The Education (School Inspection) Regulations 1997

PART III INSPECTIONS OF DENOMINATIONAL EDUCATION

11.  In this Part of these Regulations—

“action plan” means the written statement referred to in paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 4 to the 1996 Act;

“denominational education”, in relation to a school, means any religious education which—

(a)

is required by section 352(1)(a) of the Education Act 1996 to be included in the school’s basic curriculum, but

(b)

is not required by any enactment to be given in accordance with an agreed syllabus;

“inspection” means an inspection of a school under section 23 of the 1996 Act; and

“inspector” means the person conducting the inspection.

Intervals for inspection

12.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), where the governing body of a voluntary or grant-maintained school are required by section 23 of the 1996 Act to secure that the denominational education given to any pupils or the content of the school’s collective worship (or both) are inspected they shall—

(a) in the case of a secondary school which was inspected on or after 1st September 1993 but before 1st August 1997, secure that subsequent inspections take place within six school years from the end of the school year in which the last inspection took place;

(b) in any other case, secure that the inspection takes place on or after 1st September 1994 but before 1st August 1998 and thereafter that subsequent inspections take place within six school years from the end of the school year in which the last inspection took place.

(2) In the case of—

(a) the governing body of a secondary school which first has a duty to secure an inspection under section 23 of the 1996 Act on or after 1st August 1997, and

(b) the governing body of any other school which first has a duty to secure an inspection under that section on or after 1st August 1998,

the governing body shall secure that the inspection takes place within a period of six years from the end of the school year in which that duty first arises and, thereafter, that subsequent inspections take place within six school years from the end of the school year in which the last inspection took place.

Reports and Action Plans

13.—(1) An inspection shall be carried out during a period not exceeding two weeks.

(2) The inspector shall, within five weeks from the date when the inspection is completed, prepare in writing a report of the inspection and a summary of the report.

(3) The governing body shall, within forty working days from the date when the inspector reported to them, prepare an action plan.

(4) The governing body shall, within five working days from the date when they complete the preparation of the action plan, send copies of it to the following persons (in addition to the persons mentioned in paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 4 to the 1996 Act)—

(a) all person employed as teachers at the school or to participate in the school’s collective worship;

(b) in the case of a grant-maintained school, the funding authority;

(c) in the case of a school in a group of grant-maintained schools in respect of which any person has power to appoint an externally appointed core governor under a provision of the instrument of government made in pursuance of Schedule 25 to the Education Act 1996, that person; and

(d) in the case of an aided or grant-maintained secondary school the instrument of government of which names a person as a sponsor of the school, that person.

Fees for provision of the report and summary and of the action plan

14.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a governing body may require payment of a fee (not exceeding the cost of supply) where they provide,

(a) under paragraph 2(4)(b) of Schedule 4 to the 1996 Act—

(i) a copy of a report to any person who asks for one;

(ii) a copy of a summary to any person to whom they have previously provided a copy of that summary; or

(b) under paragraph 3(3)(b) of Schedule 4 to the 1996 Act a copy of an action plan to any person—

(i) who is not otherwise entitled to receive a copy of that action plan and whose home or whose principal office is located outside a radius of three miles from the school; or

(ii) to whom they have previously provided a copy of that action plan.

(2) A governing body may not require payment of a fee under paragraph (1) if the document containing the copy of the report or summary, as the case may be, forms part of or is otherwise bound with a document containing a copy of the report or summary referred to in regulation 7 of these Regulations and a fee has been paid under regulation 10 of these Regulations.

(3) A governing body may not require payment by the funding authority of a fee under paragraph (1) where they provide to the funding authority a copy of a report or action plan in respect of a grant-maintained school and they have not previously provided a copy of that report or action plan to the authority.