Posted by mhaxell
“The Education Secretary has called for a `refreshing and renewing’ of the inspection process. Michael Russell, speaking in Edinburgh on Tuesday, has asked Bill Maxwell, the new senior chief inspector, to take the lead.” Thoughts?
Posted by belimcfall
We were inspected recently and the whole process was a joke! The inspector for our department flitted in and out, didn’t ask to see anything, didn’t ask any questions, couldn’t possibly have gotten a good look at what was going on in the short time she was there . Despite the teachers, parents and pupils telling them the school has a discipline problem, they didn’t see any of it. In fact, the inspector deliberately left a difficult class, saying “I’ll come back later when they’re settled”, before disappearing for good. The HT got a glowing report. Why? Because she can talk a good game.
Posted by cobalt54
The only credible inspectorate would be comprised of effective classroom teachers who are called, rather in the manner of jury duty, to pass judgment on their peers.
Posted by CanuckGrrl
In the wake of the Irene Hogg catastrophe, we were promised kinder, gentler inspections . If you read between the lines in BTC5, the CfE assessment framework document which just arrived on our desks, it’s very clear that the role of HMIE is to be pared down . mainly to that of validating the school’s own self-assessment process . It’s completely possible to operate a fully accountable and top-notch school system without an inspector in sight. This is how Canada does it.
Posted by bigjimmy
A big bugbear of mine is that the school gets their report a few weeks after the assessment is finished, and you have to work out what the report is referring to, rather than issuing them on the day.
Posted by JPM1967
HMIE do more damage than good. They are supposed to be an independent, executive agency but, in reality, their agenda is closely linked to helping successive governments to “shake up” education for political ends. The advice often given by LAs prior to inspection is don’t debate, disagree or argue with anything HMIE inspectors say, even in a professional constructive way. If you do, they’ll get you.
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