2.9 Key messages

2.9 Key messages

Looking at Our School: A quality framework for schools

■The publication of Looking at Our School 2016 (LAOS) was a significant innovation. It provides a unified

and coherent set of standards for teaching and learning and for leadership and management. It informs both inspection and school self-evaluation (SSE), and promotes shared discourse around the quality of aspects of educational provision.

■Work is ongoing to ensure that the LAOS framework remains accessible and relevant.

A greater range of inspection models

■The development of a greater range of models has facilitated greater inspection coverage of schools and

early learning and care (ELC) settings, and more focused evaluation in areas such as special educational needs provision in schools.

■The Inspectorate developed specific models to evaluate the provision for learners with special

educational needs, and to monitor the implementation of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools 2017.

Expansion of our advisory role

■The Inspectorate expanded its advisory role in schools; advisory visits have been undertaken in schools

participating in a range of Department-funded initiatives, and also to support schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Informing policy and curriculum change

■The Inspectorate conducted a range of thematic inspections on education provision for children and

young people from early years to the end of Senior Cycle in areas such as Modern Foreign Languages (MFL), Digital learning and STEM. A thematic evaluation on provision in schools for learners with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) was also carried out. These inspections were designed to report on policy implementation and to inform future policy development.

■The Inspectorate continues to support curriculum change and development across all sectors.

Professional capacity of early years educators

■The capacity of early years educators to engage in professional discourse on quality in early learning

and care has developed; this reflected positively on the growing confidence of early years educators to engage with the education focus of the early years education inspection (EYEI) quality framework.

Follow up from inspection

■Findings from surveys following whole-school evaluations (WSEs) were generally positive about the

inspection process, although respondents identified some areas, particularly in the post-primary context, as needing development, notably in relation to how inspectors engage with students during inspection. Currently, the Inspectorate is developing its processes for engagement with students during all phases of inspection in schools, and this will help to address this.

■A substantial proportion of the recommendations in inspection reports are being implemented in ELC

settings, and in primary and post-primary schools.

■The Inspectorate continued to engage in professional dialogue with stakeholders. The development of

the Inspectorate’s Strategic Plan 2020-2022 involved extensive consultation with educational partners.