Office of Public Sector Information

57 Inspections under sections 55 and 56: further provisions

(1) This section applies to any inspection under section 55 or 56.

(2) The inspection must be conducted by one or more of the following—

(a) any of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education and Training in Wales, or

(b) any additional inspector authorised under paragraph 2 of Schedule 2;

but such an inspector or inspectors may be assisted by such other persons (whether or not members of the Chief Inspector’s staff) as the Chief Inspector thinks fit.

(3) In conducting the inspection, the inspector or inspectors must act in accordance with any instructions or guidelines given from time to time by the Assembly.

(4) The inspector conducting the inspection, and any person assisting him by virtue of subsection (2), have at all reasonable times—

(a) a right of entry to any premises where the relevant services, or as the case requires the education, training or advisory services falling within section 56(1), are provided, and

(b) a right to inspect, and take copies of, any records or other documents kept by the person being inspected, which he requires for the purposes of the inspection.

(5) It is an offence intentionally to obstruct—

(a) the inspector conducting the inspection, or

(b) any person assisting him by virtue of subsection (2),

in the exercise of his functions in relation to the inspection.

(6) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (5) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

(7) Where the inspection has been completed, the Chief Inspector must—

(a) prepare a written report on the inspection within a prescribed period,

(b) send a copy of the report to—

(i) the person inspected,

(ii) the Assembly,

(iii) any prescribed person, and

(iv) any other person whom he considers appropriate, and

(c) publish the report in the prescribed manner or, if none is prescribed, in such manner as the Chief Inspector considers appropriate.

(8) Subsections (3) and (4) of section 29 (which relate to defamation) apply to the publication of a report under this section as they apply to the publication of a report under either of the provisions mentioned in subsection (2) of that section.

(9) Regulations may require the person inspected to prepare a written statement in response to the report of the inspection.

(10) Regulations under subsection (9) may—

(a) prescribe the matters to be dealt with in the statement,

(b) prescribe the period within which it must be prepared, and

(c) require the person who prepared it to send copies of the statement to prescribed persons and to publish it in the prescribed manner.

Chapter 7 Supplementary

58 Inspection of computer records

A person authorised by any provision of this Part to inspect records or other documents—

(a) is entitled at any reasonable time to have access to, and inspect and check the operation of, any computer and any associated apparatus or material which is or has been in use in connection with the records or other documents in question, and

(b) may require—

(i) the person by whom or on whose behalf the computer is or has been so used, or

(ii) any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer, apparatus or material,

to afford him such assistance as he may reasonably require (including, in particular, the making of information available for inspection or copying in a legible form).

59 Combined reports

(1) For the purposes of this section “the inspection enactments” are—

(a) this Part,

(b) Part 10A of the Children Act 1989 (c. 41) (child minding and day care for children),

(c) section 122 of, and Schedule 26 to, the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c. 31) (inspection of nursery education), and

(d) Chapter 1 of Part 10 of the Education Act 2002 (c. 32) (regulation of independent schools).

(2) Where, following inspections conducted under two or more inspection enactments by one person or two or more different persons, that person is (or those persons are) required to make a report under each of those enactments, nothing in any of those enactments is to be regarded as preventing him (or them) from—

(a) including those reports in a single document (“a combined report”), and

(b) to such extent as he considers (or they consider) appropriate, combining the substantive reports required by those enactments.

(3) Where a combined report is made, any reference in the inspection enactments to the publication of a report, or to the giving, or making available, to any person of a copy of a report is to be read so far as necessary as a reference to the publication of the combined report, or to the giving or making available to that person of a copy of the combined report.

(4) The Chief Inspector may arrange for a combined report to be published in any manner he considers appropriate, but this subsection does not limit any duty as to publication imposed by any of the inspection enactments.

60 Repeal of School Inspections Act 1996

The School Inspections Act 1996 (c. 57) (which is superseded by the provisions of this Part) shall cease to have effect.

61 Further amendments relating to school inspection

Schedule 9 contains further amendments related to the provisions of this Part.

62 Power of Assembly to change inspection framework for Wales

(1) The Assembly may by order—

(a) make provision in relation to Wales corresponding to—

(i) that made in relation to England by any English inspection provision, or

(ii) that which could be made in relation to England by regulations under any English inspection provision,

(b) repeal any Welsh inspection provision which does not correspond to an English inspection provision, and

(c) make such provision as the Assembly thinks fit in connection with any provision made by virtue of paragraph (a) or (b).

(2) In relation to section 39 (statement to be prepared by appropriate authority for maintained school), the power conferred by paragraph (b) of subsection (1) includes power, instead of repealing the section, to limit the cases in which it applies.

(3) The powers conferred by paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (1) include power to amend or repeal any enactment (whenever passed or made), including any provision of this Act.

(4) For the purposes of this section—

(a) an English inspection provision is any provision of—

(i) Chapters 1 and 2,

(ii) sections 48 and 49 (denominational education in England),

(iii) Schedule 26 to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c. 31) (nursery education), so far as relating to England, or

(iv) sections 162A and 162B of the Education Act 2002 (c. 32) (independent schools in England),

(b) a Welsh inspection provision is any provision of —

(i) Chapters 3 and 4,

(ii) section 50 and Schedule 6 (denominational education in Wales),

(iii) section 52 (provision of inspection services by local education authorities in Wales),

(iv) Schedule 26 to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (nursery education), so far as relating to Wales, or

(v) sections 163 and 164 of the Education Act 2002 (independent schools in Wales).

(5) In this section “enactment” includes an enactment comprised in subordinate legislation, within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30).

63 Interpretation of Part 1

(1) In this Part—

• “Church of England school”, “Church in Wales school”, “Roman Catholic Church school” and “appropriate diocesan authority”, in each case, have the meaning given by section 142 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c. 31);

• “delegated budget” has the same meaning as in section 49 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998;

• “denominational education” has the meaning given by section 47.

(2) References in this Part to special measures being, or not being, required to be taken in relation to a school are to be read in accordance with section 44(1).

(3) References in this Part to a school requiring, or not requiring, significant improvement are to be read in accordance with section 44(2).