Inspections 

Information on Diocesan Canonical Inspection

All people by virtue of their dignity as human persons have the right to education, that is the right to achieve their potential in life. Those who are baptised members of the Church have a right to a Christian education. (cf. Gravissimum Educationis 1, 2).

Catholic schools, as part of the mission of the Church, are challenged by the Gospel to affirm their pupils' basic goodness, to promote their dignity and to develop their gifts to the full. Schools are challenged to educate people to live responsibly for the fullness of life that God wills for each of us.

As works of the apostolate, all Catholic schools are subject to the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop, even those that are not in diocesan trusteeship. Canon 806§1 states that the diocesan bishop has the right of supervision, visitation and inspection of Catholic schools in his diocese, even those established or directed by members of religious orders. He also has the right to issue directives concerning the general regulation of Catholic schools.

Diocesan canonical inspections enable the Church to assess systematically the work of Catholic schools. They also provide an opportunity to support, challenge, evaluate and promote this vital work in the mission of the Church.

Ofsted Inspection 

Responsible for:

• inspecting maintained schools and academies, some independent schools, and many other educational institutions and programmes outside of higher education
• inspecting childcare, adoption and fostering agencies and initial teacher training
• publishing reports of our findings so they can be used to improve the overall quality of education and training
• regulating a range of early years and children’s social care services, making sure they’re suitable for children and potentially vulnerable young people
• reporting to policymakers on the effectiveness of these services

Ofsted priorities

From 2017 we will ensure that:

• all of our work is evidence-led
• our evaluation tools and frameworks are valid and reliable
• our frameworks are fair
• we aim to reduce inspection burdens and make our expectations and findings clear
• we target our time and resources where they can lead directly to improvement