be one Nominee for an inspection.

QAI: Quality assurance of inspections

An experienced inspector will visit the provider during the inspection and speak to the nominee and senior leaders about their experience of the inspection, in addition to shadowing members of the inspection team to ensure that they are completing their work to the standard expected by Estyn.

QAR: Quality assurance of reports

Following the inspection, the draft report will be edited by two editors (experienced Estyn HMI/directors) and the lead inspector will  respond to any changes suggested. Following the edit, the provider will receive a copy of the draft report and will have an opportunity to check this report for factual accuracy. The relevant Assistant Director, with responsibility for the sector, will also check the report before its publication on the Estyn website.  

PI: Peer inspector

The peer inspector is a full member of the Estyn team and will be working in a senior role in another youth work provider. Peer inspectors bring valuable current knowledge of the sector to enhance the work of the inspection team. The peer inspectors must complete their initial training successfully and attend refresher training annually to ensure that they are fully aware of the work they need to complete during the inspection process. 

AI: Additional inspector

When inspecting larger and/or multi-site providers, additional inspectors may be allocated to increase the capacity of the Estyn team and ensure that all aspects of the guidance are covered thoroughly. An Additional inspector is an experienced and trained inspector who is contracted to Estyn to carry out an inspection.

TIF: Team input form

During the inspection all members of the inspection team will record their observations in individual team input forms in the virtual inspection room.

RIF: Reporting input form

Following the inspection, the lead inspector will collate all the information gathered during the inspection in the reporting input form. This form will include draft evaluations of the different areas of the inspection framework. Once the reporting input form is complete, the lead inspector will send the form on to the first editor.

Team Meeting:

The inspection team will hold a team meeting most days during the inspection where they will share thoughts and findings and discuss issues. The Nominee attends these meetings and may be invited to clarify issues or occasionally provide additional evidence or information. The Nominee is expected to keep the discussions of the team confidential and not share them with colleagues in the provider.

Feedback Meeting:

This is a meeting at the end of the inspection, between the team and a small number of provider representatives where the team shares the findings of the inspection with the provider. Typically, the team will read the report out loud. The provider may raise matters of factual accuracy but not query any evaluations (judgements) in the report.

Professional Dialogue:

If possible, an inspector will hold a brief discussion with youth workers after a session has been observed.

‘Estyn proportions’ used to quantify evaluations:

During team meetings, inspectors will often refer to the following quantifiers when discussing their evaluations of practice and progress.

nearly all = with very few exceptions
most = 90% or more
many = 70% or more
majority = over 60%
around half = close to 50%
minority = below 40%
few = below 20%
very few = less than 10%