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The Inspectorate and inspection 2021 - 2023
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The Inspectorate is a division of the Department of Education. Its duties are outlined in the Education Act 1998, which sets out evaluative, advisory, and capacity-building functions. The Inspectorate operates with statutory independence in inspecting schools and other education settings. Its overarching mission is to provide for quality assurance of the Irish education system experienced by children and young people from birth to eighteen years. The inclusion, wellbeing and safeguarding of children and young people are core purposes in the Inspectorate’s work.
The Inspectorate inspects a range of educational settings. These include state-funded early learning and care (ELC) settings, recognised primary and post-primary schools, centres delivering the Youthreach Programme, agricultural colleges and other educational settings. Through the evidence gathered during inspection visits, the Inspectorate evaluates and reports on the quality of educational provision to promote improved learning outcomes and experiences for all children and young people.
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The Inspectorate uses a range of inspection types to assess the quality of education provision in schools and other educational settings. The data presented in this section covers the period 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2023.
Covid-19 caused much disruption to the work of schools in the period. Adaptations to the advisory and evaluation work of the Inspectorate were required to respond to this. Inspection activities reflected both the continuity of core quality assurance efforts and the emergence of new priorities in response to changing educational needs. For example, some inspection activities continued throughout the period, some were developed specifically for the pandemic period and some were paused for a time and then reintroduced.
There were ongoing inspections of settings participating in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. Inspections of education provision for babies and toddlers under three in early learning and care (ELC) settings were introduced in the period.
In primary and special schools, certain types of inspections were impacted by pandemic-related restrictions in 2021, but subsequent years saw upward growth in, as well as diversification of, inspection types.
The post-primary sector experienced a similar overall trend towards recovery and expansion of inspection activities by 2023. Subject inspections, in particular, saw a marked increase, reflecting a renewed emphasis on subject-specific teaching and learning quality as schools emerged from the disruptions of the pandemic.
Child protection and safeguarding inspections remained a priority across both primary and post-primary sectors in the period. Evaluations related to education provision for children and young people arriving from Ukraine and other countries and evaluations related to English as an additional language were introduced in 2023, in response to the needs of changing student demographics in schools.
Supporting the safe provision of schooling (SSPS) inspection visits, which were prominent in 2021 and 2022, were ceased in 2023, reflecting the education system’s transition away from acute pandemic response measures.
Throughout the period, the Inspectorate published a range of individual inspection reports on schools, early learning and care settings, centres for education and other educational settings. In addition, twenty-one thematic reports were published. These provided a composite analysis of individual inspection findings and inspection reports across a range of themes. They were designed to provide stakeholders across the education system with up-to-date information on, and insights into, education quality and performance.
| * | Summary of inspections | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Inspections of early learning and care settings participating in the ECCE programme(*) including research | 211 | 513 | 509 | |
| Inspections of primary and special schools | 1845 | 1517 | 1000(**) | |
| Inspections of post-primary schools | 662 | 717 | 530 | |
| School self-evaluation advisory visits | 179 | 412 | 361 | |
| Inspections of centres for education | 64 | 21 | 16 | |
| Other inspections, advisory visits and evaluation activities | 408 | 411 | 301 | |
| Total inspections/advisory visits to early learning and care settings, schools, centres for education and other educational settings | 3369 | 3591 | 2717 |
- (*) Early Childhood Care and Education programme
- ( **) The majority of inspections during the Covid period consisted of shorter inspection types, with the typical inspection programme resuming in 2023.
| Early Years Education Inspections | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Early years education inspection | 168 | 490 | 429 | |
| Early years education inspection: Follow-through | 42 | 14 | 64 | |
| Visits to early learning and care settings as part of research and development work | 1 | - | - | |
| Early years education inspection: Birth to six (trial) | - | 7 | - | |
| Early years education Inspection – Birth to six | - | - | 16 | |
| Total Early Years Education Inspections | 211 | 511 | 509 |
| Primary and special school inspections | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Whole-school evaluation | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Whole-school evaluation - management, leadership and learning | 0 | 1 | 124 | |
| Evaluation of action planning for improvement in DEIS* schools | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Evaluation of early intervention classes for children with autism | - | - | 15 | |
| Evaluation of the quality of education provision for pupils and students from Ukraine | - | - | 53 | |
| Evaluating provision for English as an additional language | - | - | 56 | |
| Evaluation for recognition as a Gaeltacht school (Primary) | - | 32 | 58 | |
| Incidental Inspection | 478 | 1135 | 383 | |
| Follow-through Inspection | 0 | 7 | 4 | |
| Evaluation of provision for pupils with special education needs (SEN) | 0 | 8 | 17 | |
| Curriculum evaluation | 0 | 200 | 260 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections: Initial | 36 | 21 | 11 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections: Final | 30 | 35 | 15 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections in boarding facilities: Initial | - | - | 0 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections in boarding facilities: Final | - | - | 0 | |
| Supporting the safe provision of schooling inspection visits (1) | 1301 | 110 | - | |
| Total of primary and special school inspections | 1845 | 1517 | 1000 |
- (*) *DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools): An Action Plan for Educational Inclusion.
