The Education Reform(Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Duties of inspectors

30.  Article 102 of the principal Order shall be renumbered as paragraph (1) of that Article and after that paragraph there shall be added—

“(2) It shall be the duty of inspectors to promote the highest standards of education and of professional practice among teachers in the schools, colleges, institutions and establishments mentioned in paragraph (1) by—

(a) monitoring, inspecting and reporting on the standard of education being provided by those bodies and the standard of professional practice among teachers on the staff of those bodies; and

(b) advising the Department on any aspect of the curriculum of any of those bodies which the Department may refer to them or on which they think advice is appropriate.

(3) It shall be the duty of inspectors to monitor, inspect and report on the nature, scope and effect of advisory and support services provided by boards under Article 29 of the 1989 Order in relation to the curricula and staff of grant-aided schools.

(4) The Department may direct a board, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, the Board of Governors or principal of a grant-aided school or the governing body or principal of an institution of further education to take such action as the Department thinks necessary to remedy any matter referred to by a report under this Article.

(5) It shall be the duty of a person or body to whom or to which a direction is given under paragraph (4) to comply with that direction.

(6) Before giving a direction under paragraph (4) to a person or body the Department shall consult with that person or body and such other persons or bodies as it thinks fit.

(7) The functions conferred by this Article on inspectors and other officers of the Department shall not be exercisable in relation to any provision for religious education included in the curriculum of a school under Article 5(1)(a) of the 1989 Order except with the agreement of the Board of Governors of the school.”.