Inspection Profiles

Each SICI member inspectorate has provided a profile of their inspection system. In some cases the member has included a description of their education system as well. The profiles were drawn up in 2008/2009. A number of members have updated their profiles in light of recent changes. As the profiles are the property of the inspectorates concerned, SICI takes no responsibility for the current validity of the information provided.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Summary Profile: Bulgaria Education control is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Education Law, Education Law Enforcement Regulations, the Education Level, General Education Minimum and Curriculum Law, VET Law, Instruction No 1 from 1995 on control activities, Ordinance No 3 from 2003 of the minister of education and science on the system of assessment. The minister of education, youth and science is a specialized authority for education management and, executing his rightful obligations, controls the activities of all kinds of kindergartens, schools, education supporting bodies on all education levels.All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.

Catalonia

Catalonia

    Cyprus

    Cyprus

      Czech Republic

      Czech Republic

      Inspectorate Profile: Czech Republic The School Inspectorate of the Czech Republic has a long history – of course connected with the turbulent political history of the country. After the revolution in 1989/1990 the Czech Republic was the first Eastern – European country that developed and installed an inspectorate that did "full inspections" of schools – already in 1994/1995. That Inspectorate also was one of the eight founders – inspectorates of SICI in 1995. As in more Eastern – European countries, the development in this area of school inspection was not linear – due to political changes and the complicated change – processes in schools and education. In the Education Act of 2005 and accompanying documents the tasks and responsibilities of the CSI are crystallized now in a clear and stable way. All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.

      Denmark

      Denmark

      Inspectorate Profile: Denmark The system of evaluation in Denmark is not centred around or built upon a type of "full inspection" of schools. On the contrary: it builds strongly on the own responsibility of the municipalities and the schools to carry out their own evaluations and to take measures to continually improve the quality of their education. For this education the government has given goals and objectives and broad guidelines as a framework; and also obligations to really do the evaluations. For a correct understanding of the evaluation landscape in Denmark it is very important to keep in mind the difference between the general public system of schools and the system of "private, independent schools".All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.

      England

      England

      Inspectorate Profile: England The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is by far the largest organisation for inspection of schools - and of other providers of education, training and care - in Europe.  It is also one of the first inspectorates to have developed, from 1992 onwards, regular and systematic full inspection of schools.  With HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) in Scotland, Ofsted has had an important influence on the development of the new approach to school inspection, within Europe and in many other parts of the world.  All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.

      England - Independent Schools Inspectorate

      England - Independent Schools Inspectorate

        Estonia

        Estonia

        Inspectorate Profile: Estonia Since 1st September 2017 the organisation of inspection has changed. The inspection is exercised only by the Ministry of Education and Research (previously also exercised by county government officials). Since 1st September 2017 it is possible to control the activities of the educational institution’s owners. The objective of inspection has changed.  The main objective is to ensure the accessibility of basic and secondary general education, also organisation of education and schooling, its quality and efficiency on equal bases. The legality of educational institution and the owner’s actions are controlled when conducting the inspection.The inspectors are located in four regions. Their main tasks are to consult educational institutions, the owners, parents and local community; response to requests; build cooperation network; arrange information interchange between the ministry, educational institution and its owner. The inspection is conducted across the country by experts in case of schooling permits and inspection in individual matters. If necessary, it is possible to control the educational institutions’ activities in certain field (thematic inspection). All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.    

        Finland

        Finland

        Country Profile: Finland

        Flanders

        Flanders

        Inspectorate Profile: Flanders The Inspectorate of Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) has a new 'Decree' (regulation) since May 2009 - after the decree of 1991 that introduced a sytem of Full Inspection of all schools.  Such an inspection was done in all schools, irrespective of their governance: public by national or regional or local governments; or private by religiously-based or other association; both types subsidized by the national government.  This principle of 'inspection of all schools' has been kept in May 2009. All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.    

