In light of the ongoing teaching union strikes, we recognize that schools may be impacted and the full extent of this impact may not be known until the day of the strike.
Nonetheless, we aim to maintain school inspection activity to the greatest extent possible, while remaining sensitive to local circumstances.
To this end, we have developed a plan for scheduling school inspection notifications and on-site inspections in a way that avoids strike days.
For example, to avoid the 2-day national strike on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 March, we will notify schools on Friday 10 March of inspections taking place on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 March.
We also have our usual deferral policy in place. If schools require a deferral due to strike action, these requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
It is worth noting that our inspections of social care, further education and skills, and early years providers will continue as planned, without any changes to our current schedule.