The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) ask 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. The role of the representative is offered on a voluntary basis and organisations may decide not to nominate a representative.

During the initial contact at the pre-inspection stage of a programmed inspection or when making arrangements for a district or specialist visit the district (DI), specialist (SI) or reporting inspector (RI) will discuss with the leader the opportunity for joint lesson/session/activity observation.