        France

        France

        Country Profile: France

        German-speaking part of Belgium

        German-speaking part of Belgium

        Germany - Hamburg

        Germany - Hamburg

        Country Profile: Hamburg

        Germany - Hesse

        Germany - Hesse

        Inspectorate Profile: Hessen  

        Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia

        Germany - North Rhine-Westphalia

        Quality Analysis in North Rhine-Westphalia is an external school evaluation procedure, comparable to “school inspection” in other German states and other European countries. It was introduced in August 2006 and is compulsory for all public schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. Quality Analysis aims at providing public schools in North Rhine-Westphalia with data-based information on the progress of their development and to support the schools in their future decisions. Overall responsibility for the Quality Analysis program lies with the Ministry of School and Education of North Rhine Westphalia, department 414 – “Quality Analysis”. It defines policy, strategy and standards. The specific organisation of the inspections is delegated to the five district governments, where specific Quality Analysis departments (“Dezernat 4Q” / “Section 4Q”) were established in 2006. These departments are part of the School Supervisory Boards, which are responsible for controlling and supporting public schools. The Quality Analysis departments work independently, yet cooperate with the School Supervisory Boards. Since 2013, the procedure and the instruments of Quality Analysis have been updated and refined. Starting with the school year 2015/2016, all schools will be evaluated according to the newly defined procedure of Quality Analysis. In districts where all schools of a specific school type have been inspected, a second round of school inspection begins. Schools are involved in the process of Quality Analysis from the very beginning. They actively contribute to organising and designing their ‘own’ inspection. Since 2017 the Inspection Framework of North Rhine-Westphalia, which closely refers to the Reference Framework for School Quality North Rhine-Westphalia, serves as a basis for all inspections. In addition to the compulsory criteria of the inspection framework, optional criteria can be agreed on by the school and the school inspection team. A full inspection is carried out at the request of the school only. The newly defined procedure of Quality Analysis consists of a preliminary phase and a main phase. Both phases are characterised by transparency, participation and cooperation. Depending on the schools development stage, the main phase takes place within a maximum of two years after the “initiative meeting”, which is part of the preliminary phase. During the main phase, the actual school inspection takes place. On the basis of various sources of information, the inspection team compiles a quality report on the school. The quality report highlights strengths and potential weaknesses and explains the results regarding the compulsory and the agreed optional criteria. The aim is to provide a strong impetus to the sustainable improvement of school quality. The quality report will then be analysed by the various panels of the school. Binding targets are agreed with the responsible School Supervisory Board. This can lead to the conclusion of agreements with institutions offering further education for teachers.  

        Ireland

        Ireland

        Inspectorate Profile: Ireland In Ireland, the Inspectorate is a Division of the Department of Education and Science, and the Department is responsible for the funding of the Inspectorate and its services.  The Irish Inspectorate is one of the oldest inspectorates of education: it was founded in 1831 when a comprehensive publicly-funded system of elementary education was established.  Subsequently, inspectorates of vocational/technical education and secondary education were founded in the early twentieth century.  All three branches – primary, secondary and vocational – were united in the 1990s.All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there. 

        Lithuania

        Lithuania

        Country Profile: Lithuania  

        Luxembourg

        Luxembourg

          Malta

          Malta

          Summary Profile: Malta The Quality Assurance Department (QAD) is organised at a central/top level department within the Ministry for Education and Employment. Quality Assurance in schools was introduced in Malta in 2005. Following that, the Quality Assurance Department has been given the responsibility to carry out External Reviews (inspections), as per Education Act of 2006. Since their inception, External Reviews have fallen under the remit of the Ministry for Education and Employment. External Reviews are carried out in all pre-compulsory (0-5 years) and compulsory school age (5-16 years) educational institutions within the State, Church and Independent sectors. External reviews aim to evaluate how far schools are planning to and actually managing to achieve the required quality standards so that the curricular and equitable entitlement of all learners is fulfilled. The Quality Assurance Department’s current vision for effective quality assurance mechanisms is based on a principle which aims to create a balance between autonomy and accountability. Therefore, greater coherence between external review and internal review (school self-evaluation) is continuously promoted through a developmental approach founded on a meaningful professional dialogue and which bases itself on openness and honesty about the school’s strengths and areas for development. This developmental approach, rather than placing an educational institution in one quadrant on level scales, promotes the concept of ipsative evaluation, focuses on school improvement and rewards progress.   The Quality Assurance Department has invested in developing nationally agreed criteria for school quality and in aligning internal and external review processes which form the basis of its functions and which mirrors the National Curriculum Framework (2012:32) which states that “Quality Assurance is to be realised through a system of ongoing self-evaluation, monitoring and review within schools complemented by an external review system that together foster school improvement.” Therefore, schools are guided to use the established standards and success criteria to steer their internal evaluation and school development planning. Success criteria are not binding but provide clear guidance as to how one can evaluate the extent to which a standard is being achieved. This is complemented with External Reviews that evaluate schools according to the set standards. Following the external review, reports are issued to the school outlining areas of strengths and recommend a way forward to progress in the achievement of the said standards. All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.

          Northern Ireland

          Northern Ireland

          Inspectorate Profile: Northern Ireland The Inspectorate of Northern – Ireland (ETI; Education and Training Inspectorate) has already a rather long tradition of "modern inspection" of schools in a form of "full inspection" of the institutions. The framework, the procedures, the guidelines, the permanent wish to learn and to improve is well –established. All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.

          Norway

          Norway

          Inspectorate Profile: Norway Supervision and inspections of the educational sector are relatively recent in Norway.  National inspections in 2006 indicated the start of coordinated inspectorate efforts for the educational sector.  During the period from 2006 to the present day, inspection activities have become more widely prioritised as an instrument for realising political goals for education and training.  The scope and extent of the Inspectorate's activities in this period has increased, and work is now being done to further develop inspection methods and operational models for inspections. All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.   

          Portugal

          Portugal

          Inspectorate Profile: Portugal IGE has a specific law that details its organisational framework and states its role within the education system. Inspection activities range from the supervision of legal compliance to school external evaluation. There are many other activities the Inspectorate can perform, such as monitoring schools’ performance, administrative and financial audits or even disciplinary proceedings against individual staff. Schools are inspected regularly (very often more than once in a year), although in the scope of different activities. The external evaluation of schools (a kind of full inspection) is among the most visible inspection activities. All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.

