The purpose of inspection is to promote the highest possible standards of education for children and young people.
This aim is reflected in the ETI’s vision and mission to ‘promote improvement in the interest of all learners’.
In achieving this purpose, the ETI:
- provides an unbiased, independent, professional evaluation of the outcomes achieved by the learners, the quality of provision including learning and teaching, and the leadership and management of the school and its contribution to improvement;
- publishes inspection reports on schools; and
- publishes reports on thematic evaluations on aspects the quality of education.
The outcome of a full inspection is one of four overall effectiveness conclusions.
The school has a high level of capacity for sustained improvement in the interest of all the learners. The ETI will monitor how the school sustains improvement. |
The school demonstrates the capacity to identify and bring about improvement in the interest of all the learners. The ETI will monitor how the school sustains improvement. |
Two of the conclusions refer to important areas for improvement in varying degrees.
Follow-up Inspection (12 – 24 months) |
The school needs to address (an) important area(s) for improvement in the interest of all the learners. The ETI will monitor and report on the school’s progress in addressing the area(s) for improvement. There will be a formal follow-up inspection in 12 to 18 months. |
The school needs to address urgently the significant areas for improvement identified in the interest of all the learners. It requires external support to do so. The ETI will monitor and report on the school’s progress in addressing the areas for improvement. There will be a formal follow-up inspection in 18 to 24 months. |
The outcome of a sustaining improvement inspection informs the next inspection activity which may be a full or further sustaining improvement inspection in up to three years.
In the case of a school evaluated as having a high level of capacity for sustained improvement, the conclusions are:
The school continues to demonstrate a high level of capacity for sustained improvement in the interest of all the learners. The ETI will continue to monitor how the school sustains improvement. |
The school has not demonstrated sufficiently the capacity for sustained improvement; this will be reflected in the future arrangements for inspection of the school. |
In the case of a school evaluated as having capacity to identify and bring about improvement, the sustaining improvement inspection conclusions are:
The school continues to demonstrate the capacity to identify and bring about improvement in the interest of all the learners. The ETI will continue to monitor how the school sustains improvement. |
The school has not demonstrated sufficiently the capacity to identify and bring about-improvement in the interest of all the learners; this will be reflected in the future arrangements for inspection of the school. |
The outcome of a monitoring and baseline monitoring inspection informs when a full inspection will take place in up to three years.
The conclusions are:
At the time of inspection, and for the line/lines of inquiry selected, the school is identifying and bringing about the necessary improvements in the quality of education. This will be reflected in future inspection arrangements. |
At the time of inspection, and for the line/lines of inquiry selected, areas for improvement have been identified. |