Our Approach: Independent specialist colleges

We inspect every independent specialist college in Wales at least once during a six-year cycle of inspection. In addition, we will carry out regular link visits to providers which offers another opportunity to engage with us.  These visits are intended to support ongoing improvement within the sector. 

Find out more detail in our inspection guidance resources below.

The animation below outlines our inspection process.

After each inspection, we publish our findings on our website. We no longer include summative gradings within these reports but instead focus on strengths and areas for improvement. 

Each year we publish the HMCI’s annual report. This includes a summary of our inspection findings as well as examples of effective practice and areas for development within the sector.

We also publish a range of reports and tools to support development in the sector.