          Republic of Moldova

          Republic of Moldova

          Romania

          Romania

          Country Profile: Romania

          Scotland

          Scotland

          Inspectorate Profile: Scotland Over the last 15 years, there has been increasing international recognition of the success of "the Scottish approach" to accountability and improvement. HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) has played a vital role in developing this approach, which is built on an explicit combination of internal and external evaluation. HMIE receives frequent requests to contribute to thinking about quality improvement in countries across the world. HM Inspectors are frequently invited to participate in a variety of events and activities abroad. They also regularly receive international visitors who are interested in their work and, in particular, in their approaches to evaluation. All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.   www.educationscotland.gov.uk

            Serbia

            Serbia

              Slovak Republic

              Slovak Republic

              Inspectorate Profile: Slovak Republic The Inspectorate of the Slovak Republic in its present tasks and structure is rather young: from after the breakdown of Communist government in the early nineties.  Its main task is the inspection of all schools in Slovakia with a format of full inspections, like in most European countries.  These inspections are done every five years.  In some samples of schools where such a full inspection is done, there is a special interest in a particular theme, for example the teaching of ICT or reading literacy provision. Also other types of thematic inspections are done.All details are given in the following link and the sources given there.    

              South Tyrol - German Speaking Community - Italy

              South Tyrol - German Speaking Community - Italy

              South Tyrol is a German speaking area in the North of Italy. The approx. 120 German Schools are generally supported by three parts of the system:   ·       Institute of Advice and innovation” (Beratung und Innovation) ·       Inspectorate (Inspektorat – Schulaufsicht) ·       Evaluation (school visits and large scale assessments)   The “inspection” of schools (visits) by the evaluation team leads to measures, the autonomous school takes. These measures may consequently be controlled by the inspectorate through objective agreements with the Principal. If needed, schools are supported by the above mentioned institute. Schools are inspected every 4 years. Internal and external evaluation are combined and linked through the common reference framework concerning quality of schools (in the fields of context, resources, teaching and learning, collaboration, leadership, development, general competences). 

                Sweden

                Sweden

                Inspectorate Profile: Sweden Sweden has a highly decentralized school system, though the curriculum, national objectives and guidelines are decided by the Parliament and Government.  The Swedish Schools Inspectorate, SSI, plays an important role with its program for inspections to ensure that the national objectives become fulfilled.  The inspection program is based on the Education Act which also gives the SSI powerful tools in the form of, among other, injunctions, penalties and the right to withdraw license for running an independent school. Schools assessed to be “high-risk schools” receive a more comprehensive inspection.In addition to inspections, the authority is also working with quality control of defined areas within schools, assessment of complaints from individuals, and assessment of license to conduct or expand independent schools.  The Swedish Schools Inspectorate started in 2008 All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.  

                The Netherlands

                The Netherlands

                Inspectorate Profile: The Netherlands The Dutch Inspectorate of Education is one of the oldest state inspectorates of education (since 1801).    Since August 2017 the Dutch inspectorate introduced a new inspection approach and a new framework, which focuses more on school boards (governing bodies) as they are legally responsible for the quality of education. The underlying idea is that inspections will have impact on the quality assurance and the quality culture of school boards and as a result this will eventually have impact on the improvement of the quality of schools.   During the quadrennial school board inspections the Dutch inspectors focus not only on assuring basic quality for the school boards and its schools, but also on stimulating schools and school boards to constantly improve their quality by determining their own goals and ambitions to reach a level above basic quality. The main purpose of this supervision model is to investigate and assess the quality of school boards. To this end, we also conduct research at schools to verify to what extent the quality assurance of the board affects the quality of education at the school. In addition we will in any case visit schools where we see serious risks and schools for which the board requests the inspectorate to investigate whether the level of  their schools is ‘good’ (i.e. scoring above basic quality by also realising their own goals and ambitions). When school boards or schools fail to achieve basic quality the concerning standards or the school as a whole will be graded as ‘inadequate’ or ‘very weak’. In these cases, intensive follow-up inspection will follow, up until basic quality is met.   A renewed framework took effect on August 2021. More emphasis lies now on supervision of the quality of the educational systemas a whole.Systemic supervision is the starting point for the inspections of school boards and schools. System issues are therefore part of the inspections at the level of school boards and schools. Inspections are also more proportionate meaning less standardized.      

                Wales

                Wales

                Inspectorate Profile: Wales Estyn is the office of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales. Estyn is a Welsh verb meaning ‘to reach’, ‘to stretch’ or ‘to extend’. This word characterises Estyn’s mission: the achievement of excellence for all in education and training in Wales.Estyn’s work contributes to improvements in learning in Wales through providing an independent and high quality inspection and advice service that is distinctive to, and serves the needs of, Wales. Estyn’s unique all Wales perspective assists the development and implementation of policy for education, training and lifelong learning.All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there.

                Wallonia

                Wallonia

                Country Profile: Wallonia