Procedure during inspections

Once you have ensured the evaluation of your department is up-to-date and have gathered the appropriate evidence to support it, the arrival of the inspectors should not impinge too much on the normal operations of the department. However, it is useful to be aware of the sequence of the inspection process and to ensure that your staff are fully prepared. Inspectors will spend most of their time in school gathering first-hand evidence. This may include scrutiny of pupils’ work and departmental documentation, but it will also involve:

• observations of lessons and meetings
• discussions with a range of different members of the school, including pupils, members of staff and heads of department.

Further detail about these aspects, and how your department can prepare, is provided in this section.