The role of the District Inspector
Most inspectors are deployed as district inspectors (DIs) with responsibility for a group of organisations within a geographical area. The DI aims to visit the organisations in his / her district as often as possible during the year. The DI develops a deeper understanding of the context within which the organisation is working, provides a challenge function outside of the normal inspection programme, and contributes to capacity building for the organisation to effect improvement. The different context does not in any way lessen the need for inspectors to adhere to the principles governing inspection, and, at all times to report as they find in order to promote improvement in the interest of all learners. During visits to the organisation, the DI will take the opportunity to discuss a number of issues with the management team which may include the organisation’s development planning process, standards and achievements and, through classroom/training observation, the quality of the learning, teaching and training. There are circumstances in which a DI may decide to visit an organisation, primarily for pastoral reasons. Where possible, the DI is a member of the team of any scheduled inspection for that organisation, although he or she will not normally be the Reporting Inspector (RI) . In the vast majority of follow-up inspections (FUIs) the DI will be the RI.
The role of the Reporting Inspector
The number of inspectors on Inspection teams will vary depending on the nature of the inspection activity and the size of the organisation. Almost all teams will include an associate assessor (AA).
The reporting inspector (RI) manages the inspection team and is supported, in most cases, by a deputy reporting inspector (DRI). The RI is responsible for:
- the planning and conduct of the inspection, from the initial contact with the leader of the organisation to the publication of the report;
- agreeing with the leader of the organisation the name of the member of senior staff who will act as the organisation’s representative and who will attend inspection team meetings;
- gaining a broad overview of the organisation’s recent performance, including how this may have changed since the last inspection;
- establishing professional working relationships and effective open communication with the leader and staff of the organisation, and fostering a positive climate for the inspection;
- endeavouring to ensure that the staff of the organisation are well informed about the nature of the inspection and how the inspection will be carried out;
- ensuring that all briefings and/or documentation cover the various aspects and stages of the inspection and how the staff and the learners will be involved;
- clarifying the documentation and information required for the inspection, and the timescale for providing it;
- gathering any information about particular circumstances affecting the organisation which may have a bearing on the context of the inspection;
- providing the leader/representative of the organisation with regular updates and alerting the leader/representative to any concerns, including the identification of any inadequate learning and teaching.
The DRI assists the RI as necessary and will take the lead when the RI is not available.
The role of the Associate Assessor
An Associate Assessor (AA) is a senior professional from an educational organisation who has expertise and experience in a particular educational area. AAs are appointed by public advertisement and interview. An AA joins an inspection team and contributes in the area(s) within their professional expertise.
By working with AAs the ETI aims to:
- enable others to share in the process of inspection;
- provide the opportunity for current practitioners to experience, and to contribute to the inspection process;
- bring a current practitioner’s perspective to the inspection process and to its continuous improvement;
- develop the concept of self-evaluation leading to improvement in relation to learning and teaching; and
- enable the AA to have a deeper understanding of how the process of self-evaluation helps the organisations in which we work to be more effective.
An AA receives training which includes:
- the principles of inspection;
- the procedures, protocols, and processes used in inspections;
- observing and evaluating lessons/sessions as relevant to a phase;
- recording and assigning performance levels;
- engaging in professional discussion with teachers/lecturers/trainers or youth worker; and
- writing evaluatively.
The AA will be an integral member of an inspection team and will:
- uphold at all times the ETI’s core values of truth, dignity, example and service;
- gather analyse and interpret relevant evidence, take notes of meetings and discussions, and assist the RI and inspection team as required;
- observe and evaluate learning and teaching, and engage in professional discussion with the teacher in order to promote improvement (including sharing key strengths and areas for development or reflection);
- observe and evaluate aspects of the organisation’s work, as agreed with the RI;
- discuss and clarify issues/findings with the RI and other inspectors, as appropriate;
- where appropriate, and following a brief from the RI, engage in professional discussion with the organisation being inspected, in relation to the context of inspection, in order to promote improvement;
- ensure that confidentiality is maintained at all times; and
- be aware that the work of ETI is subject to the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2000 and Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998.
If an AA takes a lead in evaluating an aspect of the work of the organisation:
- the findings will be moderated by, and agreed with, the RI and/or an inspector;
- in collaboration with the RI and/or an inspector, the AA may be asked to draft evaluative text (including key strengths and areas for improvement); and
- the AA will be accompanied by the RI or an inspector in reporting back any formal evaluations.
- AAs may also be asked to contribute to focus groups considering new developments in inspection, if requested by ETI.
Inspection Associate
An inspection associate is a recognised and effective practitioner who supports the work of inspection. Inspection Associates are seconded from their organisations to work with ETI for a specified period.
A Professional associate (PA) is a practitioner in a specialist area of business and industry. A PA joins an inspection team and provides useful insights for inspectors and an organisation’s staff on the current needs of employers and on the relevance of education and training practice.
The Role of the Organisation Representative
The ETI see greater participation of the leader of the organisation or their representative (the representative) in inspection as a way of helping organisations understand more fully the inspection process and the evaluation outcomes.
To build further on the principles of collaboration and transparency, shortly after notification of inspection the reporting inspector (RI) will request the organisation to identify a senior member of staff to represent the organisation before, during and after the inspection. The representative will manage the inspection process within the organisation and will normally hold a senior management position within the organisation. This role is offered on a voluntary basis and organisations may decide not to nominate a representative.
As the inspection proceeds, the RI will keep the representative fully informed of the emerging findings along with the underpinning evidence used to support the inspection team’s evaluations. The RI will ensure that the representative is aware of any issues that are emerging, with a particular emphasis on any areas of the organisation’s provision or work that may have important or significant areas for improvement. The representative will be invited to attend the inspection team meetings and the moderation meeting. The representative will not contribute to the final discussions and decisions on specific performance levels or overall effectiveness but will be able to direct the inspection team to documentation and/or individuals where additional evidence may be obtained.
There are a number of benefits to both the organisation and the ETI from involving the representative as part of the inspection process including:
- underpinning strongly the promotion of improvement in the interests of learners;
- a greater openness and transparency around the inspection process;
- building further the confidence of the education and training sectors in the inspection process;
- better informed action planning for improvement;
- enhanced opportunities for leaders to ensure that the inspection team has access to all the evidence;
- immediate feedback to inspectors on lines of enquiry and emerging evaluations;
- improved understanding by the organisation of how inspectors arrive at evaluations;
- more opportunities for the leader of the organisation to contextualise emerging evidence; and
- demonstrating the ETI core values of truth, example, dignity and service.
The role and responsibilities of the representative include:
- facilitating the administrative arrangements at all stages of the inspection process;
- ensuring the inspection team has access to all relevant information and accurate, reliable and up-to-date data;
- arranging meetings between inspectors and key staff, learners and other relevant stakeholders, including employers in Further Education (FE) and Work Based Learning (WBL);
- attending inspection team meetings, including the final inspection moderation meeting;
- contributing to discussions and raising any concerns about, or seeking clarification with regard to, the evidence base and emerging findings (preferably in advance of the moderation meeting);
- sourcing and providing any additional, relevant evidence relating to ongoing evaluations by inspectors, where appropriate;
- being an advocate for the organisation;
- becoming fully informed of the emerging strengths and areas for improvement and the evidence supporting inspection outcomes;
- respecting the confidentiality of inspection discussions;
- signing up to a code of conduct agreement; and
- providing post-inspection feedback on the process and conduct of the inspection.
Inspection is a complex process and concerns can arise. The role of the representative is a demanding one and it is expected that he/she will contribute to the smooth running of the inspection.