| Post-primary school inspections | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Whole-school evaluation - management, leadership and learning | 0 | 0 | 38 | |
| Subject inspection | 5 | 132 | 269 | |
| Programme evaluation | 0 | 4 | 8 | |
| Evaluation for recognition as a Gaeltacht school (post-primary) | - | 4 | 10 | |
| Evaluation of action planning for improvement in DEIS* schools | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| Incidental inspection | 236 | 479 | 101 | |
| Follow-through inspection | 0 | 6 | 7 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections: Initial | 19 | 16 | 14 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections: Final | 15 | 27 | 12 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections in boarding facilities: Initial | - | - | 5 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections in boarding facilities: Final | - | - | 3 | |
| Evaluation of provision for students with special educational needs(SEN) | 0 | 10 | 12 | |
| Supporting the safe provision of schooling inspection visits | 387 | 43 | - | |
| Total of post-primary school inspections | 662 | 717 | 530 |
- (*) DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools): An Action Plan for Educational Inclusion
| School Self-Evaluation Visits | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| School self-evaluation advisory visits to primary schools | 119 | 287 | 250 | |
| School self-evaluation advisory visits to post-primary schools | 60 | 125 | 111 | |
| Total Self-Evaluation Advisory Visit | 179 | 412 | 361 |
| Centres for education inspections | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Incidental inspection | 12 | 9 | 7 | |
| Follow-through inspection | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections: Initial | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections: Final | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Evaluation of centres for education | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
| Supporting the safe provision of schooling inspection visits | 51 | 8 | - | |
| Total of centre for education inspections | 64 | 21 | 16 |
| Other inspections/evaluations of provision for students and young people | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Inspection of Coláistí Gaeilge (Irish colleges) | 0 | 19 | 25 | |
| Inspection of special care units (SCU)(2 ) | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Inspection conducted under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Inspections in European Schools | 10 | 16 | 17 | |
| Inspection in Teagasc colleges | - | - | 1 | |
| Inspection of DEIS literacy/numeracy camps for children (English and Irish-medium) | 19 | 14 | 44 | |
| Pilot evaluations of remote teaching and learning | 36 | - | - | |
| Advisory phone calls to DEIS summer camp advisors | 31 | - | - | |
| Summer inclusion programme | 93 | 89 | 134 | |
| SEN-focused research (Incidentals) | 13 | 25 | - | |
| Evaluation of summer continuing professional development courses for primary teachers | 45 | 37 | 62 | |
| Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme: advisory visits to schools | 112 | 146 | 2 | |
| Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme: case study visits | 0 | - | - | |
| Evaluation for recognition as a Gaeltacht school | - | 36 | - | |
| School Excellence Fund DEIS: advisory visits to schools | 46 | 25 | 11 | |
| School Excellence Fund Step-Up: advisory visits to schools | 0 | - | - | |
| Total other inspections/evaluations | 408 | 411 | 301 |
| Publication of inspection reports | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Early years education inspections (early years) | 33 | 438 | 494 | |
| Early years follow-through inspections (early years) | 48 | 27 | 49 | |
| Curriculum evaluation (primary) | 0 | 75 | 284 | |
| Coláistí Gaeilge | - | 16 (3 ) | 16 | |
| Evaluation of action planning for improvement in DEIS Schools (primary and post-primary) | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections (primary and post-primary | 68 | 144 | 68 | |
| Programme evaluation (post-primary) | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| Evaluation of provision for pupils with special educational needs (primary) | 0 | 3 | 12 | |
| Evaluation of provision for students with special educational needs (post-primary) | 0 | 2 | 18 | |
| Subject inspections (post-primary) | 2 | 31 | 292 | |
| Whole-school evaluation - management, leadership and learning (primary | 4 | 1 | 84 | |
| Whole-school evaluation - management, leadership and learning (post-primary) | 7 | 0 | 15 | |
| Follow-through (primary and post-primary) | 0 | 9 | 9 | |
| Whole-school evaluation (primary) | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Evaluation of schools at special care units and children detention centres | 6 | 1 | 4 | |
| Supporting the safe provision of schooling ( 4 ) | 1885 | 694 | - | |
| Evaluation of centres for education | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Total number of reports published ( 5 ) | 2054 | 1441 | 1364 |
| Issuing of inspection reports | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Early years education inspection – Birth to six (Trial) | - | 7 | - | |
| Curriculum evaluation | - | 25 | - | |
| Evaluation for recognition as a Gaeltacht school (primary) | - | - | 47 | |
| Evaluation for recognition as a Gaeltacht school (post-primary) | - | - | 6 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections in boarding facilities: Initia | - | - | 3 | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspections in boarding facilities: Final | - | - | 3 | |
| Subject inspections | - | 8 ( 6 ) | - | |
| Reports on pilot evaluations of remote teaching and leaning | 34 | - | - | |
| Supporting the safe provision of schooling ( 7 ) | 499 | - | - | |
| Incidental inspections – Note on school measures to prevent and tackle bullying | 315 | 450 | 2 | |
| Total number of reports issued | 848 | 490 | 61 |
