Estyn continues improvement journey with inspection review
The inspectorate is revising how they will inspect from September 2024 and beyond. By that point they will have inspected all schools, colleges and other providers at least once in the last eight years.
Owen Evans, Chief Inspector, says,
Making sure that inspection has a positive impact on the lives of all learners in Wales is at the heart of our work. Now that judgements are no longer the headline of most inspection reports, schools and other education and training providers can better concentrate on the strengths and areas for development.
Now, we’re taking the next steps so that our work continues to support improvement. As we move towards the academic year starting in September 2024, we’re beginning to review what our approach will be from then on.
Soon we’ll be involving all our stakeholders in consultations – a process that’s already begun in the youth sector – so that we can include everyone’s ideas.
From September 2024 Estyn inspections will:
- be leaner and more focused on what drives improvement.
- be manageable for all providers and complement their own processes of evaluation and improvement.
- explore how broader inspection activities can be tailored to better support improvement across individual providers and sectors.
- have more regular contact with schools and other providers and offer more up-to-date feedback for parents and carers.
- bring external inspection and providers’ internal evaluation processes closer together.
- use resources where they are needed most, such as with settings that need support and monitoring for improvement