The inspection programme of secondary schools in Scotland has been suspended for four months to concentrate on helping those struggling to implement Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).

The extra support will be provided from August until December, when primary school inspections will also be reduced.

The effect on primaries is still to be quantified, but the need to concentrate on secondaries means 30 schools will have their inspections postponed to release time for inspectors to undertake development work.

Bill Maxwell, the senior chief inspector, said: “These plans will allow us to provide substantial additional support for the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence over the coming months.

“Working with practitioners in all sectors, local authorities and partner organisations, we have been supporting Curriculum for Excellence from its inception, but this gives us an opportunity to work in a targeted way with schools and education authorities at this important stage of the process.”

Schools requiring support will be selected across Scotland, following local talks between district inspectors and directors of education.

This will be accompanied by random sampling to provide HMIE with evidence on the overall state of play relating to the introduction of CfE. nm.