Academic calls for snap inspections to improve performance in schools

SCHOOLS should be subjected to snap inspections as part of an overhaul of the scrutiny of Scotland's education standards, according to one of the country's foremost academic experts.

Stewart Sutherland said that the no-notice inspections should form part of a new drive to give parents more relevant and easily understood information on the performance of their children's schools.

Lord Sutherland of Houndwood – a former chief inspector of schools in England and former principal of Edinburgh University – also called for a "grading" system for schools.

The intervention by such a respected figure in education is likely to spark fresh debate about inspections, but last night Lord Sutherland's call was dismissed by teaching unions and the Scottish Government.

Lord Sutherland argued that there were lessons for education from the approach to inspections south of the Border and in other areas of the public sector in Scotland. He said: "Schools are not for staff, but for the pupils and the parents.

"Rigorous inspection and clear results of the inspection do bring real benefits. It sometimes causes problems for individual schools but, in most cases, it is a wake-up message, which it is important to give and important to be acted on."

Lord Sutherland said that in England inspectors were piloting snap inspections, where schools are not given any notice. "I think that, provided it is short, sharp and precise, this should take out of the system all the worrying in advance about inspection," he said. "People in schools get very het up."

Lord Sutherland, who has been heavily involved in the care of the elderly since a commission he chaired recommended free personal care – introduced in Scotland but not south of the Border – said he had been impressed by new plans to grade care homes. The Care Commission is about to give all homes, private hospitals and nurseries it regulates a mark from between one to six in five separate areas.

Asked if this could be applied to the work in schools by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIe), Lord Sutherland said: "I think there is a case for some kind of overall grading, but it is complicated in schools. They might be pretty good in some places, but not good in other areas.

"I would be cautious. I would probably rather see clear prose, rather than straight numbers. What is right for care homes could be misleading for schools.

"However, in public services where there is a monopoly – and there is no room for the market, whatever some might say – there has to be a greater degree of scrutiny and that applies not just to areas like care but to schools and hospitals."

When he was in charge of inspections in England, Lord Sutherland consulted the Plain English Society on writing clearer reports.

He said: "I think that you need greater clarity, not wording which only professionals understand. You should not need an MBA in civil service language to work out what these reports are saying."



A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "We believe it's for the relevant bodies to design and implement their own inspection processes. That is where their expertise lies.

"HMIe have the power to carry out snap inspections, but this is very rarely used. Inspection is not about catching out schools, it's about working productively with schools to improve education. At the moment, schools get three weeks' notice, which is adequate preparation time."



Ronnie Smith, the general secretary of the EIS, the country's largest teaching union, said: "Schools are complex and diverse institutions and we have to be cautious not to over-simplify the way in which schools are assessed. It would be in no-one's interest to reduce the presentation of HMIe reports to a simplistic overall scoring system."

Mr Smith said this "would inevitably lead to ill-founded comparisons between schools".

Liz Smith, the Conservatives' education spokesman, said:

"I am not in favour of on-the-spot inspections with no warning as I do not think they are practical or a courteous way to treat those involved. They would also be hugely unpopular with heads."

WHERE TO FIND THE FINDINGS

THE key findings on a school are not listed in the inspectors' main report, only in an appendix at the end.

On the first page of any report, inspectors always list a school's "key strengths". This might include the pastoral care of students or the state of the school buildings.

Information which most parents consider more important, including levels of attainment, are listed in an appendix to the reports.

HMI judge schools in 19 different categories, ranging from the curriculum structure, through attainment to the headteacher's leadership.

In each category they are given six grades – excellent, very good, good, adequate, weak or unsatisfactory.